Garrett S. Garfield
Partner
Overview
Garrett Garfield is a trial attorney in Holland & Knight’s Portland office. He has represented companies, from startups to large publicly traded corporations, in state and federal courts in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Mr. Garfield has successfully handled cases through all stages of litigation, including contract disputes, commercial leases, class actions, business torts, trade secrets, commercial loan enforcement, employment discrimination claims, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) claims and land use/real estate disputes.
In addition to his trial practice, Mr. Garfield has successfully briefed and argued cases in the appellate courts of Oregon and Washington, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Garfield also has extensive experience representing financial institutions such as national and state banks, mortgage lenders and loan servicers in consumer financial services litigation, including contested foreclosures and claims arising under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). He also is experienced in maritime litigation, including vessel arrests and cargo attachments.
During law school, Mr. Garfield worked in the University of Chicago’s Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, where he represented juveniles accused of crimes.
Representative Experience
- Representing a multinational company in complex asset recovery litigation in state and federal courts, to enforce $62 million commercial guarantees within the United States against a foreign entity
- Successfully prosecuting a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) and antitrust lawsuit in federal court on behalf of an energy company against a public utility
- Defending a company in federal court against a multimillion-dollar claim for misappropriation of trade secrets
- Obtaining a complete dismissal of breach of contract claims against a technology company arising from an end user agreement
- Defending a software company against multimillion-dollar RICO and related claims in Oregon state court
- Representing a real estate investment company in a $3.6 million arbitration in a dispute over the buyout provisions in an operating agreement following dissolution of the partnership
- Intervening in bankruptcy adversary proceedings on behalf of a developer to secure distribution of proceeds from multimillion-dollar apartment development
- Representing a closely held company with respect to claims of shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duty
- Obtaining emergency injunctive relief allowing a restaurant franchise to continue operating during litigation over terms of commercial lease, and defending client against further claims asserted under franchise agreement
- Defending a distributor against breach of contract and intentional interference with economic relations claims asserted by a manufacturer in federal court
- Obtaining a directed verdict in state court on behalf of a loan servicer against numerous claims arising from securitization of loan; successfully defending judgment on appeal
- Representing a loan servicer in state court on a claim of multimillion-dollar damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Obtaining a summary judgment on behalf of a loan servicer in case involving novel question of Washington law; successfully defending judgment on appeal in published opinion
- Defending a loan servicer in state court against novel theory seeking to apply state debt collection regulations to loan servicing
- Defending a loan servicer against state court tort claims arising from property preservation efforts
- Defending a loan servicer and lender in federal litigation asserting breach of state consumer protection act statutes and breach of contract
- Defending a debt collection firm against Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and state consumer protection act claims
- Defending regional banks against unlawful trade practices act claims filed in Oregon state court by a local government entity
- Successfully resolving on behalf of loan servicers and investors numerous state and federal lawsuits involving contested judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures of residential mortgages in Oregon and Washington
- Defending a real estate company in a multimillion-dollar Oregon state court class action alleging violation of landlord-tenant statutes
- Defending a mortgage loan servicer in a federal class action alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
- Defending an employer and obtaining dismissal of a federal lawsuit regarding claims of racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as well as claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Defending an employer in Oregon state court against a sex discrimination claim under Title VII
- Obtaining a dismissal on behalf of a landowner regarding a claim for public prescriptive easement
- Obtaining a dismissal on behalf of a ranch regarding a claim for private prescriptive easement
- Obtaining a summary judgment for a title insurer regarding claims of a multimillion-dollar breach of contract arising from a condominium development
- Brief and argue appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit involving challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) certification of union election results
- Brief and argue state court appeal involving novel question of application of statute of limitation to payments due under installment loan
- Representing operator of psychiatric hospital in successfully opposing union’s motion for reverse Boys Markets injunction preventing sale of hospital facility
- Defending a healthcare company against claim for breach of asset purchase agreement and allegations of violation of the corporate practice of medicine doctrine
Credentials
- Brigham Young University, B.A.
- The University of Chicago Law School, J.D., with honors
- Oregon
- Washington
- All Trial Courts in Oregon
- All Trial Courts in Washington
- All Appellate Courts in Oregon
- All Appellate Courts in Washington
- U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- American Bar Association
- Multnomah County Bar Association
- Rising Star, Oregon Super Lawyers magazine, 2015-2019
- Holland & Knight Public and Charitable Service All-Star, 2014