Mr. Stephens spent his early career litigating, arbitrating and otherwise managing CERCLA Superfund inactive hazardous waste cleanups for General Motors and other fortune 100 companies. This included litigation in state and federal court both for the defense in response to CERCLA actions by the government and for the plaintiffs in cost recovery actions brought on behalf of the groups who paid for and carried out cleanups against those parties who refused to participate in those costs and cleanup activities. In 2010 he began representing nuclear and uranium workers under two federal workers compensation statutes, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) and the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). During the last 12 years Mr. Stephens has helped claimants recover approximately $70 million from the federal government. During that period, he also pursued litigation in federal court against the United States Department of Labor seeking to overturn certain alleged arbitrary and capricious and otherwise claimant unfavorable rules and determinations for the benefit of his claimants. Mr. Stephens has also spent considerable time litigating a birth injury matter the resolution of which is subject to a confidentiality agreement. He also handles motor vehicle and premises liability cases typically litigated in state Supreme Court. His workers compensation practice often other claims for his claimants about which they are often unaware. These claims include state or federal asbestos related claims, Camp Lejeune water contamination claims, PFAS (a “forever” chemical that causes cancer and other illnesses and conditions and is typically found contaminating drinking water at airfields and other locations where Fire Fighting Foam has been used), Talcum Powder (that tends to cause ovarian and lung cancer in persistent users), and RoundUp (an herbicide that has been found to cause non-hodgkins lymphoma). Mr. Stephens is also investigating claims related to hair straighteners that have been connected to increased rates of uterine, ovarian, and endometrial cancers.
SUMMARY OF REPRESENTATIVE CASES
EDUCATION: SUNY at Buffalo School of Law (J.D.) McGill University (B.A., English)
ADMISSIONS: United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit United States District Court, Western District of New York United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York New York State Courts
PRO HAC VICE ADMISSIONS: United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York
PUBLICATIONS:
- Natural Resource Damages (NRD) Litigation Under CERCLA, prepared for the Bar Association of Erie County, Environmental Law Committee CLE Seminar, May 8, 2009
- Overview and Update of CERCLA, prepared for the Bar Association of Erie County, Environmental Law Committee CLE Seminar, October 22, 2005
- Overview and Update of CERCLA, prepared for the Bar Association of Erie County, Environmental Law Committee CLE Seminar, February 10, 2001
ASSOCIATIONS: Past Chair and Member, Environmental Law Committee of the Bar Association of Erie County Member, American Bar Association Member, New York State Bar Association Member, Bar Association of Erie County Member, Air and Waste Management Association Member, Environmental Business Association of New York State