Gregory R. Haworth

Areas of Practice

• Trial
• Creditors' Rights
• Consumer Fraud and Protection
• Bankruptcy
• Banking and Trust
• Appellate Litigation
• Construction Group

Representative Matters

• Class Action – New Jersey State Supreme Court. Served as lead counsel for bank group named as defendants in three separate class action suits consolidated on appeal. The banks were charged with improperly charging attorney review fees to residential borrowers in violation of a state statute. The unfavorable decisions of the trial courts were reversed on appeal in Turner v. First Union National Bank, 314 N.J. Super. 33 (App. Div. 1998) and affirmed by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Turner v. First Union National Bank, 162 N.J. 75 (1999).
• Class Action – New Jersey Federal Court. Represented one of the 10 largest banks in the United States against a claim that the defendant banks had conspired to set the prime rate as reported to various financial publications that publish prime rate indexes. The dismissal of the suit was affirmed on appeal. Lum v. Bank of America, 361 F.3d 217 (3d Cir. 2004), cert denied, 125 S.Ct. 271 (2004).
• Contract Dispute – Jury Trial, New Jersey State Court. Successfully represented a corporate plaintiff in breach of contract claim tried before a jury over five days, resulting in a $2.4 million verdict for plaintiff.
• Contract and Fiduciary Litigation – New York Federal Court. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of bank serving as a depository agent under the Federal Aviation Act. The case involved novel issues of whether a private right of action exists under the FAA, and, if not, whether state law contract and fiduciary claims could nonetheless be sustained. Synovus Bank v. Valley National Bank, 487 F. Supp. 360 (S.D.N.Y 2007).
• Contract Dispute – Bank Syndication Litigation – New Jersey Federal Court. Representing agent bank in lending syndication in action where bank group member sought $10MM in damages alleging breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the agent bank.
• Fidelity Bond Litigation – New Jersey Federal Court. Represented fidelity bond carrier in an action that resulted in one of the seminal published decisions dealing with fidelity bond interpretation. Resolution Trust Corp. v. Fidelity and Deposit Co. of Maryland, 205 F.3d 615 (3d Cir. 2000).
• Debt Restructuring and Commercial Foreclosure of Real and Personal Property. Represents lenders in commercial foreclosures of real and personal property as well as the restructuring of bad debt. He handled the foreclosure of a defaulted $65 million debt on a mixed-use project in New Jersey. He represented a client that held in excess of $100 million in securitized senior notes that were in default. He pursued litigation and structured workouts in numerous states to collect on the collateral securing the senior notes.
• Trade Secret Disputes: Represents parties in disputes involving theft of trade secrets and breach of confidentiality agreements.
• Directors and Officers Litigation. Represents officers and directors of public and private corporations against claims filed by shareholders, including breach of fiduciary duty and fraud claims. Recently, he successfully defended officers and directors at trial in a New Jersey bankruptcy court.
• LBO Fraudulent Transfer Litigation – Bankruptcy Court. Represented a bankruptcy trustee in action to set aside a creditor's lien on the debtor's assets obtained when the creditor funded a leveraged buyout.
• Shareholder Disputes. Represents shareholders of closely held corporations in disputes filed under the Minority Shareholder Oppression Act.
• Consumer Litigation. Represented defendants in class action and individual suits alleging violations of federal and state consumer laws, including FCRA, FDCPA, TCPA, TILA, HOEPA, RESPA and state consumer protection laws.
• Real Estate. Handled numerous commercial landlord-tenant disputes and claims against title insurance companies to recover on policies.
• Insurance Contract Litigation   New Jersey State Court. Co-counsel in case in which obtained decision on behalf of an insurer affirming summary judgment dismissal of Arthur Andersen's claim seeking coverage under an all-risk commercial property insurance policy for $204 million in business losses that allegedly resulted from property damage to the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 9/11. Arthur Andersen LLP v. Federal Ins. Co., 3 A.3d 1279 (2010), 416 N.J. Super. 334 (App. Div. 2010).

