A. Stephen Hut, Jr. is a partner in the firm's Regulatory and Government Affairs and Litigation/Controversy Departments, and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation, Government and Regulatory Litigation, and Antitrust and Competition Practice Groups. He is also a member of the Business Trial Group. Mr. Hut joined the firm in 1971.
Mr. Hut focuses principally on litigation in federal courts, in arbitration and before federal administrative agencies in such areas as commercial torts and contract disputes, copyright, antitrust, telecommunications, transportation, insurance coverage and miscellaneous federal regulatory areas. He served as acting special assistant to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense from May to August 1977.
Recent Highlights
Representative litigation matters on which Mr. Hut has worked include:
- Represented US Philips in New York trial and appellate courts in action against EMI for recovery of tens of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties owed for CDs sold
- Copyright litigation on behalf of broadcasters against EchoStar, which resulted in an injunction in the broadcasters' favor after two-week trial
- Constitutional litigation on behalf of physicians resulting, after three-week bench trial, in an injunction against enforcement of a federal statute, and on behalf of the College Board resulting in an agreed-to injunction against the defendant
- Class action commercial tort and contract litigation defending Educational Testing Service and The College Board
- Business tort litigation for private airport manager in Florida state court, which resulted in dismissal of all claims on summary judgment on eve of jury trial
- Class action antitrust litigation in federal and state courts on behalf of American Home Products Corporation and in federal court for Philips Electronics
- Federal court litigation on behalf of IGEN International resulting in a $505 million jury verdict in the client's favor, which the Fourth Circuit reduced
- Appellate litigation for United States Telecom Association, successfully challenging significant parts of FBI regulations promulgated under CALEA
- Litigation in the federal courts on behalf of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund arising out of the Exxon Valdez and other catastrophic oil spills
- Representation of Conrail before the Interstate Commerce Commission (and its successor, the Surface Transportation Board) in proceedings concerning the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger
Professional Activities
Mr. Hut is a member of the American Law Institute. He previously served as the Vice President of the Council for Court Excellence and a member of its Board of Trustees and Executive Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Appleseed Foundation.
Publications
Mr. Hut is the author or co-author of the following:
- "Automation and Collective Bargaining," 84 Harv. L. Rev. 1628 (1971)
- "Equal Protection – Required Referendum for Low Income Housing – James v. Valtierra," 85 Harv. L. Rev. 122 (1971)
- "Prohibition on Military Unionization: A Constitutional Appraisal," 1977 Mil. L. Rev. 1
- "Recent Court Decisions Upholding State Laws That Require Employers to Cover Contraception in Employee Health Insurance Plans," 6-3 Bender's Labor & Employ. Bull. 3 (2006)
Honors and Awards
- Recipient of Council for Court Excellence's Charlie Horsky Award in 2009 for service to the Council
- Recipient of WilmerHale's 2008 John H. Pickering Award for Pro Bono Activities
- Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, in the areas of commercial (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions) and business litigation (2005-2006 edition)
- Named by the Baltimore Sun as "Newsmaker of the Week," ending December 24, 2006, for court victory effectively halting Maryland's death penalty