Stephen Schwartz - Shareholder - Professional Headshot

Stephen H. Schwartz

“Most of our clients have small claims that would make no sense to litigate individually. We aggregate claims through class actions so that many small claimants may have their day in court.”

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MATTERS

MILLER, ET AL., V ARAB BANK

In April 2018, Arab Bank, Plc was sued on behalf of American terror victims in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The lawsuit was brought against Arab Bank under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Like the first suit brought against Arab Bank, Linde v. Arab Bank, these Plaintiffs seek to hold Arab Bank liable for deaths and severe injuries resulting from acts of international terrorism that Palestinian terrorist groups, who are alleged to have received funds through Arab Bank, perpetrated between 2000 and 2004, during the Second Intifada. Attorneys from Kohn Swift, including Stephen H. Schwartz, Neil L. Glazer, and Zahra Dean are part of a team of attorneys from several firms that developed and are currently prosecuting this case.

JULIN V. CHIQUITA BRANDS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

In March 2008, Chiquita Brands International, Inc. was sued on behalf of American terror victims in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the families of five missionaries who were kidnapped and subsequently murdered in two separate incidents by the Colombian terrorist organization Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).

The suit alleged that Chiquita violated the civil provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act by knowingly providing funds to FARC during the time the missionaries were abducted, held hostage and ultimately murdered. The Anti-Terrorism Act permits American citizens or their heirs and estates to recover damages from those who provide material support to terrorist groups for injuries that they suffered by reason of acts of international terrorism.

After 10 years of litigation, in February 2018, on the eve of trial, the parties reached a settlement of all the Plaintiffs’ claims under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS SALON, INC. V. NATIONAL MILK FOUNDATION

Direct purchasers of cheese and butter alleged that large dairy cooperatives and their trade association agreed to reduce the number of dairy cows, and thus the supply of milk, to drive up the price of cheese and butter, which, due to how wholesale milk prices are set, would increase milk prices. The case involved a number of complicated issues, such as whether the Capper-Volstead Act shielded the cooperatives’ conduct, and the implications of Federal Milk Marketing Orders. Lawyers from Kohn Swift worked on multiple aspects of the case, including briefing, depositions, arguing motions, class certification, and trial preparation, and with the class and damages experts. The case settled on the eve of trial for $220 million.

OPKO DERIVATIVE LITIGATION

Stephen Schwartz was lead counsel in this corporate derivative litigation, which settled in 2020.

In this matter, Kohn Swift represented a group of shareholders derivatively after a complaint was filed by the Securities & Exchange Commission against the Chairman of Opko Corporation, alleging participation in two pump-and-dump schemes.

Kohn Swift conducted an exhaustive investigation and filed a complaint on the shareholders’ behalf, greatly expanding the SEC’s allegations to include numerous other schemes. After two years of litigation, the case settled for both a payment to the corporation and significant governance changes, designed to give the Board of Directors increased independence and greater scrutiny. In approving the settlement, the judge described both the payment and the governance changes to be substantial and significant.

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Stephen H. Schwartz’s practice focuses on federal litigation, including antitrust, antiterrorism, and class actions. His work on antiterrorism has taken him to Israel, Jordan, England, and France.

Early in his career, Mr. Schwartz practiced in the antitrust department of Skadden Arps in New York. Later, he was one of the lead attorneys in the Stock Exchanges Options Trading Antitrust litigation.

Mr. Schwartz worked for many years on Hatch-Waxman cases, involving actions by drug companies to forestall generic competition. He also worked extensively on the Nasdaq Market Maker Litigation, the Options Antitrust litigation, and the Contact Lens Antitrust litigation.

Mr. Schwartz graduated with a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He graduated with a B.S. from Charter Oak College in 1988.

Stephen lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He enjoys cooking, bicycling, and gardening. He has traveled to thirty-five countries on five continents and is a Philadelphia 76ers season ticket holder.

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • United States Courts of Appeal for the Second and Third Circuits
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Representative cases include

  • Gewirtz v. Opko 230 F.Supp.2d 440 (E.D. Pa. 2017) (motion to dismiss)
  • Linde V. Arab Bank, PLC, 97 F.Supp.3d 287, 2015 WL 1565479 (E.D.N.Y 2015) (Post-trial motions)
  • Weiss v. National Westminister Bank PLC, 768 F.3d202 (2d Cir. 2014)(standard for scienter under Anti-Terrorism Act)
  • Strauss v. Credit Lyonnais, 925 F.Supp.2d 414 (E.D.N.Y. 2013)(summary judgment)
  • Linde v. Arab Bank, PLC, 706 F.3d 92 (2d Cir. 2013)(collateral order doctrine, mandamus)
  • Gill v. Arab Bank, PLC, 893 F.Supp.2d 523 (E.D.N.Y 2012)(qualification of experts)
  • Goldberg v. UBS AG, 690 F.Supp. 2d 92 (E.D.N.Y. 2010)(reconsideration, interlocutory appeal)
  • Strauss V. Credit Lyonnais, 249 F.R.D 429 (E.D.N.Y 2008)(foreign discovery)