Robert J. Stein, III

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Of Counsel

Location: Irvine, California

Phone: 949-221-0490

Robert Stein, III, has more than 25 years in both federal and state court complex litigation experience. He has litigated civil lawsuits for both plaintiffs and defendants, including large nationwide and multinational corporations, local business, individuals, and class actions. Mr. Stein has litigated matters from inception through trial and appeal, including the United Sates Supreme Court. His substantive areas of practice include business torts and contractual disputes, intellectual property, fraud, RICO, securities and antitrust claim, consumer protection, breach of fiduciary duty, labor, and more. Mr. Stein has practiced in state and federal courts throughout the nation, including California, Illinois, and several Multidistrict Litigation cases.

Notable Cases and Experience

Schlesinger v. Ticketmaster Corp. (Los Angeles Superior Court, BC304565). Mr. Stein is perhaps best known as the co-lead counsel in a 13-year case against Ticketmaster on behalf of a class of its customers. The case spanned 5 courts, more than a half-dozen appeals (in both federal and state courts) and ultimately resulted in certification of one of the largest consumer classes in California history (55 million members) and a settlement valued at over $100 million.

Hertz v Friend, 559 U.S. 77 (United States Supreme Court, 2010). Mr. Stein was the Counsel of Record for Respondent. The issue before the U.S. Supreme Court established how to determine a corporation’s principal place of business for purposes of diversity jurisdiction in federal court.

In re Tobacco II Cases, 46 Cal. 4th 298 (Cal. Supreme Court 2009). Mr. Stein was the lead attorney on an amicus brief, filed in connection with the Ticketmaster litigation. This case established the law for legal standing to file a misrepresentation case under California’s Unfair Competition Law as amended by Proposition 64.

Ziani Homeowners Assn. v. Brookfield Ziani LLC, 243 Cal. App. 4th 274 (4^th Dist. 2015). The Court reversed a ruling by the lower court against Mr. Stein’s clients and established the standard for homeowners to intervene in a lawsuit between their HOA and the contractor who built their condominiums.

Myers v. Hertz Corp., 624 F.3d 537 (2^nd Cir. 2010). Mr. Stein was the lead counsel in a case which took 16 years to resolve. This appellate opinion reversed the lower court’s ruling against Mr. Stein’s clients and established the legal standard in the Second Circuit for a collective action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Ortiz v. FibreBoard Corp., 527 U.S. 815 (1999). This was Mr. Stein’s first involvement with a case in the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Stein was one of the attorneys who filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the National Association of Securities and Commercial Law Attorneys. This case involved a $1.5 billion settlement.

Reyes v. Royal Range of California, Inc., et al. (Riverside Superior Court, No. RIC 1217041). Mr. Stein was lead counsel in a lawsuit involving Labor Code and PAGA claims. The case settled in the middle of a jury trial, resulting in a favorable settlement for Mr. Stein’s clients.

Mr. Stein has dozens of additional published opinions in state and federal courts. These include: Synfuel Techs., Inc. v. DHL Express (USA), Inc., 463 F.3d 646 (7th Cir. 2006), Oshana v. Coca-Cola Co., 472 F.3d 506 (7th Cir. 2006), Rifkin v. Bear Stearns & Co., 248 F.3d 628 (7th Cir. 2001), Montgomery v. Aetna Plywood, Inc., 231 F.3d 399 (7th Cir. 2000), Cahnmann v. Sprint Corp., 133 F.3d 484 (7th Cir. 1998), Clevenger v. Welch Foods, Inc., (multiple opinions) 342 F.R.D. 446 (C.D. Cal. 2022) and 501 F. Supp. 3d 875 (C.D. Cal. 2020), Neft v. United Cont’l Holdings, Inc., 299 F. Supp. 3d 965 (N.D. IL. 2018), Mellman v. Sprint Commc’n Co., 968 F. Supp. 371 (N.D. Fl. 1996).

Areas of Practice

• Business and Real Estate Litigation
• Contract Disputes
• Complex Litigation
• Business Torts
• Class Actions
• Employment Law
• Civil RICO
• Intellectual Property
• Unfair Competition Law
• Trial and Appellate Practice

Education and Bar Admissions

J.D., high honors and Order of the Coif – Chicago Kent College of Law (1995).

B.A., in history, honors – State University of New York, Albany (1992).

Licensed in both California and Illinois.

Admitted to the United States Supreme Court, The United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Seventh and Ninth Circuits and several United States District Courts, including the Central District of California.

Community Involvement

Throughout his legal career Mr. Stein has been instrumental in establishing millions of dollars in donations to charities including legal aid societies and law school clinics providing free services to consumers and indigent or low-income individuals and families. Most notably, Mr. Stein obtained a $3 million cy pres endowment to create the Consumer Law Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. His prior firm, Stein Bogot, Ltd., was recognized by the Chicago Legal Aid Society. He is also a board member for the Stern Foundation, which provides annual contributions to worthwhile charities.