Gary F. Lynch
Attorney Profile
Top Rated Class Action & Mass Torts Attorney in Pittsburgh, PA
- Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff (50%),
- Employment & Labor: Employee (30%),
- Consumer Law (20%)
As one of the two founding partners of Carlson Lynch Ltd., Gary F. Lynch protects the rights of clients in Western Pennsylvania, the entire state of Pennsylvania and clients in other parts of the U.S. He focuses his practice on national plaintiff's class action litigation relating to consumer protection and employee wage rights.
Mr. Lynch's consumer protection cases have involved the following issues: the Americans with Disabilities Act, Marcellus Shale, predatory lending, unwanted faxes and text messages, unfair credit reporting and unfair debt collection. His employee wage cases cover fluctuating overtime rates, tip pooling violations, overtime violations, minimum wage violations, work that is not on the clock, time clock issues, improper deductions, employee misclassification as exempt, independent contractors and payroll violations.
In 1986, Mr. Lynch received a Bachelor of Science in accounting from The Pennsylvania State University. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, serving on the school's law review as an editor. Mr. Lynch received a Juris Doctor in 1989.
For over 20 years, Mr. Lynch has protected the rights of consumers and employees in over 100 class action lawsuits nationwide. He is the author of several publications relating to employment law and has delivered lectures on wage issues.
Community involvement is important to Mr. Lynch. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the American Association for Justice. In addition to his legal activities, Mr. Lynch serves on boards for the Lawrence County Historical Society, The Highland House, Inc., which is a halfway house for women recovering from addition, and the Human Services Center, which provides outpatient behavioral health care to the community. In his free time, he enjoys working on his 30-acre farm.
- 50%Class Action/Mass Torts
- 30%Employment & Labor
- 20%Consumer Law
Class Actions, Employment Law - Employee, Wage & Hour Laws, Consumer Protection, Identity Theft
Selections
Super Lawyers: 2014 - 2020
To: Gary F. Lynch
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Additional Sources of Information About Gary F. Lynch
About Gary Lynch
Admitted: 1989, Pennsylvania
Professional Webpage: http://www.carlsonlynch.com/profiles/GaryLynch
Honors/Awards:
- Editor, University of Pittsburgh Law Review, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1988 - 1989
Bar/Professional Activity:
- New York Bar Association, 2018
- U.S. District Court, Western District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
- American Association of Justice
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section
- U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
- U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Association of Justice
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- Allegheny County Bar Association
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Director of the Highland House in New Castle, Pennsylvania, a non-profit organization providing temporary housing and treatment for women suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.
- Board Member, Director, Lawrence County Historical Society
- Past President of the Lawrence County Learning Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster post-secondary educational opportunities for the residents of Lawrence County.
- Director, Board Member, Past President, Human Services Center in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, a Non-Profit Outpatient behavorial Health Organization.
- Board Member, Highland House, Inc.
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Faculty Member - American Conference Insitute's Wage & Hour Conference, Miami, Florida (2012 and 2013).
- Faculty Member, ACI's Wage & Hour Conference, Miami, Florida, 2012
- Faculty Member, Contributing Author, PBI's Wage & Hour Symposium, 2011
- Faculty Member, PBI's Employment Law Institute West, 2010
- Faculty Member, PBI's Basics of Employment Law, 2010
- Faculty Member, Contributing Author, Getting Paid in Pennsylvania: Basics of Wage and Hour Law, 2010
- Faculty Member, PBI's Employment Law Institute West, 2008
- Faculty Member, PBI's Basics of Wage & Hour Law, 2008
- Third Circuit Clarifies Summary Judgment Standard in Employment Discrimination Cases, Pittsburgh Legal Journal, Summer, 1995
- Panelist, State Bar of California Webinar, The Watch List: Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 2013
- Faculty Member, Lecturer, Independent Contractor v. Employee status, Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Employment Law Institute West, 2012
- Faculty Member, Contributing Author, PBI's Basics of Wage & Hour Law, 2012
- Faculty Member, Lecturer, Overview of Wage & Hour Law, PBI's Law Practice Management and Development Institute, 2008
- Faculty Member, Contributing Author, PBI's Wage & Hour Symposium, 2012
Verdicts/Settlements:
- Ellis v. Edward Jones (U.S.D.C.,N.D.OH.). Gary Lynch was chair of the Plaintiffs’ Leadership Committee in this wage and hour class action alleging that defendant stock brokerage company violated federal and state minimum wage laws. The Court granted final approval of the settlement, valued at $19 million.
- Haag v. Janney Montgomery Scott (U.S.D.C., E.D. Pa.) Gary Lynch was a member of the three firm Executive Committee in this wage and hour class action alleging that defendant stock brokerage company violated federal and state overtime laws. After protracted litigation and two separate mediations, the parties reached a multi-state settlement. The Court granted final approval of the settlement, valued at $2.88 million.
- White v. United Steel Workers of America, (U.S.D.C., W.D. Pa.). Gary Lynch was co-lead counsel in this age-discrimination class action against the U.S.W.A. which related to employee eligibility for inter-company transfers in the event of a plant-closing. After overcoming a motion to dismiss on a legal issue regarding which there was a substantial split of authority, the defendant requested mediation to explore the possibility of settlement. After extensive mediation, the case ultimately settled on a class basis for an amount characterized by defense counsel as being the highest ever paid by the USWA in civil litigation.
Representative Clients:
- ADA
- Unfair Credit Reporting
- Creely v. HCR Manorcare, 789 F.Supp.2d 819 (N.D. Ohio 2011)(certifying nationwide class of approximately 55,000 employees).
- Fluctuating Overtime Rates
- Ehrheart v. Lifetime Brands, Inc, 498 F.Supp. 2d 753 (E.D. Pa. 2007).
- Minimum Wage Violations
- Ruehl v. Viacom, Inc, 500 F.3d 375 (3d Cir. 2007)(discussing "collective" actions under Section 216(b) of the FLSA).
- Overtime Violations
- Symczyk v Genesis, 656 F.3d 189 (3d Cir. 2011)(Enunciating standard for conditional certification pursuant to Section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act).
- Tip Pooling Violations
- Predatory Lending
- Unwanted Faxes and Text Messages
- Colella v. University of Pittsburgh, 569 F.Supp. 2d 525 (W.D. Pa. 2008).
- Independent Contractors
- Mueller v. CBS, Inc., 201 F.R.D. 425 (W.D. Pa. 2001)
- Off the Clock Work
- Kahrer v. Ameriquest Mortgage Co., 418 F.Supp. 2d 748 (W.D. Pa. 2006)(Groundbreaking opinion recognizing that damage provision of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act requires trebling of entire amount of settlement service charge).
- Time Clock Issues
- Marcellus Shale
- Unfair Debt Collection
- DeMarco v. Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, 2011 WL 3510905 (N.D. Ill. 2011)(Certifying class of direct patient care employees alleging FLSA overtime violation).
- Improper Deductions
- Blakely v. USAiways, Inc., 23 F.Supp. 2d 560 (W.D. Pa. 1998)
- Misclassification as Exempt
- Ehrheart v. Verizon Wireless, 609 F.3d 590 (3d Cir. 2010)(Defining role of district court in evaluating class action settlement in light of intervening change in law).
- Payroll Violations
Educational Background:
- Penn State University, B.S., in Accounting, Minor: English and Business Logistics, 1986
Gary F. Lynch:
Last Updated: 2/18/2020