Frank specializes in defending consumer and environmental class-action litigation in federal and state courts. He also regularly advises retailers and online marketplaces regarding risk mitigation related to consumer and e-commerce issues.
Frank regularly leads defense of both threatened and filed consumer fraud claims for retailers and other companies from start to finish. This includes both class action and individual matters. These matters address a wide range of issues, including pricing, advertising, product claims, consumer agreements, among others.
Frank also has deep experience in defending class and individual environmental litigation. He regularly defends companies facing claims of nuisance stemming from alleged emissions of odors and particulates from facilities. He has also defended civil enforcement and public interest litigation related to alleged violations of numerous environmental statutes.
Frank also consistently leads major defense efforts. He leads briefing on important motions including motions to dismiss, oppositions to class certification, motions for summary judgment, as well as other non-dispositive motions. Frank also has a breadth of experience arguing these issues, from high-stakes class certification motions down to discovery motions.
Frank enjoys devoting time to his pro-bono practice. He has represented clients and obtained successful judgments in a range of actions, including contract claims, child support claims, protective orders, and landlord-tenant disputes. He has also litigated multiple § 1983 actions.
Before joining McGuireWoods, Frank spent three years clerking in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He first served for two years as a law clerk to United States District Judge David J. Novak during Judge Novak’s tenure as a Magistrate Judge where Frank gained experience related to judicially-mandated settlement conferences. He then served as a law clerk to District Judge Henry E. Hudson where he focused on motions practice and trial work. Before attending law school, Frank served on the staffs of former United States Senator John W. Warner and former United States Congressman Eric Cantor.
Experience
Consumer and Product Litigation
- Defense of world’s largest secondary ticket marketplace in a proposed class action in which plaintiffs alleged failure to provide refunds for events that were canceled in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Led defense of litigation that resolved after defeat of class certification.
- Defeated class certification on behalf of a manufacturer of premium water treatment equipment in a case in which plaintiffs alleged the defendants deceptively sold them water treatment systems after creating the false impression that their home water supply was unsafe to drink.
- Defense of private equity firm in numerous litigations related to investment in solar panel retailer for allegations of fraud related to consumer purchases. Led defense that obtained dismissal of over twenty individual actions. Defending class action alleging Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations.
- Defense of numerous online retailers in threatened and filed class actions related to strike-through pricing.
- Defense of a Fortune 150 retailer in multidistrict litigation involving over 20 nationwide and state class actions related to allegedly deceptive labeling on motor oil.
- Defense of a multinational company that produces and markets cement and ready mix concrete in a class action related to allegedly defective concrete.
Environmental Litigation
- Defense of an American multinational automaker in a public and private nuisance class action lawsuit in Missouri which seeks damages related to odors from the painting facility adjacent to the main assembly plant. Defeated class certification.
- Defense of Fortune 200 manufacturer in a public and private nuisance class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia seeking damages and injunctive relief related to alleged dust from a paper mill. Obtained summary judgment on monetary damages.
- Defense of petroleum company in private nuisance, trespass, and negligence class action related to allegations of odors and particulates.
- Defense of a waste services company in public and private nuisance class action lawsuits in Ohio, New York, California, and Pennsylvania which sought damages related to landfill odors.
- Defense of landowner in civil enforcement action by Department of Justice alleging violation of federal Clean Water Act related to wetland disturbance. Briefed and argued successful motion to dismiss claims.
- Defense of Class I railroad under numerous federal environmental statutes. Led briefing that defeated request for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction seeking to halt rebuild of lines in wake of natural disaster.
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University of Richmond School of LawJD
cum laude, Editor-in-Chief, University of Richmond Law Review
2013 - University of VirginiaBAGovernment, minor in History2008
Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2021-2025; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2024, 2025
Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” Transport: Rail and Road – Litigation and Regulation, 2022
- Author, Environmental Vanguard: May 2025 Edition, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 2, 2025
- Author, State Court Rejection of Federal Preemption in Product Liability Claim Highlights Uncertainty for Manufacturers, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 10, 2025
- Author, The Price Isn’t Right?, One-Stop Shop, April 21, 2023
- Author, Titanium Dioxide: The Next Big Chemical Compound Driving Class Action Litigation?, Class Action Countermeasures, September 12, 2022
- Author, 6th Circuit Holds Class Certification Evidence Does Not Have to Be Admissible, Class Action Countermeasures, March 31, 2021
- Author, 7th Circuit Rejects “Reasonable Indication” Approach for Class Opt-Outs, Class Action Countermeasures, March 18, 2021
- Author, High Court Opens Door for Nominal Damages to Satisfy Article III Standing, Class Action Countermeasures, March 15, 2021
- Author, Firearms Manufacturers Shoot Down Class Action With Article III Defense, Class Action Countermeasures, February 10, 2021
- Contributing Author, “Chapter 15: Punitive Damages", Infectious Disease Litigation: Science, Law & Procedure, February 2021
- Author, 11th Circuit Deepens Circuit Split on Administrative Feasibility, Class Action Countermeasures, February 5, 2021
- Author, To Win Punitive Damages for Pervasive Conduct in California, Plaintiff Must Specify Wrongdoer, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 3, 2021
- Author, "A Mixed Ruling On Coupon Redemption Rates And Atty Fees," Law360, September 3, 2020
- Author, Trio of Decisions Temper Rash of Pesticide Food-Labeling Lawsuits, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, August 7, 2019
- Author, Food-Labeling Litigation: Trends to Watch in 2019, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 3, 2019
- Author, Agriculture Department Proposes Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 31, 2018
- Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- Speaker, Food and Consumer Product Litigation and Regulatory Update: Halloween Edition, October 30, 2024
- Speaker, "The Changing Reasonable Consumer Standard," Consumer Product and Retail Brown-Bag Lunch Series, May 2, 2024
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling and Sales Practices Litigation and Regulatory Update: March Radness Edition, March 21, 2024
- Speaker, "Dark Pattern Litigation and Enforcement," Consumer Product and Retail Brown-Bag Lunch Series, February 15, 2024
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling and Sales Practices Litigation and Regulatory Update: Halloween Edition, October 31, 2023
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling and Sales Practices Litigation and Regulatory Update: March Radness Edition, March 23, 2023
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling Litigation and Regulatory Update, October 20, 2022
- Speaker, Emerging Trends in Sales Practices Litigation, May 25, 2022
- Speaker, Food and Product Labeling Litigation and Regulatory Update, December 2, 2021
- Hon. David Novak (Magistrate Judge), U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2013-2015
- Hon. Henry E. Hudson, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2015-2016