Published Decisions

• Turner v. First Union National Bank, 162 N.J. 75 (1999), affirming, Turner v. First Union National Bank, 314 N.J. Super. 33 (App. Div. 1998)
• Lum v. Bank of America, et al., 361 F.3d 217 (3d Cir. 2004), cert denied, 125 S.Ct. 271 (2004)
• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., 311 F.2d (3d Cir. 2002)
• Resolution Trust Corp. v. Fidelity and Deposit Co. of Maryland, 205 F.3d 615 (3d Cir. 2000)
• New Rock Asset Partners, L.P. v. Preferred Entity Advancements, Inc., 101 F.3d 1492, 65 USLW 2402 (3d Cir. 1996)
• Synovus Bank v. Valley National Bank, 487 F. Supp. 360 (S.D.N.Y 2007)
• Resolution Trust Corp v. Minassian, 777 F. Supp. 385 (D.N.J. 1991)
• Arthur Andersen LLP v. Federal Ins. Co., 3 A.3d 1279 (2010), 416 N.J. Super. 334 (App. Div. 2010)
• Laufer v. The United States Life Insurance Co., 385 N.J. Super. 172 (App. Div. 2006)
• Touch of Class Leasing v. Mercedes-Benz Credit of Canada, Inc., 248 N.J. Super. 426, 591 A.2d 661, 15 UCC Rep. Serv. 2d 471 (App. Div. 1991)
• Stiso v. Inserra Supermarkets Inc., 179 A.D.2d 878, 578 N.Y.S.2d 680 (N.Y.A.D. 3 Dept.) (1992)

Admissions

• New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Education

• Rutgers Law School, J.D., 1982

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 1999-present
• Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, Hackensack, New Jersey
  - Partner, 1989-1999
  - Associate, 1983-1988
• Superior Court of New Jersey
  - Judicial Clerk, Honorable Wilfred P. Diana, 1982-1983

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Association
  - Bankruptcy Law Section
  - Banking Law Section
• Federal Bar Association

Honors and Awards

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2010-2024

• Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2006-2014 and 2020-2024 editions

• Named a New Jersey Trailblazer by New Jersey Law Journal, 2019

• Listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers, 2005-2022

• Listed in Super Lawyers, Business Edition, 2010-2015
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Rutgers Law Review
• Blue Key National Honor Society

No aspect of these rankings has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Further information on methodologies is available via these links.

Board Memberships

• Board of Trustees, Union County United Way
• Board of Trustees, New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

Civic and Charitable Activities

• President, United Way of Plainfield, North Plainfield, Fanwood and Scotch Plains
• Vice President of Development, The Plainfield Symphony Society

Selected Publications

• Quoted, "New Jersey Powerhouse: Duane Morris," Law360, September 3, 2019 

• Quoted, "Window (seat) of Opportunity," NJBIZ, August 10, 2015

• Co-author, "Pa. Appellate Court Issues Opinion in Dietz v. Chase Home Finance, LLC, Clarifying Preemption of State Common Law Claims by Fair Credit Reporting Act," Duane Morris Alert, April 16, 2012
• "Shunning the Errors of the 1980's in Today's Resurging Market," New Jersey Law Journal, March 1995.
• "Recent Decisions Favor Lenders Over Borrowers," New Jersey Law Journal, February 1995.
• Co-Author, "Collecting Judgments in New Jersey," published by the National Business Institute, 1998.
• Note, "Foreign States Sued for Their Acts Abroad: A Uniform Analysis Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act," 34 Rutgers Law Review, 538, 1982.

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, "Strategies for Making the Expert a Better Witness," New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants' Business Valuation, Forensics Investigation & Litigation Services Conference, Edison, New Jersey, September 23, 2010
• Speaker, "Deposition Pitfalls for Experts and How to Avoid Them," New Jersey Society of CPAs, 2008 and 2009 Annual Meetings
• Moderator and Panelist, "Valuation of Businesses and Collateral in Commercial Workouts," Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, Chicago, Illinois, June 2007
• Panelist, "Electronic Discovery in the Federal Courts," Annual Bankruptcy Bench Bar Conference, New Brunswick, New Jersey, April 21, 2006
• Panelist, "Detecting and Responding to Fraud Schemes: Ponzi Schemes, Intercompany Transfers, Collateral Audits and Bust-Outs," Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors Annual Meeting, Grapevine, Texas, June 23, 2004
• Panelist, "Effective Bankruptcy Trial Practice," Annual Bankruptcy Bench Bar Conference, East Brunswick, New Jersey, March 12, 2004
• "Nuts and Bolts of Effective Bankruptcy Trial Practice," Annual Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Conference, East Brunswick, New Jersey, April 2001
• Organized and Participated, "Financial Institution Litigation After the Enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act," sponsored by The Financial Services Litigation Group of the New Jersey State Bar Association, Newark, New Jersey, March 30, 2000.
• Moderator, "Litigation of Class Action Lawsuits," New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting, East Rutherford, New Jersey, May 1998.
• Panelist, "Winning Strategies in Complex Litigation," New Jersey Corporate Counsel Fall Meeting, Parsippany, New Jersey, November 1997.
• Panelist, "Current Banking Litigation Issues," New Jersey State Bar Association's Banking Law Section, New Brunswick, New Jersey, September 1997.
• Panelist, "Issues Pertaining to Automatic Stay Litigation," Fourth Annual Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Conference, Princeton, New Jersey, April 1996.