Kyle M. Asher

Appeals

In re: Ford Motor Co., 86 F.4th 723 (6th Cir. 2023) (obtained reversal of district court’s certification of class action involving 2013-2018 F-150 truck owners who alleged brake defects).

Fox v. Saginaw County, 67 F.4th 284 (6th Cir. 2023) (obtained reversal of district court’s class certification ruling for lack of Article III standing in case involving circuit split, convincing Sixth Circuit to diverge from Seventh Circuit and reject the “juridical link” doctrine).

In re: Ford Motor Co. F-150 and Ranger Truck Fuel Economy Marketing & Sales Practices Litig., 65 F.4th 851 (6th Cir. 2023), cert den. 217 L. Ed. 2d 173 (2023) (principal author of briefing in appeal involving dismissal of MDL; prevailed based on argument that plaintiffs’ state law tort claims were preempted by federal EPA regulations).

Garcia v. Title Check, LLC, 2023 WL 2787298 (6th Cir. 2023), cert den. 2023 WL 8007416 (principal author of briefing affirming sanctions against plaintiff’s counsel under 28 U.S.C. § 1927; petition for certiorari listed under Law 360’s “Petitions to Watch”).

Nettles v. Midland Funding LLC, 983 F.3d 896 (7th Cir. 2020), cert den. 142 S. Ct. 313 (2021) (principal author of briefing in case obtaining reversal of district court’s denial of motion to compel arbitration, allowing client to invoke arbitration agreement’s class action waiver clause and avoid class-wide liability; case listed as the fourth most influential case in country in 2021 by ACA International).

Clanton v. Wal-Mart, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 11108 (6th Cir. Apr. 22, 2022) (principal author of briefing on behalf of Wal-Mart in case affirming dismissal of Title VII and state-law employment discrimination claims).

Gamrat v. Mich. House of Representatives, 822 F. App’x 331 (6th Cir. 2020) (principal author of briefing in case affirming dismissal of constitutional and statutory claims against Michigan House of Representatives arising out of State Representative’s expulsion proceedings).

Johnson v. Bd. of State Canvassers, 991 N.W.2d 840 (Mich. Ct. App. 2022), aff’d 974 N.W.2d 234 (Mich. 2022) (principal author of briefing for intervenor persuading Michigan Supreme Court to deny application for leave to appeal ruling excluding Michigan gubernatorial candidates from ballot based on submission of fraudulent petition signatures).

Reed-Pratt v. Detroit City Clerk, 984 N.W.2d 794 (Mich. Ct. App. Dec. 2021) (affirming dismissal of claims against candidate for elected office, and establishing in a published opinion that the candidate did not submit false statements based on matter of first impression under Michigan Election Law).

Proctor v. Saginaw Cty. Bd. of Comm’rs, 340 Mich. App. 1 (Mich. Ct. App. 2022) (represented several Michigan counties in consolidated putative class actions, obtaining affirmance of dismissal and class certification denial in case involving issue of first impression under Michigan law).

Logan v. Wells Fargo Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 2023 WL 3772299 (Mich. Ct. App. 2023) (presented oral argument and served as principal author of briefing for Wells Fargo in case affirming dismissal of wrongful foreclosure claims).

Mays v. Universal Utilities, Inc., 2022 WL 1592374 (Mich. Ct. App. 2022) (presented oral argument and served as principal author of briefing in case in case affirming dismissal of trial court’s dismissal of Michigan Consumer Protection Act claims).

Griffie v Wayne County Election Comm’n, No. 361629, 2022 Mich. App. LEXIS 3236 (Mich. Ct. App. June 2, 2022) (principal author of briefing in case affirming dismissal of challenge seeking to exclude Congressional candidate from ballot; court adopted arguments that Michigan Campaign Finance Act requirements cannot apply to candidate for federal office without violating U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause).

Garcia v. Title Check, LLC, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 981 (6th Cir. Jan. 12, 2022) (principal author of briefing in case affirming dismissal of putative class action complaint challenging the legality of the State’s largest foreclosure administrator’s business model).

Bridal Expressions LLC v. Owners Ins. Co., 2021 WL 5575753 (6th Cir. Nov. 30, 2021) (principal author of briefing in case affirming dismissal of putative class action complaint seeking business interruption insurance coverage arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic).

