Biography
Steven J. Mintz joined Hahn Loeser in 2008. He is a member of the Area's Appellate Practice Group.
Steve joined the firm after six years in the Appellate Section of the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, in Washington, DC. In that capacity he briefed and argued civil and criminal antitrust, administrative law, and immigration appeals in the federal courts of appeals. Steve was the lead Antitrust Division attorney in two U.S. Supreme Court cases, F. Hoffman-LaRoche, Ltd. v. Empagran, S.A., 542 U.S. 155 (2004) and Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc., 547 U.S. 28 (2006), and has extensive experience in briefing Supreme Court appeals. Steve has special expertise in the extraterritorial application of the U.S. antitrust laws.
Prior to his government service, Steve was a trial and appellate litigator serving as a key member of teams that: won two multi-million dollar jury verdicts against The Walt Disney Company and ABC Radio Networks for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets; won a bench trial judgment for a British airplane manufacturer against the U.S. Air Force in government contract litigation; successfully defended the International Paper Company in class action and individual toxic tort cases in multiple federal and state courts; and successfully defended Westinghouse in class action age discrimination litigation stemming from a series of reductions-in-force.
Notable Recent Representations
- Part of the Hahn Loeser team which successfully defended Chicago Title Insurance Company, wiping out a claim for $211 million in punitive damages. On January 30, 2013, a Kansas City, Missouri jury agreed with Hahn Loeser’s Chicago Title trial team, awarding no punitive damages (Krause v. Chicago Title Ins. Co., Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri; No. 0516-CV30246). The class, which consisted of over 40,000 Missouri residents, alleged that Plaintiffs alleged were “overcharged” for recording fees in real estate closings in Missouri between 2000-2008. The Plaintiffs sought $3.1 million in compensatory damages and $211 million in punitive damages. Chicago Title vehemently denied that any punitive damages were warranted. The jury agreed with Chicago Title and rendered a swift verdict for only $1.1 million in compensatory damages on two claims. The jury decided the third claim—breach of fiduciary duty—in Chicago Title’s favor. The jury also sided with Chicago Title regarding Plaintiffs’ request for punitive damages and awarded Plaintiffs no punitive damages at all.
- Argued for the United States in F. Hoffman-LaRoche, Ltd. v. Empagran, S.A., 417 F.3d 1267 (D.C. Cir. 2006), in which the court agreed with the governments interpretation of the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act.
- Argued for the United States in United States v. LSL Biotechnologies, 379 F.3d 672 (9th Cir. 2004).
Successfully defended antitrust criminal appeals by corporate executives seeking to overturn jury verdicts or sentences:
- United States v. Beaver (7th Cir. 2008)
- United States v. Rose, 449 F.3d 627 (5th Cir. 2006)
- United States v. Anderson, 326 F.3d 1319 (11th Cir. 2003)
Education