Retired Member
CurrentA founding member of Landman Ballaine & Ford P.C.,, Steve retired after over 40 years in private practice, almost 25 years with the firm. During his time at the firm, Steve represented accountants, attorneys, and insurers on a range of complex matters. Among his proudest accomplishments were:• The granting of motions to dismiss and for summary judgment by the New York County Commercial Division of nine- and eight-figure suits, respectively, against a law firm, subsequently affirmed by the First Department• The dismissal of class action claims brought in the SDNY against an auditor of a so-called Madoff “feeder fund,” as well as the dismissal on the merits by a Connecticut federal court, affirmed by the Second Circuit, of nine-figure claims against the auditor by union benefit funds claims.• The dismissal, upheld by the Third Circuit, of multi-billion dollar class action Sherman Act and RICO claims against an insurer in MDL litigation pending in New Jersey, after which the client settled other class claims for an amount substantially less than the other settling insurers;• The dismissal, affirmed by the Second Circuit, of both a $20 million subrogation claim against a contractor and the contractor’s third-party coverage claims arising from the much-publicized scaffold collapse at Four Times Square.• The award about 25 years ago of $5.2 million from Sears to reimburse an insurer client for a settlement payment, in a case that went to the New Jersey Supreme Court and was apparently the first “vendors endorsement” case Sears ever lost.For more details of these and other cases Steve worked on, see “Representative Cases.” During his time at the firm, Steve received various professional recognitions and was involved in a range of not-for-profits, including Music Before 1800, the Columbia College Alumni Association, and the Nature’s Conservancy’s Mashomack (Shelter Island) Preserve.
