Brian J. Alexander - New York, NY

Overview

Brian J. Alexander received his undergraduate degree (B.S. Economics/Engineering) from the United States Military Academy in 1985. After completion of flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, he served as a helicopter and fixed wing pilot from 1985-1990. Mr. Alexander graduated from the Army Aviation Accident Investigation Course and is a licensed FAA commercial multi-engine airplane and helicopter pilot with instrument ratings.

Mr. Alexander received his Juris Doctor degree from Notre Dame Law School in 1993. While at Notre Dame, he received the International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, the Jessup International Moot Court Award and the American Jurisprudence Award for Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Alexander joined Kreindler & Kreindler in 1995 after having clerked for the Honorable Robert D. Potter, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of North Carolina (1993-1995). Mr. Alexander became a partner in 2001.

Mr. Alexander has litigated numerous international and domestic airline, commuter, military and general aviation crash cases. Many of the aviation cases in which Mr. Alexander has been involved have had notable results, including several of the highest individual settlements in the United States. One such case, McClendon v.First Tennessee Bank, yielded an $8,000,000 jury verdict award, at the time one of the largest in Tennessee history.

Mr. Alexander led the effort in the litigation arising out of the 1997 crash of a Boeing 747 in Agana, Guam being operated as KAL Flight 801 and was the lead examiner for the PSC in numerous depositions of airline and FAA personnel.

He was a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC) for the Singapore 006 crash in October 2000. In that case, he briefed, argued and won a critical choice of law motion for the passengers and obtained one of the largest settlements. He also handled the litigation arising out of two recent MV-22 Osprey crashes and obtained successful settlements for the military families against the manufacturers Bell and Boeing.

In 2002, Mr. Alexander was appointed by the Court as Co-liaison counsel for the September 11 Litigation pending in the Southern District of New York. He briefed, argued and defeated the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the 9-11 lawsuits.

Mr. Alexander resolved more than 35 cases arising from the 2002 crash of a Boeing 747 operating as China Air Flight 611. He vigorously pursued claims against both the airline and the manufacturer, Boeing, for their negligent maintenance and repairs on the accident aircraft. Among the settlements, Mr. Alexander obtained the largest recovery on the aircraft for a family from California.

Mr. Alexander also represented the largest group of families in the United States litigation arising from the August 14, 2005, crash of a Boeing 737-300, operating as Helios Airways Flight 522, near Athens Greece.

Mr. Alexander represented injured passengers against the airline and the FAA in litigation arising from the Continental Airlines Flight 1404 crash in Denver, Colorado in December 2008.
He represented passengers injured during the Caribbean Airlines Flight 523 landing overrun at Georgetown, Guyana in July 2011.

He presently represents passengers injured and three victims killed as a result of the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, 2013.

In addition, Mr. Alexander has prosecuted numerous aviation product liability cases. These are technically complex cases involving a wide range of aviation products including jet, turboprop and helicopter engines, avionics equipment, flight computers and flight control systems. He has been involved in matters concerning Boeing, Sikorsky, Bell, Robinson and Eurocopter helicopters; Beech (Raytheon), Cessna, Cirrus, Mitsubishi and Piper general aviation aircraft; and Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Airbus, Bombardier, British Aerospace and other foreign manufactured commercial jet aircraft.

Mr. Alexander has tried cases in federal and state court and also argued and briefed appeals in the Second, Sixth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits.

Mr. Alexander has lectured at ABA conventions and legal symposiums in both the United States and Canada and has authored numerous articles on aviation and product liability litigation. He is the co-editor of the American Bar Association (Torts and Insurance Practice Section) Air and Space Law Newsletter and is a co-author of the book “Litigating the Aviation Case from Pre-Trial to Closing” (ABA 1998). He is the former Chairman of the Aviation Section of the American Trial Lawyers Association and Vice Chairman of the American Bar Association Air and Space Law Committee.

Mr. Alexander has appeared on television and radio shows as an aviation expert and legal analyst, including CNBC, NPR, BBC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN and The Today Show. He was also interviewed by Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes” in connection with his efforts on Capitol Hill to address aviation safety.

Since 2006, Mr. Alexander has repeatedly been selected by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America and also as a New York Superlawyer.

Mr. Alexander is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Rutgers School of Law where he teaches a course on Aviation Accident Litigation.

List of Exemplar Cases

• 1987 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 crash near Warsaw, Poland
• 1990 Boeing Model CH-47D helicopter crash at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
• 1996 United Express Beech 1900 runway incursion at Quincy, Illinois
• 1996 Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter crash at Stratford, Connecticut
• 1996 Mitsubishi MU-2B turboprop crash near Pocatello, Idaho
• 1997 Presidential Flight Detachment Sikorsky VH-60 crash near Nanjemoy, Maryland
• 1997 Bell Model 206B helicopter crash near Elko, Nevada
• 1997 Korean Airlines Flight 801 Boeing 747 crash near Agana, Guam
• 1997 United States Air Force C-141B Mid-Air collision off the coast of Namibia
• 2000 Singapore Airlines Flight 006 Boeing 747 crash near Taipei, Taiwan
• 2000 Executive Airlines BA Jetstream 3100 crash at Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
• 2000 Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Crash on Maui, Hawaii
• 2001 American Airlines Flight 587 A-300 crash at Bell Harbor, New York
• 2001 Co-Liaison Counsel, September 11 Tort Litigation
• 2002 China Air Flight 611 Boeing 747 crash off the coast of Taiwan
• 2004 Bombardier Challenger 600 crash at Montrose, Colorado
• 2004 U.S. Airways Flight 5481 Beech 1900 crash at Charlotte, North Carolina
• 2004 American Connection Flt 5966 BA-32 Jetstream crash near Kirksville, Missouri
• 2004 Sikorsky UH-60 Helicopter Wire Strike Crash near Waco, Texas
• 2005 Helios Flight 522 Boeing 737 crash near Athens, Greece
• 2005 IAI Westwind Crash near Colima, Mexico
• 2006 Cirrus SR-20 crash near Maybell, Colorado
• 2006 Cessna 172/182 Mid-Air Collision El Cajón, California
• 2007 Kenya Airways Flight 507 Boeing 737 crash near Douala, Cameroon
• 2007 Marlin Air Cessna Citation 550 Crash Lake Michigan
• 2008 Hawker 800 Crash at Owatonna, Minnesota
• 2008 Continental Airlines Flight 1404 Crash at Denver, Colorado
• 2011 Caribbean Airlines Flight 523 Crash at Georgetown, Guyana
• 2013 Asiana Airlines Flight 214 Crash at San Francisco, California