Anthony U. Battista
Partner, New York
T: 212.894.6892 F: 212.370.4453
E: abattista@nullcondonlaw.com vCard
Anthony concentrates his practice on the commercial aviation industry.
Anthony represents air carriers, manufacturers and other aviation related entities in complex litigation arising from consumer and commercial transactions. He is lead counsel to numerous airlines, lessors and operators dealing with the worldwide grounding of Boeing’s 737-MAX aircraft and has obtained significant and immediate cash and non-cash results for clients against Boeing. He is lead trial counsel for the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association in litigation against Boeing to recover lost wages arising from the 737-MAX grounding. SWAPA v. The Boeing Company, 19-16290 (160th DC TX, 2020). Anthony is also representing carriers in industry wide litigation arising from COVID-19 refund class actions. E.g., Melnyk v. Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A., 20-06119 (DNJ 2020). He has defended carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa, United Airlines and Iberia in consumer class actions where the claims exceeded $100 million with victories at both the summary judgment and class certification levels in federal district and appellate courts throughout the United States. E.g., Baumeister v. Deutsche Lufthansa, AG, 811 F.3d 963 (7th Cir. 2016).
His recent trial work includes winning a judgment for Air Lease Corporation on a breach of contract claim. Anthony represented Air Lease Corporation, a leading global commercial aircraft lessor, in connection with a breach of contract litigation against Far Eastern Air Transport Corp., a Taiwanese air carrier, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. After a three week bench trial, the court found in ALC’s favor on all causes of action, awarded ALC more than $34 million in damages against Far Eastern, and dismissed Far Eastern’s counterclaims. The award was successfully upheld on appeal by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Air Lease Corp. et al. v. Far Eastern Air Transport Corp., 19cv19-55755 (9th Cir. 2020).
His recent trial work also includes successfully defending Iberia in a severe turbulence claim. As lead trial counsel, Anthony, filed a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the turbulence was not the proximate cause of the passenger’s injuries, and as a result Plaintiff’s claim was not cognizable under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention. He also sought to limit the airline’s liability on the grounds that neither the flight crew nor the cabin crew acted negligently. The judge denied the motion and the case proceeded to a jury trial. Following a week-long trial, the jury found that both the passenger and airline had acted negligently, but apportioned 99% of the fault to the passenger. Final judgment was entered, awarding plaintiff minimal damages for her injuries and no damages for her loss of consortium claim. The jury verdict was successfully upheld on appeal by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Fanny Quevedo, et al v. Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana, 19cv19-13514 (11th Cir. 2020).
Anthony represented Lufthansa Technik AG in actions against Synergy Aerospace Corp in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for damages arising from a contract dispute for failure to pay for aircraft repairs and obtained multi-million dollar judgments. Lufthansa Technik AG v. Synergy Aerospace Corp., Nos. 19-651123 and 19-651739 (NY Sup. 2020).
Anthony is representing FlyNYON/NYON in the NTSB investigation and litigation arising from the crash of an Airbus 350B2 helicopter operated by Liberty Helicopters on March 11, 2018. This is a high profile case due to location of accident (NYC – East River), number of deaths (5) and controversy over open-door helicopter flights over NYC. The action is pending in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in New York County, Cadigan v. Liberty Helicopters, Inc., et al, 18-152286 (NY Sup. 2018).
Anthony’s clients include industry leaders such as the Lufthansa Group, British Airways, Air Lease Corporation, Southwest Pilots Association and General Electric Aviation. He has dozens of reported aviation decisions to his credit and has more than a decade of industry knowledge having served as an Area Director for one of the world’s largest air carriers.
Anthony is a recipient of the distinguished Presidential Award by the Association of Transportation Law Professionals for his service to the aviation industry. Anthony has been consistently recognized as a leading practitioner in aviation law by various ranking publications including the editors of The Legal 500 U.S., Chambers USA, Aviation Expert Guides, Who’s Who Legal: Transport – Aviation Contentious, and The International Who’s Who of Aviation Lawyers. He has been consistently selected as a New York Super Lawyer for Aviation Law over the last decade and has received commendations in Chambers USA for being “absolutely brilliant” in the field and in The Legal 500 U.S. for his “astounding technical knowledge.”
