Daniel B. Huyett

Dan is a Fellow of the American College of Trial lawyers, an invitation-only organization composed of the best of the trial bar in the U.S. and Canada and is recognized as the leading trial lawyers association in both countries.

Dan concentrates his practice in complex commercial and class action litigation, and has tried more than 35 cases to verdict. His trials have included two class action cases tried to verdict and three RICO cases tried to verdict. Most recently, in the spring of 2021, he served as trial counsel in a four-week trial in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Dan was twice lead appellate counsel in a False Claims Act appeal argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was trial counsel to a defendant in the federal class action litigation stemming from the Kids-For-Cash scandal involving the Luzerne County Juvenile System, where the trial judge commented that Dan “has extensive experience defending complex litigation and class actions.”

In addition, in the fall of 2016, he was trial counsel in an ERISA case tried to verdict in federal court in the Southern District of New York, and he was trial counsel in a 2005 federal class action jury trial involving an FLSA claim for overtime resulting in a unanimous verdict for his client after a 2-1/2 week trial. In 2004, he was involved in the largest class action price fixing case at the time in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Over the past 30 years, Dan has represented major corporations in their litigation, including International Paper Company, EnerSys, Independence Blue Cross, Capital Blue Cross, Erie Insurance Group, Carpenter Technology Corporation, Santander Bank, and Wells Fargo.

As a former federal prosecutor in Philadelphia, Dan headed a number of grand jury investigations and prosecuted complex and lengthy criminal cases. He was promoted to the Special Prosecutions Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he specialized in complex criminal investigations and political corruption cases. He was an instructor at the U.S. Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute in Washington, D.C., and was awarded a Special Commendation for Outstanding Service by the U.S. Department of Justice for his prosecution of an international drug smuggling ring.

Twice Dan was appointed to Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panels for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was selected to head an investigative panel on the qualifications of a Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge candidate as part of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission. He also was a gubernatorial appointee to the Governor’s Judicial Advisory Commission for Berks County, and was appointed to the Hearing Committee for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

• Tower Health v. Community Health Systems, Eastern District of Pennsylvania – represented Tower Health in a $140 million contract action during a four week trial.
• U.S. ex rel Oberg v. Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, Eastern District of Virginia and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals – represented PHEAA in a $350 million False Claims Act action both before the Fourth Circuit as well as before the District Court.
• Harley (Wellspan Pension Plan) v. Bank of New York Mellon, Southern District of New York – represented a pension plan in a multi-million dollar ERISA action during a trial in the Southern District of New York.
• Wallace v. Powell, Middle District of Pennsylvania – represented the owner of a juvenile detention facility in a class action arising from the Kids-For-Cash scandal in the Luzerne County Juvenile System.
• Material Technologies v. Carpenter Technology, District of New Jersey – represented Carpenter Technology in a business interference and trade secrets action in which the plaintiff claimed over $1 billion in damages.
• Goldman v. RadioShack Corp., Eastern District of Pennsylvania – defended an FLSA class action to verdict after a jury trial of more than two weeks.

Affiliations

• American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
• Litigation Counsel of America, Senior Fellow
• The Justice William Strong American Inn of Court, Master
• Berks County Bar Association, past President and former Director
• PA Chamber of Business and Industry (PAC), member of 2015 Judicial Task Force to evaluate candidates for the Pennsylvania appellate courts
• Law Foundation of Berks County, former Director
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Judicial Independence Committee, former Chair
  • House of Delegates, former Member
• Albright College, Board of Trustees
• Caron Treatment Centers, Board of Trustees and former Chair
  • Co-Chair of the 2008 Capital Campaign
• United Way of Berks County, former Director
  • Co-Chair of the 2014 Annual Campaign ($9.6 million raised)
• Greater Reading Chamber of Business & Industry, former Director and Vice Chair
• South Mountain YMCA, past President and former Director
• YMCA of Reading & Berks County, former Director
• Berks County Government Study Commission, elected Commissioner and Secretary

Recognition

• Dan is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, both of which are invitation-only honorary societies of trial lawyers.
• He is AV® Preeminent™ rated by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating for legal ability and general ethics.
• As published in Philadelphia magazine, Dan has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer each year since the publication’s inception in 2004, having been selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth.
• Since 2008, he also has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of media law and commercial litigation.
• Dan, with his wife Ellen, received the 2019 Wilbur H. Doran Award, the highest honor for community service bestowed by the United Way of Berks County.
• He received the 2016 Champion for Youth Award from the YMCA of Reading and Berks County.
• Dan, along with his wife Ellen, received the 2012 Richard J. Caron Award of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by Caron Treatment Centers.