Francis X. Crowley

Biography

Frank Crowley is a member of the firm's Financial Institutions Litigation and Regulatory Compliance (“FILARC”) group and also has extensive experience in the commercial litigation field, and represents clients in all aspects of litigation, including pre-litigation resolution, discovery, motion practice, trial and appellate matters.

As a member of the Financial Institutions Litigation and Regulatory Compliance (“FILARC”) group, Frank regularly represents lenders and financial institutions in consumer financial services litigation matters in federal and state court, including:

  • Disputes under TILA, RESPA, and FDCPA
  • Title and lien priority disputes
  • State law UDAAP claims
  • Eminent domain cases
  • A wide variety of common law claims

Frank also handles complex commercial litigation matters in a wide variety of fields in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. He regularly represents clients in litigation and disputes arising from various stages of real estate transactions, including acquisition, development, sales, leasing, and title disputes and title converge issues. Frank has represented clients in many industries, as well as public agencies and municipal bodies, in disputes and other matters related to:

  • Commercial real estate and aircraft foreclosures and workouts
  • Commercial and construction contracts
  • Real estate development and title
  • Real estate disputes
  • Commercial landlord – tenant issues
  • Shareholder disputes and corporate/partnership dissolutions
  • Insurance coverage issues relating to Errors & Omissions, Directors’ & Officers’, and Commercial General Liability policies
  • Unfair competition and non-compete agreements
  • Environmental liability under federal and state laws
  • Municipal and governmental liability
  • The False Claims Act
  • Professional liability
  • Construction defects
  • Consumer class actions

Experience

  • Major lenders, financial institutions and servicers, in a wide variety of consumer finance litigation.
  • Major institutional lenders, in commercial foreclosures and work outs to enforce rights under real property and aircraft mortgages.
  • Lenders, in disputes over lien priority and title insurance coverage issues.
  • A public port authority in complex litigation with commercial tenants and competitors, and in construction contract disputes.
  • A large, urban county, in construction disputes, eminent domain proceedings, False Claims Act cases, administrative appeals, and other complex litigation matters.
  • National title insurance companies, in coverage disputes and against agents in major defalcation cases.
  • A public waste water authority, in construction disputes, environmental matters, and permit enforcement cases.
  • Major credit unions and a trade association, in challenges by commercial bankers to community charter conversions.
  • Real estate developers, in challenges by community activists and objecting competitors.
  • A major national theater chain, in successfully defending litigation brought by an owner/developer seeking $60,000,000 in an alleged breach of a development agreement and 30-year lease.
  • A public housing authority, in acquiring property through condemnation proceedings to construct new senior citizen housing.
  • Developers, attempting to void restrictive covenants limiting or preventing the re-development of former golf courses into residential projects.
  • A condominium council, in a dispute with a developer.
  • Minority partners in a real estate development partnership, in claims against a general partner who gained unfair advantage in a sale of property for real estate development.

Recognitions

  • 2013–2022, “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer” in Business Litigation, listed in Super Lawyers

Affiliations

Memberships

  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Brehon Law Society
  • Irish American Business Chamber & Network
Professional Activities

Frank is a recipient of the 1991 Human Rights Honors Award given by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (for efforts to reduce racial tension in a city neighborhood); the 2007 Hispanic Heritage Teacher Award (for services to disadvantaged youth); the Support Center for Child Advocates 2009 Distinguished Advocate Award (for representation of children in foster care); and the 2009 Edwin P. Rome Award (for pro bono services). Frank is also on the boards of several charitable organizations.

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court - New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court - Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court - Western District of Pennsylvania

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania, BA/MA, magna cum laude
  • University of Pennsylvania Law School, JD