Newsletters and Bulletins
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Grieving Families Act Vetoed Again
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Revised Grieving Families Act Introduced
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The Grieving Families Act Halted at Deadline
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Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Jury Verdict and Denies Plaintiffs’ Motion for New Trial
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Ninth Circuit Permits Baggage Delay Class Action To Continue Based on Breach of Contract
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Northern District of Illinois Severely Limits Passenger Class Action Delay Claim
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ECJ Further Narrows When Technical Problems Qualify as EC 261 “Extraordinary Circumstances”
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Courts Interpret the Meaning of “State Law” Under the Airline Deregulation Act
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Second Court Rules No Private Right of Action for Violation of EC 261
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No Private Right of Action for Violation of Regulation EU 261 in United States Courts
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U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Upholds Class Action Arbitration Waivers
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The European Commission Issues Proposed Amendments to Modify EC 261
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Recent Federal and U.S. Supreme Court Class Action Decisions
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European Court of Justice Reaffirms Application of European Regulation (EC) 261 to Flight Delays
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Summary of Pending Litigation in the United States Arising from European Union Regulation EC 261
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Montreal Convention: Two Prong Accident Analysis in First Circuit Maintained
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The Supreme Court Raises the Bar: Stricter Pleading Requirements Imposed on Plaintiffs
Published Works and Presentations
Speaker, “U.S. Aviation Consumer Regulations and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018,” Air Law Seminar, Royal Aeronautical Society, London (January 29, 2019).
Contributing co-author, “Class Action Litigation” (chapter 14), Litigating the Aviation Case, 4th edition. American Bar Association, 2017.
Speaker, “Strategic Decisions in United States Litigation,” JLT Aerospace Training Seminar, London (May 25, 2016).
Panelist, “Minding the Gap between Aviation Insurers and Aircraft Financing Entities,” IATA Risk and Insurance Managers (RIM) Working Group Meeting, Rome (May 18, 2016).
Speaker, panel on Gaining Critical Insights Efficiently from Exploding Volumes of Data in Litigation, Legal Analytics and the Business of Law Summit 2014 (November 2014).
Co-Author, “Reliability at the Gate to Allow Expert Testimony or Not”. The Brief. (Spring 2014).
Co-Author, “The Changing of a Liability System: The Montreal Convention and Art. 17”. Cologne Compendium on Air Law in Europe. Hobe/von Ruckteschell/Heffernan (eds.)(Carl Heymanns Verlag – Wolters Kluwer Deutschland GmbH, 2013).
Speaker, panel on Challenging and Defending Expert Testimony at the annual American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) and Aviation and Space Law Committee Seminar on Trial Tactics and Skills for the Aviation Practitioner (October 2012).
Contributor, The Liability Reporter, published jointly by IATA and Condon & Forsyth LLP. (15th ed., February 2012).
Instructor, Airline Contract Law, IATA Training and Development Institute (ITDI), Montreal, Canada, 2010.
Speaker, “The Volcanic Ash Airspace Shutdown: Questioning the Limits of Air Carriers’ Obligations to Passengers in Extraordinary Circumstances”, Association of Transportation Law Professionals, 81st Annual Meeting, June 2010.
Co-Author, “Collecting, Preserving and Presenting Evidence In Domestic and Foreign Aircraft Accident Cases”, McGill Law, Annuals of Air and Space Law, Volume XXXV, 2010.
Contributor, The Liability Reporter, published jointly by IATA and Condon & Forsyth LLP. (13th ed., February 2010).
Moderator, “Legislative & Regulatory Overview on Transportation and the Environment”, Association of Transportation Law Professionals, 80th Annual Meeting, June 2009.
Author, “Framing the Government Contractor Defense: Origin, Extension, and Potential”, American Bar Association, The Brief, Winter 2009.
Author, “Managing Expert Discovery”, Defense Research Institute, The Voice of the Defense Bar – Skywritings, Fall 2008.
Speaker, “Security, Discrimination and Denied Boarding through the Eyes of a Jury”, Association of Transportation Law Professionals, 79th Annual Meeting, Williamsburg, Virginia, June 2008.
Speaker, “Fractional Ownership of Aircraft”, Airfinance Journal Air Law Conference, London, England, February 2007.
Co-Editor, “Aviation” Column of Bi-monthly Newsletter, Association of Transportation Law Practitioners (2005-2012)
Speaker, “Legal Developments in Aviation Law”, Association of Transportation Law Professionals, 77th Annual Meeting, June 2006.
Moderator, “What’s Flying – Aviation Security”, Association of Transportation Law Professionals, 77th Annual Meeting, June 2006.
Editorial Board Member, “Jury Instruction Handbook, Aviation Law”, American Bar Association, 2005.
Speaker, “British Airways World Cargo – A Look Into the Future”, Association of JFK Customs Brokers, Annual Meeting, January 1999.