Steven Raffaele is an attorney in Holland & Knight’s New York Litigation Practice Group. His practice focuses on aviation and commercial litigation, with additional emphasis on product liability, insurance, premises liability and construction law.
Mr. Raffaele handles all types of complex commercial and civil litigation and has represented numerous companies, including foreign and domestic air carriers, aircraft manufacturers and insurance companies, in cases involving claims for wrongful death and personal injury, premises liability, breach of contract and breach of warranty. Mr. Raffaele has extensive experience litigating claims governed by the Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention, Airline Deregulation Act, and other federal aviation statutes and international aviation treaties.
Mr. Raffaele also has been a frequent contributor to the ABA/TIPS Aviation Newsletter, and in Fall 2006 he co-authored an article concerning recent decisions in international aviation litigation entitled, "Warsaw and Montreal Convention Decisions."
Mr. Raffaele has expanded his practice into the area of business aviation and recently has represented the manufacturer of a business jet in a breach of contract and warranty action involving the sale of a business jet valued in excess of $32 million. Mr. Raffaele has also recently broadened his transportation experience and has worked closely with the firm's Government Section in litigating a claim on behalf of a land-excursion company against the U.S. Government Railroad Retirement Board and Surface Transportation Board involving the alleged non-payment of unemployment and retirement benefits. In that matter, Mr. Raffaele represented the petitioner in two separate appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Mr. Raffaele also represented the developer, program manager, general contractor and numerous subcontractors in various workplace accident litigation with respect to the demolition and redevelopment of the 1.5 million square foot International Arrivals Building (Terminal 4) at J.F.K. International Airport, N.Y., a $1.4 billion construction project.
Mr. Raffaele spent part of his junior year of college studying abroad in Padua, Italy, at the Università degli Studi di Padova, where he studied the Italian language as well as advanced Italian Medieval and Renaissance literature in their original Italian dialects.
Mr. Raffaele was a member of the Fordham Environmental Law Journal. During his second year of law school, Mr. Raffaele also successfully completed an internship at the New York District Attorney's Office, Queens County, Appeals Bureau, where he assisted in prosecuting and defending criminal appeals.
