Casey Alan Coyle

Areas of Emphasis

Casey Alan Coyle is a shareholder and co-chair of the Firm’s Litigation Group, the Managing Shareholder of the Firm’s Harrisburg Office, and past co-chair of the Appellate Practice Group.  He concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation and appellate law.

Mr. Coyle regularly represents businesses in disputes before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas, and other state and federal trial courts in Pennsylvania. He focuses his commercial litigation practice on cases involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, civil conspiracy, emergency injunctions, non-competition/non-solicitation agreements, shareholder litigation, and theft of trade secrets. He also represents clients in matters brought before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court as part of its original jurisdiction.

Beyond his trial work, Mr. Coyle frequently represents businesses, trade associations, and other clients in state and federal appellate courts. Over his career, he has represented either a party or an amicus curiae in 15 appeals before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mr. Coyle has successfully petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to grant review of an appeal—commonly known as “allocatur”—on six different occasions. In addition, he has presented oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, and Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Representative Experience
  • Representing a real estate investor in Frydman, et al. v. Herrick, Feinstein, LLP, Index No. 652206/2023, which is pending before the New York Supreme Court and involves a legal malpractice claim against an international law firm. Case featured on the front page of the New York Law Journal.
  • Representing a Fortune 500 company in Barclay Lofts LLC, et al. v. PPG Industries, Inc., et al., No. 2:20-CV-01694, which is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and involves claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
  • Representing an oil and gas company in Repsol Oil & Gas USA, LLC v. PUC, 613 MD 2022, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court as part of its original jurisdiction and involves a pre-enforcement challenge to a $1.4 million impact fee under the Oil and Gas Act (Act 13).
  • Representing a former executive in Humphreys v. Wegner, et al., 1 SHP 2020, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court as part of its original jurisdiction and seeks over $500 million in damages from the defendants. Case is brought by the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner in his capacity as Statutory Rehabilitator of Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP).
  • Represented a publicly traded company in The Bert Company v. Turk, et al., 298 A.3d 44 (Pa. 2023), which involved, inter alia, the calculation of the constitutionally permissible ratio of compensatory-to-punitive damages in multidefendant cases. Successfully petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.
  • Represented an oil and gas company in Cardinal Midstream II, LLC v. Energy Transfer LP, 295 A.3d 284 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2023), which involved whether a root cause analysis report prepared in the wake of a pipeline explosion is protected work product.
  • Represented a school district in Central Dauphin School District v. Hawkins, et al., 286 A.3d 726 (Pa. 2022), which concerned media access to student records. Successfully petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal and presented oral argument to the Supreme Court.
  • Represented Chester County in In re Chester Water Authority, 46 MAP 2022-52 MAP 2022, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and involves a challenge to the city of Chester’s attempt to acquire the assets of the Chester Water Authority. Successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.
  • Represented an amicus curiae in Rice v. Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, 255 A.3d 237 (Pa. 2021), which involved an attempt to sue a diocese for alleged sexual abuse that occurred decades prior. As part of the appeal, provided substantial assistance to the appellants, including assisting them with successfully petitioning the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.
  • Represented a group of casinos in Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., et al. v. Department of Revenue, ___ A.3d ___, 2023 WL 8723602 (Pa. 2023), which involved the legality of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s iLottery program. Served as both trial and appellate counsel.
  • Represented a leading global industrial, commercial, and infrastructure services company in Brand Energy & Infrastructure Servs., et al. v. Irex Corporation, et al., No. 5:16-CV-02499 (E.D. Pa.). Regarded as one of the leading cases nationally on the retroactive application of the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). Case also involved the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
Background

Prior to joining Babst Calland, Mr. Coyle was a partner at a national law firm with offices throughout the eastern U.S. While there, he served as the Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Working Group. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Thomas G. Saylor, Chief Justice Emeritus of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, for nearly two and a half years.

Mr. Coyle graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2009, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Temple Journal of Science, Technology & Environmental Law. He earned his B.A. in Journalism, with distinction, from the Pennsylvania State University in 2006. During his time there, he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and spent a semester in Washington, D.C., interning for CNN’s Capital Gang.

Memberships and Affiliations

Mr. Coyle is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is also admitted before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third and Sixth Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, District of New Jersey, and Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Mr. Coyle is the immediate past President of the Middle District of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (FBA). He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Chapter’s CLE Committee, as well as its National Delegate to the FBA. In addition, Mr. Coyle is a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee and past member of the Third Circuit Lawyers Advisory Committee. He previously served as the Vice President of the Capital Area Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association, Vice President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association, and as the Sponsorship Chair for the Liberty Ball, an annual event held in Philadelphia to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund.

