Brandon J. Wilson

Brandon Wilson is a partner in Honigman’s Litigation Department. Brandon has a proven record of successfully advising and advocating for his clients in complex commercial disputes in state and federal trial and appeals courts including in business, real estate, construction and class action litigation.

Brandon represents commercial landlords and tenants, owners, developers, contractors and suppliers in all facets of real estate and construction dispute resolution including risk assessment and litigation.  Brandon advises both lenders and borrowers in workouts, foreclosures, bankruptcy litigation and receiverships.    

Brandon also defends businesses and financial institutions in consumer class action litigation throughout the United States.

Practice Areas

Representative Matters

Class Action Experience

• Represented Georgia credit union in a putative consumer class action lawsuit where the plaintiff alleged that his credit union breached its own account agreement by supposedly improperly charging overdraft fees. We moved for enforcement of a contractual arbitration clause and dismissal of the case. The trial court granted our motion and the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed.
• Represented a Ohio credit union in a putative consumer class action lawsuit where the plaintiff alleged that his credit union breached its own account agreement by supposedly improperly charging overdraft fees. The trial court granted our motion and dismissed the complaint in its entirety.    
• Defended numerous financial institutions in class action litigation relating to overdraft fees in state and federal trial and appeals courts across the country.
• Represented federal credit union in a putative consumer class action lawsuit where the plaintiff alleged that her credit union breached its own account agreement and state consumer laws by charging overdraft and NSF fees on debit card and ACH transactions. The court granted our motion to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint in its entirety. The Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed.  Saunders v. Y-12 Fed. Credit Union, No. E202000046COAR3CV, 2020 WL 6499558, at *1 (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 5, 2020).
• Represented defendant municipality in a class action lawsuit alleging that the city's water and sewer rates were unreasonable, and that illegal taxes violated the Michigan Constitution. The class alleged it was entitled to recover damages in excess of $10MM. The court granted our Motion for Summary Disposition and dismissed the case in its entirety. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed.  Bohn v. City of Taylor, No. 339306, 2019 WL 360730, at *1 (Mich. Ct. App. Jan. 29, 2019).
• Defended telecommunications service provider in federal putative class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act which resulted in complete dismissal.

Real Estate and Construction Litigation Experience

• Secured complete dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Ann Arbor developer brought by adjoining property owners who alleged that they adversely possessed a portion of the developer’s property.  
• Represented purchaser in lawsuit brought by seller alleging that purchaser breached a purchase agreement for purchase of several senior living facilities. The federal court granted summary judgment in our favor and ordered that a $1,000,000 earnest money deposit be returned to purchaser.  Oakmont Livonia, LLC v. Rhodium Cap. Advisors LLC, No. 22-11128, 2024 WL 199545 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 18, 2024)
• Represented defendant property owner in an action for specific performance of a purchase agreement for the sale of 22 acres of property. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict of no cause on the plaintiff's complaint.
• Represented general contractor in litigation in which a subcontractor alleged that it was improperly terminated from a commercial construction project and was entitled to lost profits. The court granted our motion for summary disposition, and the court of appeals affirmed. Get Lifted, LLC v. On-Site Mgmt., Inc., No. 349345, 2020 WL 4551312 (Mich. Ct. App. Aug. 6, 2020).
• Represented custom home builder in lien foreclosure action. The court conducted a jury trial and judgment was entered in favor of our client. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision and granted our request for an award of attorney fees under the Michigan Construction Lien Act. Meadowlark Builders, LLC v. Evans, 505 Mich. 869, 935 N.W.2d 335 (2019) (application for leave denied).
• Represented real estate investment firm in a lawsuit for slander of title and tortious interference with a purchase agreement against a competing firm.  The court granted summary judgment in our client’s favor on all claims.

• Defended real estate investment firm in lawsuits challenging the validity of residual value insurance policies and loan documents in connection with loans made to the plaintiffs. The courts in both cases granted our motions for complete dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims.     

Other Commercial Experience

• Defended purchaser of music royalties in a federal lawsuit challenging the validity of the sale of and assignment of music copyright interests.  The court granted our motion for complete dismissal.  Rice v. Music Royalty Consulting, Inc., 397 F. Supp. 3d 996, 1002 (E.D. Mich. 2019)
• Represented employer and individual officers in federal litigation alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Court granted our motion for summary judgment which was affirmed on appeal by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Etherton v. Serv. First Logistics, Inc., 807 F. App'x 469 (6th Cir. 2020)
• Represented plaintiff inventor in federal litigation against a multinational housewares company for infringement of the plaintiff's common law trademark. The court granted summary judgment in our client's favor on liability and determined that our client owned the mark, that the defendant infringed the mark, and that defendant's infringement was willful. Hoenig Devs., Inc. v. Dial Indus., Inc., 213 F. Supp. 3d 895, 906 (E.D. Mich. 2016).
• Represented credit union in federal lawsuit alleging violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act which resulted in a voluntary dismissal by the plaintiff.
• Represented plaintiff sales representative in federal action for unpaid sales commissions owed by the defendant automotive supplier, resulting in a multimillion-dollar settlement in favor of our client.
• Represented a multi-national performing rights organization in a federal interpleader lawsuit involving more than $20MM in royalty payments.
• Represented defendant grooming products company and its individual owners in litigation alleging that the defendants converted property and breached fiduciary duties to the plaintiff, in connection with the plaintiff's purchase of assets of the parties' former company from a court appointed receiver. The court granted our motion to dismiss the case in its entirety on res judicata and estoppel grounds.
• Represented mortgage CUSO in a dispute with its software provider. Our client held a license to use the defendant's mortgage servicing software, which the client relied on to service thousands of residential mortgage accounts. The defendant software provider threatened to terminate our client's access to its mortgage servicing software on New Year's Day unless our client paid tens of thousands of dollars in fictitious charges. The court granted our motion for a temporary restraining order and later entered a permanent injunction which prohibited the defendant from terminating access to the software.

Education

Admissions

Court Admissions

Awards

The Best Lawyers in America, 2023-2025

• Recognized in practice areas of Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Law

Michigan Super Lawyers, recognized as a Rising Star, 2018-2024

Professional & Community Involvement

Oakland County Bar Foundation, Fellow

News

Press Releases

Publications

"To Be or Not To Be: Exclusivity of State Bankruptcy—Specific Exemption Statutes." American Bankruptcy Institute Committee News, January 2011.

"The Sword and The Shield: Section 541 and Debtor's LLC Membership As Property of Estate." American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, February 2014.

"LLC 1-2-3: The Debtor's Membership Interest as Property of the Estate." Norton Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Vol. 23, No. 6, 2014.