Thomas J. Minton is a 1978 graduate of Colgate University and a 1982 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. Upon graduation from law school, after serving an internship with the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, Mr. Minton worked at the Georgetown Institute of Criminal Law and Procedure. In 1984, Mr. Minton entered private practice in Baltimore with Quinn, Ward & Kershaw, P.C., where he began his concentration on complex civil litigation, including class actions. Mr. Minton formed his present firm of Goldman & Minton, P.C. with his partner, Kathryn Goldman, in June 2003. Goldman & Minton, P.C. is an AV-rated ® firm that devotes much of its practice to the representation of consumers and investors in complex civil litigation.
Recent Cases
July 27, 2020: In a putative class action filed on behalf of Maryland auto insurance policyholders, Mr. Minton is lead counsel on a question certified by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to the Maryland Court of Appeals. In that case, State Farm v. Queen, the Court of Appeals has ruled that State Farm had improperly denied reimbursement of certain categories of property damage to thousands of Maryland policyholders whose claims arose under their statutorily mandated Uninsured Motorist coverage. (The case is reported at 469 Md. 674). The case is now proceeding in the U.S. District Court on remand. (Queen v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No. 1:18-cv-02625).
November 23, 2020: Mr. Minton recently represented a group of condominium owners who were sued by a developer claiming that the defendants’ public opposition to his latest development plans was both a breach of agreements incorporated into their deeds, and a tortious interference with his business. The suit sought millions of dollars in alleged damages, and included a claim for $25 million in punitive damages. Mr. Minton argued successfully that the suit was an illegal SLAPP suit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) under Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. Code § 5-807. Judge John Nugent of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City agreed and dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice. (VS Clipper Mill , LLC v. Council of Unit Owners of the Millrace Condominium, et al., No. 24-C-20-002837). The decision is believed to be the first by a Maryland state court judge addressing the anti-SLAPP provision of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code.
Class and Derivative Suits
Mr. Minton has served as class counsel and counsel for shareholders in dozens of cases in both state and federal courts in Maryland and the District of Columbia, including the following:
In re Farmland Partners, Inc. Stockholder Litig., Circuit Court for Baltimore City, No. 24-C-19-006178 (Shareholder derivative action). Mr. Minton serves as liaison counsel. The matter is ongoing.
In re 2U, Inc. Securities Class Action, U.S. Dist. Ct. for the District of Maryland, No. 8:19-cv-03455 (Securities fraud). Mr. Minton serves as liaison counsel. The matter is ongoing.
Karp. v. First Connecticut Bancorp, Inc., U.S. Dist. Ct. for the District of Maryland, No. 1:18-cv-02486 (Securities fraud). Mr. Minton serves as liaison counsel. The matter is ongoing.
In re India Globalization Capital, Inc. Derivative Litig., U.S. Dist. Ct. for the District of Maryland No. 1:18-cv-03698 (Shareholder derivative action). Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel. Settlement approved July 6, 2020.
Salley v. Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., U.S. Dist. Ct. for the District of Maryland, No. 1:17-cv-03777 (Shareholder derivative action). Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel. Settlement approved February 1, 2019.
Patton v. Wells Fargo Fin. Md., Inc., Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County no. C-10-149844 (Md. Comm. Code and Consumer Protection); class certified June 15, 2015; Settlement in the amount of $4.827 million approved July 21, 2017. Mr. Minton was lead counsel. Class certification was granted after a successful appeal reversing the trial court’s dismissal of the case. This seminal victory for Maryland consumers under Title 12, Subtitle 10 of the Maryland Commercial Code is published at 437 Md. 83 (2014).
Bennett v. Dunne Wright Svcs., LLC, et al., Circuit Court for Baltimore City, no. 24-C-15-002182 (Tenant rights, Consumer Protection Act); class certified October, 2015. Settlement, including permanent injunctive relief, approved December 29, 2016. Mr. Minton served as co-lead counsel for the class, together with attorneys from the Public Justice Center.
In re Javelin Mortgage Investment Corp. Shareholders Litig., Circuit Court for Baltimore City, no. 24-C-16-001542. (Shareholder derivative action). Case remains pending. Mr. Minton has been appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel for shareholders by Order dated April 25, 2016.
