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Stephen G. Foresta Partner

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New York T +1 212 548 7033 F fax +1 212 715 6295
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Steve is a litigation partner in our New York office focusing his practice on complex commercial litigation, including insurance recovery, life settlement disputes, and mass tort and product liability actions. His experience includes handling all phases of complex litigation and he has tried numerous cases in state and federal court and before arbitral panels in the United States and abroad.

In Steve’s life settlement practice, he has litigated a wide variety of disputes, including insurable interest/STOLI challenges, cost of insurance rate increases, enforcement of contestability clauses, and claims of elder abuse, fraud and unfair competition.

Steve has also represented plaintiffs and defendants in environmental actions, patent infringement claims and other types of disputes for clients across a wide variety of industries.

Outside of legal, Steve devotes substantial time to community service organizations, including sitting on the Board of Directors for Indego Africa, a non-profit social enterprise that provides job skills and other training to women in Rwanda and Ghana and delivers access to export markets to facilitate the sale of their handicrafts and serving as chair of the New York Board of Advisors of Disability Rights Advocates, a non-profit legal center whose mission is to advance equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities.

Experience

  • Representation of a Saudi Arabian engineering firm in a dispute involving oil and gas plants in the Gulf region against a global contractor before the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution.
  • Representation of a large European bank in a civil RICO action involving the alleged theft of millions of dollars of diamond sale proceeds.
  • Representation of a wine retailer involved in litigation with the New York State Liquor Authority over its operation of various internet wine clubs.
  • Representation of a medical instrument manufacturer alleging that a major drug and medical device manufacturer engaged in tortious interference with its business prospects by disparaging its products.
  • Representation of a luxury brand manufacturer in a dispute with a major retailer and another manufacturer relating to product marketing.
  • Representation of a computer parts manufacturer, prevailing in a contract dispute with a wholesale distributor arising from the failed launch of a line of NASCAR-themed computer products.
  • Representation of a manufacturer of high-performance membrane products in a dispute with carriers arising out of the failure of a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
  • Representation of a finance company seeking recovery from insurers under an aviation policy for damage to a fleet of helicopters.
  • Representation of a global entertainment company and several of its affiliated companies in litigation arising out of the 2011 cyber-breach of the company’s online gaming network.
  • Representation of a financial services company that obtained a final award of almost $90 million from an American Arbitration Association panel under a credit default insurance policy for a loss incurred during the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Representation of a major pharmaceutical company in all of its insurance coverage matters relating to product liability litigation over a 10-year period, resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign and domestic insurers.
  • Representation of a diversified product manufacturer in litigation that spanned 12 years and multiple jurisdictions, helping collect a significant portion of its available insurance for liability imposed against the company as a result of environmental contamination at dozens of sites across the United States.
  • Representation of an over-the-counter drug manufacturer in dozens of New York state and federal court actions involving personal injuries allegedly resulting from the use of cough and cold medications containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA).
  • Representation of a chemical manufacturer in a lawsuit brought under the Alien Tort Statute by residents of Brazil claiming pollution-related injuries.
  • Representation of several consumer products manufacturers in litigation involving injuries caused by exposure to asbestos-containing products.
  • Representation of a pharmaceutical manufacturer in a series of lawsuits alleging kidney damage resulting from the use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
  • Representation of a women’s healthcare company in nearly 150 product liability actions brought in state and federal court in New York involving an implantable contraceptive product.
  • Representation of a number of investors and finance companies involved in disputes with insurance companies over high value life insurance policies sold on the life settlement markets.
  • Prevailed in state and federal courts in California, New York, Delaware, Minnesota, Florida, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania and arbitration panels in New York, Minnesota and California in complex cases arising out of sophisticated premium financing transactions, as well as traditional secondary and tertiary market sales.

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