Cases
$260 billion Largest civil settlement in history The multistate agreement required tobacco companies to pay the states $260 billion and submit to broad advertising and marketing restrictions, leaving a lasting and widespread impact.
- NCAA Student Athlete Name, Image and Likeness
$22.78 billion+ Largest antitrust settlement in history Class action against the NCAA and Power Five conferences alleging violations of federal antitrust law regarding payment to college athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses. After two decades of fighting on behalf of athletes regarding this issue, the firm secured a monumental settlement for a class of more than 400,000 NCAA players. In addition to $2.78 billion in past damages, the total value of new payments and benefits to college athletes under the new revenue-sharing model is expected to exceed $20 billion over the next 10 years, making it the largest antitrust class-action settlement in history.
- Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation
$25 billion Largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history at the time Agreements with Visa and Mastercard secured relief valued at as much as $25-87 billion, and injunctive relief reducing interchange rates, among other benefits.
- Volkswagen/Porsche/Audi Emissions Scandal
$14.7 billion Largest automotive settlement in U.S. history Hagens Berman’s automotive legal team was the first to file in this historic lawsuit against Volkswagen for its emissions cheating and masking of harmful pollutants, culminating in a historic settlement.
- Volkswagen Franchise Dealerships
$1.67 billion The firm achieved a monumental settlement on behalf of Volkswagen dealerships across the U.S. blindsided by the automaker’s emissions cheating, returning an average payment to each Dealer Settlement Class Member of approximately $1.85 million.
- Toyota Sudden, Unintended Acceleration
$1.6 billion Largest automotive settlement in history at the time The firm did not initially seek to lead this litigation but was sought out by the judge for its wealth of experience in managing very complex class-action MDLs.
- Hyundai / Kia Theta II GDI Engine Fire Hazard Settlement
$1.3 billion The firm achieved a settlement in response to a defect in 4.1 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles equipped with Theta II GDI engines putting owners at risk for spontaneous, non-collision engine fires or premature engine failure.
$700 million Spurred by the firm’s success in the Volkswagen Dieselgate case, Steve independently tested diesel vehicles across manufacturers, uncovering additional instances of emissions-cheating, masked via illegal defeat devices.
$568 million This antitrust lawsuit alleged Apple and five of the nation’s top publishers colluded to raise the price of e-books for U.S. consumers. Steve’s litigation resulted in an unheard of recovery equal to twice consumers' actual damages. Apple took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it denied Apple’s request to review the case.
- McKesson Drug Class Litigation
$350 million Steve was named co-lead counsel in this action that led to a rollback of benchmark prices of hundreds of brand name drugs, and relief for third-party payers and insurers. His discovery of the McKesson scheme led to follow up lawsuits by governmental entities and recovery in total of over $600 million.
- Average Wholesale Price Litigation
$338 million Drug prices charged to consumers and payers across the nation are significantly more than the cost to produce them. In many cases, Big Pharma conspires with other companies to create these false profits. Hagens Berman has helped several classes of plaintiffs obtain multimillion-dollar judgments.
- Enron Pension Protection Litigation
$250 million Attorneys represented 24,000 Enron employees claiming the company recklessly endangered retirement funds, causing some employees to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars almost overnight, in a major economic milestone in U.S. history.
- Bank of America Homeloans
$250 million Following the historic market crash in 2008, Hagens Berman filed this class action against Bank of America, Countrywide and LandSafe, alleging their collusion was in direct violation of the RICO Act and other laws.
$218 million This historic settlement against JPMorgan involved three simultaneous, separately negotiated settlements totaling more than $2.2 billion, in which Hagens Berman returned hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of Bernard L. Madoff investors.
- NCAA Athletic Grant-in-Aid Cap Antitrust
$208 million Steve pioneered this historic case which forever changed NCAA sports and the lives of 53,748 class members. The case culminated in a $208 million settlement regarding damages and injunctive relief secured through a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of plaintiffs. According to the Court, the NCAA “permanently restrained and enjoined from agreeing to fix or limit compensation or benefits related to education” that conferences or schools may make available. Schools are now allowed to provide benefits tethered to education up to $6,000 annually.
$100 million Hagens Berman represented developers of iOS apps sold via Apple’s App Store or featuring in-app sales, alleging the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive practices that harmed developers. The settlement brings important changes to App Store policies and practices. U.S. iOS app developers with less than $1 million per year in proceeds from App Store sales through all associated developer accounts across the nation can receive hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars from the fund.
- Google Play Store App Developers
$90 million This antitrust class action accused Google of monopolizing its Play Store through anticompetitive policies, affecting small businesses across the nation. Attorneys for the class of roughly 43,000 Android app developers say some class members will likely see payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- McKesson Governmental Entity Class Litigation
$82 million Steve was lead counsel for a nationwide class of local governments that resulted in a settlement for drug price-fixing claims.
$75.5 million In a showcase of Steve’s securities litigation expertise, this settlement achieved in 2023 provides significant relief to purchasers of the securities of Zuora across the U.S.
$75 million Hagens Berman served as lead counsel in this multidistrict litigation against the NCAA, achieving medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of changes to concussion management and return-to-play guidelines. The lawsuit alleged the institutions neglected to protect college athletes from concussions and their aftermath at schools across the country.
- NCAA/Electronic Arts Name and Likeness Co-Lead Counsel
$60 million This first-of-its-kind lawsuit ushered in the first time that hardworking college athletes saw some of the profits from the use of their likeness in video games. More than 24,000 individuals were eligible to receive payment, and checks were issued for up to $7,600, with a median around $1,100.
- Harvey Weinstein Sexual Harassment
$17.1 million As the #MeToo movement hit a fever pitch moment, Hagens Berman’s Steve Berman represented a class of those harmed by Harvey Weinstein, a kingpin of sexual harassment in Hollywood. The firm litigated the case through to bankruptcy proceedings in 2020.
Steve pioneered this first-of-its-kind lawsuit that ended heading for US Soccer’s youngest players to diminish risk of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, changing the game for youth players across the U.S.
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2023 
