Steven K. Gerber

Member

Office Philadelphia

Phone (215) 665-2088 Fax (215) 701-2088

Email sgerber@cozen.com

Overview

Experience

Publications

Events

Steve Gerber devotes his practice to the prosecution of complex large property loss subrogation matters, including actions arising from fires, building collapses, water damage, and product failures.

Steve has achieved subrogation recoveries on behalf of clients in scores of actions in numerous jurisdictions including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. Steve has also successfully resolved many matters for clients utilizing alternative dispute resolution methods including mediation. Steve frequently speaks on subrogation and recovery-related topics.

Steve regularly sits as an arbitrator in the Delaware County (PA) Court of Common Pleas. Steve was appointed by the Delaware County Council to serve as a Delaware County Representative to the SEPTA Citizens Advisory Committee (2015-present). Steve also presently serves on the boards of the Center For Resolutions (Media, Pa.), the Radnor Educational Foundation, and the Radnor Girls Crew Club. Steve served as an elected school director on the Radnor Township School Board from 2007 through 2011, serving as a board president in 2009. Steve has also served as a member of the Delaware County Intermediate Unit Board, the Radnor Township Parks and Recreation Board, and the boards of the Radnor Soccer Club, and the Radnor Wayne Little League.

Steve earned his Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College, Harford, Conn., in 1987, where he rowed crew, and following which he taught at an independent school in New Jersey. Steve earned his law degree from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., in 1992, where he was active in Moot Court and was a member of the Moot Court Board.

Secured a seven-figure settlement on behalf of the subrogee of a board of education in connection with a total fire loss attributable to improperly performed brazing work, done with an acetylene torch, during installation of an HVAC unit. We contended that the employee who performed the work was negligent in that he performed the work alone, failed to relocate or protect nearby combustibles in the area of the hot work operations, failed to perform a proper fire watch, failed to provide a fire watch on the opposite side of the eave from where the hot work was being performed, and failed to have fully charged and operable fire extinguishers at the work area.

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Some Considerations when Preparing to Try a Property Damage Subrogation Case in the Age of CSI [Subrogation & Recovery Alert]

March 12, 2014

Recent criminal trials turned national media events, such as the Trayvon Martin and Casey Anthony trials, have highlighted modern jurors’ expectations for forensic evidence. Commentators have termed jurors’ expectations for forensic evidence the “CSI Effect.”

NFPA Journal – Fire Losses in the US 2012 – Fire Responses Down 1%; Structure Fires Down 0.8%

October 02, 2013

Each year the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Journal publishes a U.S. Fire Loss Report Summary. The 2012 summary report was published in the September/October 2013 NFPA Journal.

NFPA Issues its U.S. Fire Loss Report Summary for 2010 [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

December 07, 2011

NFPA Issues its U.S. Fire Loss Report Summary for 2010 - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - A new report by the National Fire Protection Association discusses in detail U.S. fire losses for 2010. This provides interesting data for property and subrogation claim handlers regarding total as well as average property damage losses in 2010.

The Product Malfunction Theory Lives On [Subrogation and Recovery Alert!]

July 25, 2011

The Product Malfunction Theory Lives On - Subrogation and Recovery Alert! - The "Malfunction Theory" in product failures cases lives on, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, based on a recent federal District Court decision in Liberty Mutual v. Sharp Electronics. This Alert reviews the "Malfunction Theory" and evaluates its continuing impact on potential product failure subrogation claims.

Avoiding Daubert Challenges ... and Surviving Them When You Can't [Subrogation and Recovery Powerpoint]

December 02, 2010

Avoiding Daubert Challenges ... and Surviving Them When You Can't - Subrogation and Recovery Powerpoint -

Exculpatory Contractual Provisions and Third Party Tort Liability [Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers]

January 13, 2006

Exculpatory Contractual Provisions and Third Party Tort Liability - Subrogation and Recovery - Articles and Papers - 13 pgs total. Paper focuses on the exculpatory clause. Topics include: 1/A DEFENDANT CANNOT GAIN THE BENEFIT OF EXCULPATORY CONTRACTUAL PROVISIONS CONTAINED WITHIN A CONTRACT TO WHICH IT IS NOT A PARTY; NOR CAN A DEFENDANT SUBJECT A PLAINTIFF TO EXCULPATORY CONTRACTUAL PROVISIONS CONTAINED WITHIN A CONTRACT TO WHICH THE PLAINTIFF IS NOT A PARTY, 2/EXCULPATORY CLAUSES MUST BE STRICTLY AND NARROWLY CONSTRUED, 3/THE PRESENCE OF INSURANCE IS NOT AN EXCUSE, 4/THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARY STATUS.

Subrogation Arising from Commercial Kitchen Fire Losses		09/24/2020
Avoiding the Daubert Challenge and Surviving Them When You Can't		01/22/2015
Insurance Subrogation, Indemnity and Hold Harmless Releases: Navigating the Complexities		03/19/2014
National Association of Subrogation Professionals Meeting: Northeast Region - Maryland/Washington DC Chapter		04/08/2011
Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter—NASP/CPCU Introductions and Hot Topics Exchange		02/08/2011