Steven N.Geise (Steve)

Partner-in-Charge San Diego

San Diego + 1.858.314.1170

Steve Geise is a nationally recognized first-chair trial lawyer who focuses on representing companies in high-stakes cases.

Steve has tried dozens of cases and has won defense verdicts coast to coast in federal and state courts. Steve's team secured a defense verdict for Celgene Corporation in Pikeville, Kentucky, defeating a multibillion dollar fraud claim by Humana over off-label prescriptions of Thalomid® and Revlimid®. In 2021, Steve delivered a win for R.J. Reynolds in Portland, Oregon that was one of the first in-person, jury trials during the COVID pandemic. In 2017, he led a team that secured a defense verdict in a Bay Area trial that earned the Daily Journal's "Top Defense Verdict Award." His continued success on behalf of the Firm's clients led the Daily Journal to recognize him as one the 100 "Leading Commercial Litigators" in the United States in 2024.

Steve represents manufacturers of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, opioids, and other consumer goods in all phases of individual and class action litigation. He is currently representing a fluorochemical manufacturer in an MDL (multidistrict litigation) related to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) exposure as well as a former distributor of the herbicide paraquat in hundreds of personal injury cases around the country.

Steve is Partner-in-Charge of the San Diego Office and also serves as the office's head of litigation. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Master in the Welsh Inn of Court.

Experiência

  • Indivior resolves antitrust and fraud claimsJones Day resolved litigation filed by five insurance companies alleging that Indivior, Inc. had attempted to illegally monopolize the market for its prescription drug Suboxone.
  • Chevron secures significant wins in paraquat multidistrict litigationJones Day secured two important wins for client Chevron in the paraquat multidistrict litigation (MDL).
  • Celgene wins complete defense verdict in case filed by health insurer, Humana Inc., relating to off-label use of cancer medicationsOn March 2, 2023, Jones Day prevailed in a five-week jury trial on behalf of Celgene Corporation in a lawsuit brought by health insurance company Humana, Inc.
  • Global pharmaceutical company secures summary judgment on all claims in wrongful death action involving clinical trial participantJones Day successfully defended a global pharmaceutical manufacturer in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of a young woman with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia who died in a clinical trial for CAR-T cell therapy.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins complete defense verdict in Oregon personal injury lawsuitOn February 19, 2021, after a two-week trial, a jury in Portland, Oregon returned a complete defense verdict on behalf of Jones Day client R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a personal injury lawsuit.
  • Amperex secures dismissal for lack of personal jurisdictionJones Day successfully represented Amperex Technology Limited ("Amperex"), a Chinese lithium-ion battery manufacturer, in a product liability action brought in the Northern District of Illinois.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins complete defense verdict in Ellis "Engle progeny" lawsuitOn December 7, 2018, following ten days of trial, a jury in Tampa, Florida returned a defense verdict in favor of Jones Day client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a wrongful death action.
  • Idenix wins $2.54 billion jury verdict in Gilead patent dispute involving hepatitis C drugsAfter a nine day trial and less than two hours of jury deliberation, Jones Day, on behalf of Idenix Pharmaceuticals LLC (a subsidiary of Merck & Co.), won the largest patent infringement verdict in U.S. history to date, involving a multi-billion dollar patent dispute with Gilead Sciences Inc. over sofosbuvir, the active ingredient in Gilead’s hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi® and Harvoni®.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins Bay Area jury verdict in Pooshs trialOn February 8, 2016, following three weeks of trial and nearly 12 years of litigation, a federal jury in Oakland, California took less than 90 minutes to return a defense verdict in favor of Jones Day client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in a personal injury action.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins jury verdict in Ellis "Engle progeny" lawsuitOn September 11, 2014, following three weeks of trial and less than four hours of deliberation, a jury in Jacksonville, Florida returned a verdict in favor of Jones Day client R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company ("R.J. Reynolds") in a wrongful death action, finding that the decedent-smoker was not a member of the Engle class.
  • Jones Day San Diego reaches settlement of civil rights claimsPursuant to the Southern District of California’s Plan for the Representation of Pro Se Litigants in Civil Cases, Jones Day San Diego was selected for pro bono representation of Raynard Vallery, the plaintiff in a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
  • R.J. Reynolds obtains dismissal of In re Tobacco II Cases class action in CaliforniaJones Day represented R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in this multi billion dollar, statewide smokers' class action against the major tobacco companies.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins jury verdict in Pickett ''Engle progeny'' lawsuitJones Day obtained another win on behalf of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Pickett v. R.J. Reynolds, the third “Engle progeny” lawsuit tried to verdict in federal court.
  • Celgene secures nonsuit in Texas pain pump litigationJones Day defended Celgene Corporation in a personal injury product liability action brought against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.
  • Celgene obtains dismissal of pain pump case in PhiladelphiaJones Day represented Celgene Corporation in this personal injury lawsuit alleging chondrolysis of the shoulder following the administration of bupivacaine and marcaine via a pain pump.
  • Celgene obtains dismissal in Washington product liability actionJones Day, on behalf of Celgene Corporation, obtained a dismissal of a product liability suit against a host of drug and medical device manufacturers stemming from alleged heparin-induced thrombocytopenia or "HIT".
  • R.J. Reynolds defeats wrongful death litigationJones Day defended R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in a wrongful death trial brought against four cigarette manufacturers seeking to recover for the decedent's death from lung cancer following decades of smoking.
  • R.J. Reynolds wins jury verdict in Vasko ''Engle progeny'' lawsuitJones Day successfully represented R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the latest "Engle progeny" lawsuit to reach a jury verdict, marking the continuation of a string of seven defense verdicts in the past two months.
  • Yamaha successfully defends nationwide litigation of product liability cases and claims involving the Rhino side-by-side ("SxS") vehicleJones Day leads Yamaha's defense of Rhino cases and claims pending in the United States.
  • Novo Industries defends child strangulation case involving window blindsJones Day represents Novo Industries in a child strangulation case involving window blinds.
    • June 2011
      Class Action Litigation Strategy 2011 -- Current Trends and Hot Topics, Association of Corporate Counsel, San Diego Chapter
    • January 2010
      Handling a Mistake with Benefit of Hindsight
    • January 2010
      Ethical Considerations for In-House Counsel
    • August 2009
      Ethical Considerations for In-House Counsel
    • January 2006
      Winning Legal Strategies for Product Liability 2006
    • February 2004
      Personal Injury Discovery in a Private World
    • San Antonio, Texas
      Emerging Issues and Strategies in Tobacco Litigation