In 2024, Mr. Coyle was selected by The Legal Intelligencer as one of only 13 “2024 Lawyer on the Fast Track, Small/Midsize Winners” statewide in Pennsylvania. This recognition is only given to attorneys under the age of 40 who have demonstrated excellence in four categories: development of the law; advocacy and community contributions; service to the bar; and peer and public recognition. In 2023, he was invited to become a Fellow of Foundation of the Federal Bar Association, an honor bestowed upon less than 300 lawyers nationwide that demonstrate commitment to and leadership with the FBA and the legal community. Mr. Coyle was selected to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list (Thomson Reuters) for Business Litigation for 2015-2020, 2022, and 2023.

Publications/Presentations
  • Co-Author, “Forum Non Conveniens – Pennsylvania’s Jurisdiction Jigsaw Puzzle,” The Legal Intelligencer, January 27, 2024.
  • Co-Author, “To Infinity and Beyond? Pennsylvania Supreme Court Casts Doubt Upon Presumptive Constitutional Limit for Punitive Damages,” The Legal Intelligencer, November 3, 2023.
  • Panelist, “Transformation of Pennsylvania Civil law 2016-2013,” Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, September 11, 2023.
  • Co-Author, “It’s Groundhog Day for Pennsylvania’s Fair Share Act,” The Legal Intelligencer, May 25, 2023.
  • Panelist, “Top Ten Pennsylvania Appellate Cases,” Allegheny County Bar Association, April 27, 2023.
  • Co-Author, “Questions Abound Following Right-to-Know Law Decision Involving Student Records,” The Legal Intelligencer, April 20, 2023.
  • Panelist, “Roundup of Recent and Pending Appellate Decisions in Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, April 18, 2023.
  • Co-Presenter, “Characteristics of a Successful Program/Programming Best Practices,” Federal Bar Association Leadership Summit, Washington, DC, March 24, 2023.
  • Panelist, “Appealing Entertainment: Pennsylvania and West Virginia Appellate Courts Round-Up,” Babst Calland Seminar, February 28, 2023.
  • Panelist, “The New Public Access Regime for Education Records (and Why Life as a School Solicitor Got a Whole Lot Harder),” Allegheny County Bar Association, School and Municipal Law Section, February 16, 2023.
  • Co-Author, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno (But We Should): Why Uncertainty Still Persists Regarding the ‘Gist of the Action’ Doctrine in Pennsylvania,” The Legal Intelligencer, February 2, 2023.
  • Panelist, “Appellate Update,” Washington County Winter Bench Bar Conference, January 20, 2023.
  • Panelist, “Appellate Practice in Pennsylvania,” OGC University 2022, October 20, 2022.
  • Panelist, “E-Discovery: Navigating Obligations and Disputes in the Middle District of Pennsylvania,” Middle District of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, March 24, 2022.
  • Co-Presenter, “Appealing Entertainment: Pennsylvania Appellate Courts Round-Up 2021,” Virtual CLE, December 7, 2021.
  • Author, “Checklist: Metadata Fields to Consider,” Bloomberg Law, June 18, 2021.
  • Author, “Guide to Understanding, Using, & Analyzing Metadata in Litigation,” Bloomberg Law, June 4, 2021.
  • Co-Author, “Time-Barred Claims of Sex Abuse in Pa.—Litigation and Legislative Developments,” The Legal Intelligencer, March 12, 2021.
  • Co-Author, “Consumer Protection Law Ruling Could Spell Big Trouble for Pennsylvania Businesses,” The Legal Intelligencer, March 4, 2021.
  • Panelist, “Proportionality: One Year Later, A Review of the Practical Implications of the Amendments to the Discovery Rules,” Middle District of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, November 2016.
  • Co-Author, “Federal DTSA: New Weapon in the Battle to Protect Trade Secrets,” The Legal Intelligencer, May 27, 2016.
  • Co-Author, “Court Limits Ability to Allege FCA Violations Over Post-Employment Conduct,” The Legal Intelligencer, June 29, 2015.
  • Author, “Pa. High Court Tort Ruling Is Relief To Local Gov’t,” Law360.com, November 24, 2014.
  • Co-Author, “Products Liability Practitioners Anxiously Await Tincher Ruling,” The Legal Intelligencer, November 3, 2014.
  • Co-Author, “CWA Ruling Could Be National Victory For Municipalities,” The Legal Intelligencer, September 30, 2013.
  • Co-Presenter, “What You Will Not Learn from the Rules of Appellate Procedure,” Lancaster County and York County Bar Associations, March and April 2013.
  • Co-Author, Stopping an Invisible Epidemic: Legal Issues in the Provision of Naloxone to Prevent Opioid Overdose, 1 Drexel L. Rev. 273, (Spring/Summer 2009).
  • Author, Gonzales v. Carhart: Justice Kennedy at the Intersection of Life Interests, Medical Practice and Government Regulations, 27 Temp. J. Sci. Tech. & Envtl. L. 291, (Fall 2008).