Protecting Michigan Taxpayers v. Bd. of State Canvassers, 919 N.W.2d 677 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018) (obtaining mandamus relief requiring Board of State Canvassers to certify an initiative petition relating to repeal of Michigan’s 50-year-old prevailing wage law).

Trial Court Rulings in Class Actions and Multidistrict Litigation

Boyle v. Ford Motor Co., No. 22-11545, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73851 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 27, 2023) (obtained dismissal of putative class action alleging deceptive practices based on warranty denials involving Ford Cutaway vehicles).

Mason’s Auto. Collision Center, LLC v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., No. 2:21-cv-02153, 2022 WL 16700680 (W.D. Ark. Nov. 3, 2022) (principal author of briefing in case obtaining decertification of class action alleging insurer improperly valued coinsurance premiums on a uniform basis).

McGlade v. Hoffman Media, LLC, No. 2:22-cv-11698, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197586 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 31, 2022) (dismissal of putative class action complaint under Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act following motion to dismiss for lack of Article III standing).

MSP Recovery Claims, Series LLC v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 342 F.R.D 347 (S.D. Fla. 2022) (obtained order denying motion for class certification in case seeking damages under Medicare Secondary Payer Act).

Ferguson v. Oakland University, No. 20-000100-MK (Mich. Ct. Claims June 23, 2021) (obtained order striking class action allegations in case seeking tuition refunds arising from transition to remote learning during COVID-19 pandemic).

Grainger v. County of Ottawa, No. 1:19-cv-501, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38472 (W.D. Mich. Mar. 2, 2021) (obtained denial of class certification motion based on ruling that class claims were time-barred based on American Pipe tolling).

Family Tacos, LLC v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 520 F. Supp. 3d 909 (N.D. Ohio 2021) (principal author of briefing in case obtaining dismissal of nationwide class action claims arising out of coverage denials relating to COVID-19 pandemic).

Stanford Dental, PLLC v. Hanover Ins. Grp., 518 F. Supp. 3d 989 (E.D. Mich. 2021) (principal author of briefing in case obtaining dismissal of class action claims arising out of coverage denials relating to COVID-19 pandemic).

In re: COVID-19 Business Interruption Protection Insurance Litigation, MDL No. 2942, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 144446 (J.P.M.L. Aug. 12, 2020) (represented national insurance company and persuaded the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to deny motion to consolidate 263 complaints into a single MDL).

Savoie v. Nextdoor, Inc., Case No. 2020-181156-CZ (Oakland Cty. Cir. Ct. Oct. 30, 2020) (principal author of Nextdoor’s motion for summary disposition and response in opposition to plaintiff’s motion for class certification, obtaining dismissal of putative class claims based on defenses under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act).

Brown v. Asset Acceptance, LLC, No. 1:17cv-795, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 222197 (W.D. Mich. Sept. 28, 2020) (following discovery, obtained order denying motion for class certification in case alleging violation of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based on language allegedly appearing through glassine window of debt collection envelope).

Gutierrez v. First Nat’l Bank of Am., No. GJH-18-479, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 162620 (D. Md. Sept. 21, 2018). (represented large financial institution and obtained dismissal of putative class action complaint raising claims under the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act).

Cheslek v. Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., No. 1:16-cv-1183, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217500 (W.D. Mich. Dec. 22, 2017) (principal author of briefing in case obtaining dismissal of putative class action claims under Fair Debt Collection Practices Act).

Pro Bono

Darek Wayne Hayes v. Louisiana State Penitentiary, Case No. 260361 (Caddo Parish, Louisiana, 2021) (represented client sentenced to life in prison by a non-unanimous jury, and obtained the client’s release).  Press coverage available here and here.

Ledesma v. Ledesma, Case No. 16-02349-GCF (Ingham County Circuit Court, 2016) (represented domestic violence victim and obtained dismissal of malicious prosecution lawsuit filed by abuser).

Miscellaneous

Bolden v. First Premier Bank, No. 20-12809, 2022 WL 144440 (E.D. Mich. May 6, 2022) (presented oral argument of motion to dismiss and obtained dismissal of Fair Credit Reporting Act claims).

Fair and Equal Michigan v. Secretary of State, Case No. 20-000095-MM (Mich. Ct. Claims June 10, 2020) (primary draftsman of complaint and motion for preliminary injunction, persuading the Court of Claims to find that the State’s enforcement of statutory initiative petition signature requirements was unconstitutional as applied in light of the COVID-19 pandemic).