STEVEN J . GERMAN
SGerman@germanrubenstein.com

Steven J. German is a founding partner of the law firm of German Rubenstein LLP.  Mr. German has extensive experience in complex civil litigation, with concentration in the areas of environmental, products liability and mass tort. Mr. German has served leadership roles in federal and state cases, including nationwide, class action and multi-district litigation.

In October 2011 Mr. German was appointed as Plaintiffs' Interim Co-Lead Counsel in the putative class action In Re Behr Dayton Thermal Products, LLC Litigation concerning a plume of contaminated groundwater that has caused vapor intrusion into hundreds of properties in Dayton, Ohio.  In January 2011, Mr. German was appointed Special Counsel to the State of New Jersey and he now represents the State in natural resource damage litigation against Exxon Mobil Corp.  He also presently serves as plaintiffs' counsel in Roeder v. Atlantic Richfield, Co. a putative class action arising from the contamination of his clients' domestic drinking water wells in Yerington, Nevada.  Mr. German has also represented victims of defective drugs and medical devices. 

From 2004 through 2008, Mr. German played a lead role in MDL 1358: In Re MTBE Products Liability Litigation, representing drinking water providers nationwide for damages resulting from the contamination of their water wells with the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether.  In an historic May 2008 settlement, he and his co-counsel recovered $423,000,000 for their clients nationwide for the filtration of drinking water.  In 2006, Mr. German was appointed as Special Counsel for the State of New Mexico for its MTBE litigation.  In 2003, Mr. German played a lead role in the trial of the landmark Interfaith Community Organization v. Honeywell. Mr. German’s trial and appellate victories in Interfaith resulted in one of the nation’s largest environmental cleanups including the excavation and removal of one million tons of chromium waste from Jersey City, N.J., and the cleanup of chromium-contaminated groundwater and sediments in the Hackensack River. Mr. German’s unique knowledge of the environmental and health effects of chromium has made him a leader in chromium lawsuits and chromium issues in Jersey City.  He currently represents plaintiffs in Smith, et al. v. Honeywell, et al., a putative class action concerning hexavalent chromium contamination in Jersey City. 

Mr. German has also been active in the cleanup of contaminated property and has litigated numerous matters involving claims under state and federal environmental protection statutes and private-party cost recovery statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, RCRA, CERCLA, NEPA, New York Navigation Law, and the New Jersey Spill Act. 

Mr. German’s environmental cases have been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Newark Star Ledger, The Bergen Record, The Jersey Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The Dayton Daily News, The St. Petersburg Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, and other television, radio and print media nationwide.

Education
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (J.D.)
SUNY Binghamton (B.A., cum laude and with honors)

Clerkships
U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Enforcement Section
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New Jersey Superfund Branch

Bar Admissions
New York
New Jersey
The District of Columbia
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

Reported Decisions
First Property Group, Ltd. v. Behr Dayton Thermal Products LLC, 2011 WL 4073851 (S.D. Ohio 2011)
Roeder v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 2011 WL 408515 (D. Nev. 2011)
Smith v. Honeywell International, Inc., 2011 WL 1870598 (D. N.J. 2011)
Smith v. Honeywell International, Inc., 2011 WL 810065 (D. N.J. 2011)
Spears v. Chrysler, LLC, 2011 WL 540284, (S.D. Ohio 2011)
Sher v. Raytheon, 2009 WL 3193152 (M.D. Fl. 2009)
Sher v. Raytheon, 2008 WL 2788724 (M.D. Fl. 2008)
Sher v. Raytheon, 2008 WL 2756570 (M.D. Fl. 2008)
In Re: MTBE Products Liability Litigation (MDL 1358), 591 F.Supp.2d 259 (S.D.N.Y. 2008)
In Re: MTBE Products Liability Litigation (MDL 1358), 593 F.Supp.2d 540 (S.D.N.Y. 2008)
In Re: MTBE Products Liability Litigation (MDL 1358), 2007 WL 1791258 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)
In Re: MTBE Products Liability Litigation (MDL 1358), 2007 WL 1601491 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)
Interfaith Community Org. v. Honeywell, 263 F.Supp.2d 796 (D.N.J. 2003), affd. 399 F.3d 248 (3rd Cir. 2005), cert. denied 125 S.Ct. 2951 (2005)
Interfaith Community Org. v. Honeywell, 215 F.Supp.2d 482 (D.N.J. 2002)
Interfaith Community Org. v. Honeywell, 204 F.Supp.2d 804 (D.N.J. 2002)

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