Stephen D. Rosenberg

Email: srosenberg@mccormackfirm.com

Practice Areas

• Civil Litigation and trial work
• Complex commercial insurance coverage counseling and litigation
• ERISA litigation

• Intellectual property litigation, including preliminary injunction proceedings
• Insurance bad faith

Biography

Stephen D. Rosenberg is a trial lawyer with extensive experience in ERISA, intellectual property, complex insurance coverage and insurance bad faith litigation. Among other cases, he has served as trial counsel in patent infringement, construction defect and accident, product liability, insurance bad faith, reinsurance and complex insurance coverage cases. In the area of ERISA, he has litigated a wide range of denial of benefit, breach of fiduciary duty, and class action cases in state courts, federal district courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. He also has substantial experience representing software companies in copyright litigation, including in preliminary injunction proceedings. Stephen has represented parties in complex disputes in federal and state courts in a number of jurisdictions, including state and federal courts in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, Florida and Washington, D.C. He also has extensive experience arbitrating before the American Arbitration Association.

Stephen is a frequent speaker on insurance coverage and ERISA litigation, and has presented seminars to trade groups, clients, and bar associations. He has also been quoted in a wide range of publications on subjects ranging from intellectual property litigation, to ERISA disputes, to insurance law, including InsideCounsel magazine, Business Insurance, the National Law Journal, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, LawyersUSA and the BNA Pension and Benefits Reporter. Stephen heads the firm's ERISA and insurance coverage practices and is the author of the Boston ERISA and Insurance Litigation Blog.

Stephen is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He has also been admitted pro hac vice to the courts of a number of other states.

Representative Cases

Represented software developer and distributor in copyright infringement action over knowledge management products, including defeating two separate motions for preliminary injunctions brought against clients.

Lead trial counsel defending patent infringement action and prosecuting counterclaims to invalidate patent. Case settled part way through trial on very favorable terms for client.

Represented architect in copyright infringement dispute over authorship of plans for award winning commercial construction project, obtaining dismissal on novel statute of limitations argument.

Successfully defended biotech distributor against trademark, trade dress and copyright infringement claims in federal court in Massachusetts arising out of the sale of allegedly infringing labels designed for cryogenic conditions.

Obtained defense verdict after two week trial for a prominent privately owned construction contractor in high dollar value construction accident case.

Obtained defense verdict after a bench trial for major insurer charged with unfair settlement practices under Massachusetts’ consumer protection and insurance practices statutes, in a case where the plaintiff was seeking what would have been the largest such verdict in state history.

Tried to verdict an environmental reinsurance case involving coverage under a missing thirty year old contract between two prominent insurance companies.

Negotiated favorable resolution of complex arbitration proceeding in Florida under the Florida state arbitration act, after defeating action in state court in Florida to dismiss arbitration and require the case to be litigated in state court.

Served as trial counsel in multi-million dollar arbitration before three member panel concerning insurance coverage for patent litigation against major managed care companies. The arbitration was eventually settled under favorable terms.

Prevailed on summary judgment motions in federal district court on the issue of whether a particular corporate acquisition qualified as a change in control for purposes of a corporate stock incentive plan available only to officers of the acquired corporation.

Successfully represented major national insurer in a complex multi-party action litigated in multiple forums, including in federal court and in a related commercial arbitration, over liability of various parties for gaps in coverage in a corporation’s insurance program. Resolving the action required defeating an attempt by national insurance brokerage to convince federal court in West Virginia to enjoin an ongoing arbitration, followed by obtaining an arbitration ruling in favor of the client.

Negotiated successful resolution of copyright infringement action brought in the Southern District of New York by an Italian clothing manufacturer against a California based importer and wholesaler. The settlement accomplished client's key strategic goal of insulating customers against direct claims or other exposures as a result of the alleged infringement.

Defeated claim before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination that an employee benefit plan illegally discriminated between benefits for mental health conditions and benefits for other conditions.

Successfully defended a number of employee benefit plans and administrators against claims challenging denials or terminations of benefits, including obtaining summary judgment in a number of cases.

Representation of a third party administrator of multiple self-funded health plans against multi-million dollar claims for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA.

Argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, obtaining opinion affirming summary judgment previously entered in favor of client in a complex ERISA dispute.

Defense of class action case against plan fiduciaries alleging breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA arising from company 401(k) plan.

Recent Articles and Publications

Patent Litigation Doesn't Have to be Prohibitively Expensive

Stephen D. Rosenberg's article discussing ways to manage patent litigation expenses was published in the November 30, 2007 edition of New England In-House, a quarterly publication of Lawyers Weekly, Inc.

The Boston ERISA and Insurance Litigation Blog

Stephen D. Rosenberg authors the Boston ERISA and Insurance Litigation Blog, which reviews significant developments related to pensions, employee benefits, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, defined contribution plans such as 401(k) plans, and related topics of interest.

ERISA Litigation: An Update from the Front Lines

Stephen D. Rosenberg prepared these seminar materials surveying the state of the law in ERISA litigation as 2009 commenced.

Recent Media and Seminar Appearances

Presenter, "Insurance: What is Your Company Getting and What Should it be Asking For?," May 6, 2009, sponsored by the New England Corporate Counsel Association

Quoted extensively on fiduciary duties under ERISA in "Deere & Co. Successfully Defends 401(k) Fee Suit," InsideCounsel Magazine, May 2009

Panelist, "Pension Fiduciaries in the Hot Seat: What to Avoid & How to React if Sued," April 14, 2009, sponsored by Pension Governance Inc.

Sole Presenter, "ERISA Litigation: An Update from the Front Lines," ASPPA Benefits Council of New England, January 14, 2009

Featured in front page article on ERISA standing issues, "Retirees Granted ERISA Standing to Sue Fiduciaries," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, July 28, 2008

Quoted extensively on the subject of patenting ERISA and tax related strategies in "A Warning to ERISA Practitioners: Your Benefit Plan Strategies May Be Patented", 34 Pens. & Benefits Rep. (BNA) 1329

Education

• American University, B.S., 1986
• Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1990

Honors and Awards:

• G. Joseph Tauro Distinguished Scholar
• Paul Liacos Scholar
• Articles Editor, 1990 Annual Review of Banking Law
• American Jurisprudence Award in Criminal Law

Serving institutional and individual clients since 1981

Call The McCormack Firm, LLC at 617-951-2929 or contact us online today.