Stephen J. Riccardulli
Partner
Stephen J. Riccardulli
212.513.3541
Overview
Stephen Riccardulli is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's New York office. Mr. Riccardulli represents clients in environmental, mass tort, product liability and commercial litigation matters.
Mr. Riccardulli has more than 20 years of experience as an accomplished trial lawyer and litigator. He advises clients across a variety of industry sectors, including oil and gas, chemical, insurance, financial and technology. He represents clients in various state and federal courts across the United States, as well as in actions, investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by state and federal authorities.
In addition, Mr. Riccardulli has significant experience in cases with large multi-party cases, and those that involve complex issues of science and causation. He has a long record of wins across a diverse scope of disputes, including defective fuel products, breach of contract, personal injury, challenges to land title, and trust and estate disputes. He has particular experience and knowledge defending groundwater contamination, human exposure, hazardous waste site remediation, natural resource damage and product liability matters.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Riccardulli was an attorney in the New York office of a large U.S. law firm.
During law school, he served on the Pace University Environmental Law Review.
Representative Experience
- Defend petroleum distributor in actions by Pennsylvania and Maryland state attorneys general for alleged statewide environmental damage to groundwater, including claims for product liability, toxic tort and natural resource damage restoration
- Defend international petroleum company against property damage and business interruption claims resulting from discharge of petroleum from underground storage tanks
- Defend international petroleum company in actions alleging personal injury from exposure to benzene due to occupational and environmental exposure
- Defend Canadian electronic waste management company in Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) actions related to largest e-waste site in the United States
- Defend international plastics company in action by more than 50 individuals seeking damages for personal injuries, property damage and medical monitoring program related to alleged groundwater contamination
- Defended tool manufacturer in a CERCLA contribution action, successfully settling all claims for a de minimis amount
- Obtained summary judgment for global satellite company in multimillion-dollar Hawaii real estate dispute involving disputed access rights and rights of surface and groundwater flow
- Represent New York commercial real estate developer in litigation involving land use and development issues under New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
- Obtained summary judgment for petroleum refiner in toxic tort action based on lack of proof of injury to more than 100 plaintiffs
- Defend Canadian petroleum company in action alleging leukemia caused by alleged occupational exposure to benzene
- Defended global chemical agriculture company in first-of-their-kind "food chain" exposure actions in which plaintiffs alleged polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) caused their non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Serve as lead trial counsel to petroleum company in toxic tort and property damage cases in New York state courts involving alleged exposure to and contamination from benzene, Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE) and other petroleum-related compounds
- Serve as lead counsel in multidistrict environmental product liability suit alleging groundwater contamination and natural resource damages resulting from use of MTBE in gasoline
- Served as litigation and strategic counsel for an international petroleum company in hundreds of mass tort personal injury and property damage environmental and product liability cases
- Defended international petroleum company against personal injury and property damage claims in New York state court
- Obtained complete dismissal of mass tort environmental and personal injury case involving more than 1,000 plaintiffs alleging personal injury and fear of cancer due to alleged exposure to petroleum products
- Provide advice to global petroleum company regarding product liability risk assessment regarding introduction and use of petroleum products in foreign jurisdictions
- Represented petroleum company in multidistrict product liability litigation involving more than 150 actions involving claims for environmental, toxic tort and natural resource damage claims
- Successfully defended petroleum refiner in a $200 million product liability/toxic tort action
- Represented London-based insurance carrier and Canadian insured in federal subrogation matter to recover damages resulting from use of defective glue in manufacture of plywood
- Served as liaison counsel to the petroleum industry in In Re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Products Liability Litigation, a multidistrict mass tort product liability docket consolidated in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Obtained, on behalf of large petroleum company, dismissal of MTBE product liability and consumer fraud claims based on use of MTBE in gasoline
- Represent commercial land developer in disputes regarding alleged presence of historically significant Revolutionary-era grave sites; engagement includes representing developer before local administrative boards
- Defend telecommunication company in action by competitor related to administration of state program for installation of cellular devices
- Represent leading India-based infrastructure company in New York litigation relating to contract dispute for an Indian power plant
- Successful representation of cloud-based technology company in federal litigation regarding data privacy issues and disputed account access
- Represent government contractor in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court
- Advised London-based carrier on creation of new insurance product offering crisis management services related to potential claims related to physical abuse
- Successfully prosecuted claims (including four-month bench trial) to invalidate fraudulent trust documents on grounds that documents were prepared while individual was incapacitated due to mental illness
- Represented private client to successfully block installation of cellular antennas and related equipment on penthouse terraces based on increased risk of radiofrequency (RF) exposure
Credentials
Education
- Pace University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- Fordham University, B.S., Biology
Bar Admissions/Licenses
- Connecticut
- New York
Court Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee, Committee Newsletter Vice Chair, 2015-2020
- New York State Bar Association
Honors & Awards
- New York Super Lawyers magazine, 2015-Present
- Rising Stars, New York Super Lawyers magazine, 2011-2014