Casey Alan Coyle

Areas of Emphasis

Casey Alan Coyle is a shareholder in the Firm’s Litigation Group who concentrates his practice on appellate law and complex commercial litigation.  Based in Harrisburg, Pa., he frequently represents clients in state and federal appellate courts, with a particular emphasis on appeals before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  Over his career, he has represented either a party or an amicus curiae in 15 appeals before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Mr. Coyle has also 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.

Mr. Coyle also regularly represents businesses in disputes pending before state and federal trial courts.  His practice has focused on cases involving theft of trade secrets, non-competition/non-solicitation agreements, shareholder litigation, emergency injunctions, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duties.  In addition, he has represented clients in matters brought before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court as part of its original jurisdiction.

Representative Experience
  • Represented a publicly traded company in The Bert Company v. Turk, et al., 13 MAP 2022 & 14 MAP 2022, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and involves, inter alia, the calculation of the constitutionally permissible ratio of compensatory-to-punitive damages in multi-defendant cases. As part of that appeal, successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.
  • Represented a group of casinos in Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., et al. v. Department of Revenue, 76 MAP 2021, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and involves the legality of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s iLottery program.
  • 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 brought by the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner in its capacity as Statutory Rehabilitator of Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP).
  • Represented a company with nearly $5 billion in revenue, approximately 32,000 employees worldwide, and over 350 locations in 30 countries 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).
  • Represented a school district in Central Dauphin School District v. Hawkins, et al., 88 MAP 2021, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and concerns media access to student records. As part of that appeal, successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.  Also 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 concerns a challenge to the city of Chester’s attempt to acquire the assets of the Chester Water Authority. As part of that appeal, successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.
  • Representing amici curiae in Sullivan v. Werner Co., No. 18 EAP 2022, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and involves the categorical prohibition on the admission of government or industry standards in strict liability defect cases post-Tincher.
  • Represented the alleged putative debtor in In re Deluxe Building Solutions, LLC, No. 5:21-BK-00534, which is pending before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and concerns whether the petitioning creditors initiated the involuntary bankruptcy proceeding in bad faith, among other issues.
  • Represented an amicus curiae in Rice v. Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, et al., 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 petitioning the Supreme Court to grant review of the appeal.
  • Representing an amicus curiae in Freilich v. SEPTA, No. 327 CD 2022, which is pending before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and concerns a constitutional challenge to the statutory damages cap in tort actions brought against the Commonwealth.
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 half years.

Mr. Coyle graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2009, where he served as the 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 Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Mr. Coyle is the President of the Middle District of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.  He also serves as the Co-Chair of the Chapter’s CLE Committee.  In addition, he 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.

Mr. Coyle has been selected to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list (Thomson Reuters) for Business Litigation since 2015.

Publications/Presentations
  • 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.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).