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Ashley Simonsen is a litigator whose practice focuses on defending complex class actions in state and federal court.
Ms. Simonsen has successfully represented clients in the financial services, consumer brands, technology, and sports industries through all stages of litigation, including trial, with a strong track record of success on early dispositive motions. She has become one of the nation’s leading experts on “true lender” issues and the related “valid when made” doctrine, having won a complete defense victory for a bank in what is believed to be the first time a bank has ever defeated “true lender” claims following an evidentiary hearing. In 2020, Ms. Simonsen was named one of Law360’s “Top Attorneys Under 40” in Banking, and a Leader of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Before practicing law, Ms. Simonsen was an associate at Lehman Brothers in New York where she advised banks on balance sheet management and interest rate hedging strategies.
- Representation of state-chartered, FDIC-insured bank in defense of putative “true lender” class actions in California and other federal courts and in arbitration. Won complete defense victory for bank following five-day arbitration hearing. Won motion to compel arbitration in California.
- Representation of Facebook in defense of putative class actions brought by former content moderators in California state court and Florida federal court, including under the UCL.
- Representation of loan servicer Navient in defense of putative “true lender” class actions in California federal court challenging interest rates and late fee charges, including under the California Unfair Competition Law (UCL). Won motions to dismiss two cases on federal preemption and statute of limitations grounds, and defeated certification of interest rate classes in another.
- Representation of professional sports franchise defending putative class actions challenging ticketing policies in state and federal courts in California, including under the UCL and federal antitrust laws. Secured dismissal of both cases at the pleading stage.
- Representation of snack food manufacturer in defense of putative class actions in California and New York federal court challenging alleged nonfunctional slack-fill in snack boxes, including under the UCL, CLRA, and California False Advertising Law (FAL). Won motion to dismiss New York case and defeated class certification in California case.
- Represent technology and social gaming companies in consumer class actions alleging unfair competition claims.
- Representation of Navient in defense of putative nationwide class action in New York federal court challenging representations to borrowers about Public Service Loan Forgiveness, including under the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA). Won motion to dismiss 13 of 14 claims.
- Representation of dietary supplement company in defense of putative class actions in California state and federal courts challenging marketing and advertising of glucosamine supplements and other products under UCL, FAL, and CLRA.
- Representation of national banks in numerous consumer class actions in California federal court.
- Representation of Colorado Bankers Association, the Utah Bankers Association, and the National Association of Industrial Bankers as amici curiae in “true lender” lawsuits pending against two marketplace lenders in Colorado state court.
- Regularly advise banks and Fintech and other financial services companies on "true lender" issues arising in bank partnership models, including marketplace lending arrangements.
- Representation of Los Angeles Dodgers in defense of breach-of-contract and antitrust claims asserted by four ticket brokers in California state court, including under the UCL and Cartwright Act.
- Representation of genomics company in defense of federal lawsuit alleging business torts and attempted monopolization.
- Representation of a Korean life sciences company and a Korean manufacturer of household products in defense of product liability action. Won two motions to quash for lack of personal jurisdiction.
- Representation of Uber Technologies, Inc. in negotiation of consent order with Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- Representation of individual in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action alleging securities fraud.
- Conducted internal investigation for corporate client.
- Representation of sports and entertainment company seeking third-party liability insurance coverage for a high-profile six-month trial. Settled on favorable grounds.
- Representation of clients in qui tam actions alleging violations of current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs), off-label promotion of prescription drugs and medical devices, and non-compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Pro Bono
- Representation of federal prisoner asserting claims for excessive force and deliberate indifference under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 before the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Argued appeal.
- Representation of individual in criminal case in Marin County Superior Court. Won motion to suppress evidence following cross-examination of arresting officer, resulting in dismissal of case by District Attorney.
- Representation of two California state prisoners sentenced under California’s Three Strikes law in state habeas and resentencing proceedings. Argued resentencing motions, conducted direct examination of expert, and secured vacatur of both sentences.
- Representation of Family Violence Appellate Project as amicus curiae in domestic violence victim’s appeal from decision denying renewal of restraining order before California Court of Appeal.
- Representation of a California state prisoner in petitioning for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court based on alleged violations of Due Process in state jury instructions.
Previous Experience
- Lehman Brothers, Analyst and Associate, New York, NY (2004-2007)
- Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Research Assistant, Boston, MA (2003)
August 11, 2020, Covington Alert
On August 4, 2020, OEHHA, the California agency in charge of Prop 65 announced a proposed regulation that, when final, would exempt from Prop 65 products containing listed chemicals introduced through cooking or heat-processing. Acrylamide has been the most widely targeted chemical created through cooking, but the proposal would also provide a mechanism for ...
July 21, 2020, Covington Alert
On July 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a proposed rule intended to establish a bright-line test to identify the “true lender” in lending partnerships between national banks and federal savings associations, and third parties. Uncertainty in this area has caused confusion because the identity of the lender determines which ...