In re MPG Office Trust, Inc. Preferred Shareholder Litig., Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Lead case no. 24-C-13-004097. Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel for shareholders. Settlement with aggregate cash value to shareholders in excess of $21 million was approved by order dated October 27, 2015.
Dowridge, et al. v. Sage Management, LLC, Circuit Court for Baltimore City, no. 24-C-14-001223 (Tenant rights, Consumer Protection Act); Settlement, including permanent injunctive relief, approved September 10, 2015. Mr. Minton served as lead counsel for the class.
In re American Capital, Ltd. Derivative Litig., U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Lead Case no. 8:11-cv-2424 PJM (Shareholder derivative action). Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel. Settlement approved, August 20, 2013.
Olokun v. Jerry’s Chevrolet, Inc., Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Case no.: 03-C-11-001320 (Consumer Protection Act; Fraud); Settlement approved, February 20, 2013. Mr. Minton served as lead counsel for the class.
Buschell-Monk v. O’Malley, Miles, Nylen & Gilmore, P.A., U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, no. 1:10-cv-302 RDB (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act); Settlement approved, January 25, 2013. Mr. Minton served as lead counsel for the class.
In re Crystal River Capital, Inc. Shareholders Litig., Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Case no.: 24-C-10-001672 (Shareholder derivative action). Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel. Settlement approved, November 20, 2012.
Bailey v. Miller Brothers Chevrolet Oldsmobile Cadillac, Inc., Circuit Court for Howard Co., Case no.: 13-C-10-081759CN (Consumer Protection Act; Fraud); Settlement approved, March 19, 2012. Mr. Minton served as lead counsel for the class.
Goodie v. WFF, P.A., U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, no. MJG-10-870, (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act); Settlement approved, February 10, 2012. Mr. Minton served as lead counsel for the class.
In re American Community Properties Trust Shareholders Litig., Circuit Court for Charles Co., Case no. C-09-2947 (Securities fraud). Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel. Settlement approved, Oct. 19, 2010
Dale Wells v. Allstate Ins. Co., U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, no. 1:00 CV007660 LFO (2002) (Consumer Protection Act); Settlement approved, 557 F.Supp.2d 1 (D. D.C. 2008). Mr. Minton served as co-lead counsel for the class.
Eunice Wells v. Chevy Chase Bank, FSB, Circuit Court for Baltimore City, no. 24-C-99-000202 (Consumer Protection Act); Nationwide settlement for $16.1 million approved in April, 2007. Mr. Minton served as co-lead counsel for the class.
Adams Family Trust v. Capital Automotive REIT, Circuit Court for Baltimore City no.: 24-C-05-08722 (Shareholder derivative action). Mr. Minton served as liaison counsel. Settlement approved, June 27, 2006.
Alexander v. Two Winthrop Properties, Inc., Superior Court for the District of Columbia, no. 00-005602 (2001) (Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty in real estate investment transaction). Mr. Minton served as co-lead counsel for a nationwide class of investors. Settlement in the amount of $6.9 million approved in September 2004.
Peoples v. Wendover Funding, Inc., 179 F.R.D. 492 (D. Md. 1998) (Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act).
Other activities
Mr. Minton served for two years (1992-1994) as chair of the Maryland State Bar Association’s Judicial Administration Section (now the Bench-Bar Section).
Mr. Minton served three years on the governing Council of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA. From 1997 until 1999, Mr. Minton chaired the Section’s Task Force on Class Action Litigation.
From 2001-2003 Mr. Minton was a member of the ABA’s Presidential Task Force on Class Action Litigation, representing consumer, insurance policyholder, and public shareholder interests in helping to formulate ABA policy on federal class action procedural reform.
In 1995, the Public Justice Foundation honored Mr. Minton with the national Public Justice Achievement Award for his work as co-lead counsel on behalf of a class of consumers in a RICO class action filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Mr. Minton is rated AV ® by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Maryland Super Lawyer in 2011 – 2020.
Mr. Minton is admitted to practice before state and federal courts in Maryland and the District of Columbia, the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.