David S. Osterman
Partner
David S. Osterman is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice in handling complex civil actions and class action litigation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as past chair for the New Jersey State Committee. In his nearly 30-year career he has defended a wide range of product liability and catastrophic injury cases, including cases involving consumer, pharmaceutical and industrial products, toxic torts, and complex commercial disputes. Dave is certified as a civil trial attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court and has tried more than 50 cases to verdict in five states (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Arizona) and the District of Columbia. He also has served as lead counsel in the successful defense of several state and national class actions involving claims of consumer fraud, breach of warranty, medical monitoring, and product liability.
Dave’s practice involves the representation of manufacturers, retailers, and distributors of a wide variety of products including pharmaceutical and medical device products, consumer products, food products, heavy industrial machinery, airplanes, outdoor power equipment, gas grills, glass products, and flammable fabrics. He has extensive toxic tort experience, including the successful representation of manufacturers and distributors against claims of personal injury or property damage as a result of exposure to asbestos, silica, paint products, graphite carbon, diacetyl, industrial solvents and MTBE.
Related Areas
Industries
Experience Highlights
Dave’s experience includes the largest consolidated asbestos trial in New Jersey history. Among other successes, he has successfully defended class-action litigation brought under state consumer protection statutes, including the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and handled a variety of commercial disputes including partnership dissolution disputes, breach of non-compete agreements, and patent, trademark and copyright litigation.
Honors & Awards
AV Preeminent Peer-Review Rating (Martindale-Hubbell)
Best Lawyers in America, Product Liability Litigation — Defendants, 2015–20
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (by invitation only)
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- Chair, New Jersey State Committee, 2015—17; vice-chair of the New Jersey State Committee, 2013–15
40 Under 40 Award, New Jersey Law Journal, 2003
View peer-review methodologies at martindale.com, bestlawyers.com, and superlawyers.com. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
- U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits
Education
- George Washington University Law School, J.D., 1988
- Lehigh University, B.S., 1985
Professional Affiliations
- Defense Research Institute
- Products Liability Subcommittee
- Trial Practice Subcommittee
- Commercial Litigation Committee Class Actions Special Litigation Group Publications Chair
- Product Liability Advisory Council
- International Association of Defense Counsel
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- The Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey
- New Jersey State Bar Association
- Mercer County Bar Association
- American College of Trial Lawyers
- Chair, New Jersey State Committee; former vice-chair, New Jersey State Committee
- Business Counsel, Inc.
- Products Liability Law 360: Former Member, Editorial Board
- Propane Gas Defense Association
Community Involvement
- Board of Trustees, McCarter Theater, Princeton, 2001–10
Publications & Events
- “E-discovery and the Defense of a Product,” Co-Author, DRI The Voice, July 2019
- Quoted in “Goldberg Segalla Elevates Seven NJ Attorneys to Partner,” NJBIZ, December 20, 2018
- Faculty Member, Civil Trial Advocacy Summer Institute, American College of Trial Lawyers and N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education, July 2016
- Co-Author, “Understanding the Attorney-Client Privilege: A Practical Overview and Associated Ethical Rules,” Preparing for and Trying the Civil Lawsuit, 2d Ed., 2016 Rev., New York State Bar Association
- Presenter, “Litigation Techniques,” Northeast Corporate Counsel, Atlantic City, NJ, April 20, 2015
- Featured in “New Jersey Powerhouse: Goldberg Segalla LLP,” June 24, 2014
- Featured in “And The Defense Wins,” Defense Research Institute, May 28, 2014
- Co-Author, “‘Rough Justice’ Is Not Justice,”Law360, November 6, 2013
- Author, “Reliable Evidence Required to Show Class Ascertainability,” Law360, September 16, 2013
- Quoted in “Consumer Fraud Attorney Fees Not Recoverable Without Loss,” New Jersey Law Journal, September 13, 2013
- Co-Author, “Implementation of Hazard Communication 2012: Are Your Clients Adequately Prepared?”Toxic Torts, Defense Research Institute, August 30, 2013
- “Seller Beware: Dealership’s Failure to Disclose That Used Car Was a ‘Loaner’ Leads to Treble Damages and Attorney’s Fee Award,” The Defender, National Association of Dealer Counsel, April 2013
- Quoted in “Social Media Transforms Employment Law Trials,” SHRM Online: Legal Issues, September 20, 2012
- Quoted in “Surviving a Product Recall,” Bed Times, February 2012
- Co-Author, “Lung Disease from Microwave Popcorn Flavoring? Searching for Kernels of Truth in the Litigation ‘Maize,'” For the Defense, Defense Research Institute, November, 2008
- Co-Editor, Trial Handbook of New Jersey, 4th Edition
- Co-Author, Chapter on “Electronic Evidence,” DRI Defense Manual, 2006 Edition
- Co-Author, “In Laidlaw’s Wake: Impact of Recent New Jersey Supreme Court Decisions on Employer Liability and Insurance Coverage in Civil Suits for Employees Injured by Industrial Machinery,” September, 2003
- Co-Author, “The CPSC Duty to Report: Triggered by Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence” December, 2002
- Author, “Liability of Premises Owners for Asbestos-Related Claims of Employees of Contractors,” Harris Martin Columns, October, 2001
- Co-Author, “Liability of Property Owners for Asbestos Exposure,” Harris Martin, October, 2000
- Presenter, “Defending Traumatic Brain Injuries,” CLE Course, December 11, 2019
- Presenter, “Defending Product Liability Claims: For Appliance Manufacturers,” Charlotte, NC, November 15, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Strategies for Containing Liability Cases and What You Need to Know About Jury Behavior to Do So,” Catastrophic Injury Joint Seminar, Chicago, IL; New York, NY, November 7, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Defending Product Liability Claims: For Appliance Manufacturers,” Charlotte, NC, November 2, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Defending Construction Accident Cases,” Handling a Construction Accident Case, New Jersey Association for Justice, Edison, NJ, February 25, 2017
- Presenter, “From Single Claims to Class Actions: Coordination for Dealing With Repetitive Claims,” Fighting Fire With Fire, Chicago, June 22, 2016
- Presenter, “Legal and Insurance Coverage Implications of Nanotechnology,” IRUA’s Reinsurance Emerging Risks Seminar, New York, March 9, 2016
- Presenter, “Standing issues in no injury class actions,” DRI Class Actions Teleconference, June, 2011
- Presenter, “Misery Loves Company: Seeking Companionship for Liability Purposes,” Defense Research Institute, Fire and Casualty Seminar, November, 2010
- Presenter, “Litigation Implications on Impact of Recent Amendments to Flammable Fabrics Act,” Defense Research Institute, Fire & Casualty Seminar, November, 2005
- Presenter, “Impact of Proposed Changes to Mattress Flammability Regulations,” ASTM Annual Meeting, October, 2003
- Presenter, “Recent Developments in Flammable Fabrics Litigation,” Defense Research Institute, Fire & Casualty Litigation Seminar, September, 2002
- Presenter, “Figures Lie and Liars Figure: The Abuse and Creative Use of CPSC Accident Data,” Defense Research Institute, Product Liability Conference, February, 2002
- Presenter, “A Practical Guide to Federal Court Rules and Procedures in New Jersey,” National Business Institute, 2001
- Presenter, “Discoverability of Electronic Data,” New Orleans, October, 2000
- Presenter, “Federal Practice in New Jersey,” National Business Institute, July, 2000
- Presenter, “Trial Advocacy in New Jersey,” National Business Institute, July, 1999
Recent Insights
September 13, 2019
December 20, 2018