Two Covington Partners Named to Los Angeles Business Journal's Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers
July 13, 2020
LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles Business Journal has named Mitch Kamin and Ashley Simonsen to its Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers, a list of the “best litigators” in Los Angeles. Mr. Kamin, co-chair of the firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group, represents global media, entertainment, and other large companies in complex disputes. He focuses on ...
Rising Star: Covington's Ashley Simonsen
July 10, 2020, Law360
Ashley Simonsen has been named a Law360 Rising Star in Banking.
July 7, 2020, Covington Alert
There were several notable developments in the second quarter of 2020 affecting class actions. The Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation will hold a hearing at the end of July on several requests to consolidate lawsuits related to the COVID-19 pandemic on an industry-wide basis. Courts issued important decisions addressing Article III standing and the ...
July 6, 2020
WASHINGTON— Law360 has named Covington partners Sean Akins, Dustin Cho, Adrian Perry, Jennifer Saperstein, Kayleigh Scalzo, Ashley Simonsen, and William Woolston among its “Rising Stars.” Covington’s seven “Rising Stars” were the most of any firm this year. This annual recognition honors top lawyers under 40 “whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.” ...
June 5, 2020, Covington Alert
On May 20, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit in Doss v. General Mills, Inc. held that a consumer who bought a box of Cheerios containing allegedly "ultra-low levels of glyphosate" lacked Article III standing to sue General Mills. "Fear of Glyphosate" class actions against food manufacturers of this type have become increasingly common. While Doss is unpublished, it is ...
May 21, 2020, Covington Alert
Slack-fill class actions have been proliferating. The vagaries of the definition of “nonfunctional slack fill” have made food, candy, and cosmetics manufacturers easy prey. But after the Second Circuit’s May 11 decision in Critcher v. L’Oréal USA Inc., slack-fill claims against cosmetics manufacturers will be harder to bring. Courts are now more likely to find ...
May 14, 2020, Covington Alert
On May 7, 2020, the First Circuit handed down Lee v. Conagra Brands, Inc., which reinstates a previously-dismissed complaint alleging that Wesson Oil labeled “100% Natural” is plausibly misbranded because it contains corn oil made with GMOs. Until now, GMO class actions have had a mixed reception in the district courts. Lee is the first circuit court decision to ...
May 1, 2020, Covington Alert
There were several notable developments in the first quarter of 2020 affecting class actions. Courts issued important decisions addressing whether defendants could raise Article III standing or personal jurisdiction defenses to defeat the claims of putative class members. A federal court in California called one company’s efforts to avoid its arbitration ...
April 8, 2020, Covington Alert
As the world moves online during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies’ privacy and security practices are coming under increased scrutiny. Because class actions often follow such scrutiny, as demonstrated by lawsuits recently filed against Google and Zoom, companies should keep the following six developments on their radar as they rush to meet the demands of our new ...
March 30, 2020, Covington Alert
Since the last financial crisis, the commercial real estate industry has accumulated vast amounts of debt. By one account, there is currently more than $3.6 trillion in mortgage debt secured by commercial and multi-family residential properties. Much of this debt is held by real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), in the form of commercial mortgage-backed ...
March 26, 2020, Covington Alert
When consumers use their credit cards to purchase goods or services that they never receive, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives consumers the right to dispute the charge directly with their credit card issuer. As merchants cancel orders and reservations in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, creditors should prepare themselves for a dramatic increase in consumers ...
February 2020
Covington's class action practice is pleased to launch a multi-part video series with insights on recent class action developments and trends. In our Navigating Class Actions series, partners Sonya Winner, Andrew Ruffino, Emily Henn, Henry Liu, Andrew Soukup, Ashley Simonsen, and Louise Freeman address: Class certifications Emerging issues and privacy ...
Preemption of state interest rate limitations: current challenges involving bank partnership models
January 2020, The Review of Banking & Financial Service
Ashley Simonsen published an article on the statutory and regulatory background of preemption and “true lender” challenges to bank partnership models in The Review of Banking & Financial Services. "In recent years, state regulators and private plaintiffs have sought to attack bank partnership models, including marketplace lending arrangements, by arguing that ...
November 20, 2019, Covington Alert
On November 18 and 19, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provided long-awaited regulatory affirmation that a bank loan’s rate of interest retains its non-usurious character when acquired by a third-party. The agencies each issued proposed rules that seek, as the OCC put it, to “codify what ...
Covington Promotes 20 New Partners
October 1, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington has promoted 20 lawyers to its partnership. “This group covers a wide range of the firm’s most important practices and reflects the ongoing imperative of continuing to build and expand our strengths and to position the firm most effectively to be vibrant in the years ahead,” said Timothy Hester, Covington’s chair. "The size of our class is a ...
INSIGHT: The End of Stacked Actions—Implications Of the Supreme Court’s China Agritech Decision
July 13, 2018, Bloomberg Class Action Litigation Report
- Los Angeles Business Journal, "Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers" (2020)
- Law360, Banking "Rising Star" (2020)
Practices
Education
Stanford Law School, J.D., 2010
- Stanford Law and Policy Review
Amherst College, B.A., 2004
- summa cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa