Biography

Dennis Vega is an experienced litigation and trial attorney representing clients in high stakes and sophisticated product liability, toxic tort, maritime, wrongful death, personal injury and premise liability cases in state and federal court.  Mr. Vega serves as national, regional or local counsel for various global industrial equipment manufacturers, distributors and contractors in the power, oil, chemical, railroad and automotive industries.  He also counsels corporate clients and scientists on selecting products suitable for laboratory testing to develop sophisticated exposure modeling for litigation and trial purposes.  Mr. Vega’s defense work includes coordinating with distinguished scientific and medical expert witnesses and serving as lead counsel in various state and federal coordinated proceedings, including New York City asbestos litigation and Multi-District Litigation (MDL).

Mr. Vega’s clients have included global industrial equipment manufacturers, distributors and installation contractors in the power, oil, chemical, railroad and automotive industries. He has also represented leading New York-area teaching hospitals and public hospitals as well as their affiliated doctors and other healthcare practitioners. 

He began his legal career at the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, where he earned assignment to the Trial Bureau and investigated, prosecuted and tried several capital cases.

Affiliations, Activities and Accomplishments

Mr. Vega is admitted to practice in New York and is admitted to appear before the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a  member of the New York State Bar Association and the Bronx County Bar Association.

While attending law school, Mr. Vega was executive editor of the Cardozo Women's Law Journal and represented the school on its trial team in national competitions.

Recent Decisions

• Hagen v. Benjamin Foster Co., 739 F.Supp.2d 770 (E.D.Pa., 2010) – denying plaintiff’s motion for remand based on government contractor defense.
• Plaintiffs v. Major Equipment Manufacturer, January 2011 – defense verdict after jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
•  Conner v. Alfa Laval, Inc., 799 F.Supp.2d 455 (E.D.Pa., 2011) – maritime/admiralty jurisdiction applies to Naval sailors.
• Conner v. Alfa Laval, Inc., __F.Supp.2d__, 2012 WL 288364 (E.D.Pa., 2012) – Manufacturer not liable for design defect or failure to warn of dangers caused by products incorporated into its equipment that it did not manufacture or distribute (Bare-Metal Defense).
• Floyd v. Air & Liquid Systems Corp., (E.D.Pa, February 9, 2012) – Equipment manufacturer not liable for harms arising from any product that it did not manufacturer or supply (Bare-Metal Defense).
• Lyautey v. Alfa Laval, Inc., (E.D.Pa., March 19, 2012) – Granting equipment manufacturer’s motion for summary judgment based on lack of causation (de minimus exposure).
• Fordham v. Asbeka Industries, (S.D.N.Y., April 25, 2012) – denying plaintiff’s motion to remand based on government contractor defense.

Recent Publications

• “Effective Collaboration with Outside Counsel in Complex Litigation.”  HNBA Corporate Counsel Conference, March 2011
• “A Discussion of Other Cancers, Other Causes and What the Future Holds.”  DRI Asbestos Medicine Seminar, November 2011
• “U.S. Navy and Equipment Cases – What is the Current State of the Law?”  Perrin Conferences, December 2011
• “Complex Litigation: Preparing and Defending the High Stakes Case.”  HNBA Corporate Counsel Conference, March 2012