John A. Greaves is an experienced airline transport pilot and a former airline captain. He is also a seasoned airline accident lawyer.
Since becoming an attorney and joining Baum Hedlund’s aviation litigation team in the early 1990s, John has represented hundreds of airline accident victims in more than 35 airline disasters, representing clients in virtually every major U.S. airline disaster in the last 15 years.
He was on the legal team that negotiated one of Baum Hedlund’s most significant aviation litigation achievements when the firm won, as part of the settlement in the January 8, 2003 Air Midwest Flight 5481 crash in Charlotte, NC, the agreement of the airline and maintenance company, in an organized ceremony, to deliver an unprecedented official public apology to the families for the crash.
In 2009, the Aviation Section of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) awarded John with “Outstanding Section Member, 2009" for his significant contribution to an AAJ legislation project to seek better compensation for victims of general aviation accidents.
As well, John was chosen by his peers in 2009 to be listed in Southern California Super Lawyers®. He has Martindale Hubbell’s highest AV® Peer Review Rating, and he is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
John is a member of the state bars of California, the District of Columbia, Iowa and Missouri. He is also a member of the American Association for Justice, Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association and Air Line Pilots Association.
He has been appointed to the following aviation litigation committees: Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, MDL-2085, In Re: Air Crash near Clarence Center, New York, on February 12, 2009; Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, September 11, 2001 Tort Litigation (airline passenger cases); Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL-1448, American Airlines 587 Crash, Belle Harbor (Queens), New York, 2001; Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, Singapore Airlines Crash, Taipei, Taiwan, 2000; and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Crash, near Carrollton, Georgia, 1995.
As an airline transport rated pilot and former Captain for Comair, John has flown over 10,000 hours total flight time since 1966 and over 3,000 hours as a Captain in Part 121 and Part 135 scheduled airline operations.
John has been a licensed pilot for more than 40 years, five years of which were as a pilot in scheduled airlines service, and four years of which were in the capacity of captain. Details of his pilot experience include Comair Airlines, Captain; Wright Airlines, First Officer; Aero-Mech Airlines, First Officer; and Air Illinois, First Officer. As an airline captain, John supervised flight and ground crews, ensured compliance with all FAA operations and maintenance regulations, documents and inspections. He served six years as a Flight Instructor and four years as a Charter Pilot and Charter Company Operator. He was Operator/President/CEO of VIP Pilot, Inc. He was Contract Administration Committee Chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association, Council 37 and received their Distinguished Service Award.
John spends as much of his free time as possible with his daughter, son-in-law and his two grandsons, ages 10 and 8. His grandsons are deeply involved in sports, particularly soccer and basketball. John goes to as many of their games as possible and unofficially coaches them, together with his son-in-law, who officially coaches all of the teams in which the boys are members. When not at the games or practice, John enjoys playing video games with the boys, roughhousing, swimming, going to parks, fishing and just hanging out with them.
Born:
- Kansas City, Missouri, 1948
Education:
- University of Missouri at Kansas City (B.A., 1976)
- Drake University Law School (J.D., With Honors, 1992)
- Drake University College of Business and Public Administration (M.P.A., 1992)
- Airline Transport Pilot License, USA (1982)
Admissions:
- Iowa, 1992
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa, 1992
- California, 1994
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1994
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1995
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 1995
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 1995
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1995
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1995
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 1995
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, 1996
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2000
- District of Columbia, 2001
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 2002
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 2002
- Missouri, 2004
- U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, 2009
Member:
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Iowa
- District of Columbia Bar
- State Bar of Missouri
- Iowa Trial Lawyers Association
- The American Association for Justice;, Aviation Law Section
- Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association
- Air Line Pilots Association
- Delta Theta Phi
- George McBurney Complex Litigation Inn of Court
- Member, Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Crash, near Carrollton, Georgia, 1995
- Member, Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, Singapore Airlines Crash, Taipei, Taiwan, 2000
- Member, Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL-1448, American Airlines 587 Crash, Belle Harbor (Queens), New York, 2001
- Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, September 11, 2001 Tort Litigation
- Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, MDL-2085, In Re: Air Crash near Clarence Center, New York, on February 12, 2009
Lectures/Speeches:
- The 1999 Aviation Litigation Seminar by the Aviation and Space Law Committee of the Tort and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association
- "Successful Handling of Wrongful Death Cases in California," Lorman Education Services, January 2002
Author:
- "Pilot's Reaction Among Flight 3407 Crash Causes"
Findlaw KnowledgeBase, April 16, 2009
- "American Passengers Have Limited Rights in International Airline Crashes Because
of a Treaty Known as the Montreal Convention"
FindLaw KnowledgeBase, June 8, 2010
- "Cause of Fatal Livermore Plane Crash Under Investigation"
FindLaw KnowledgeBase, June 8, 2010
- "What causes the metal skin on an airliner to tear apart?"
FindLaw KnowledgeBase, May 18, 2011
Awards and Honors:
- AV® 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rated through Martindale Hubbell
- Selected to: Southern California Super Lawyers 2009, 2011
- Selected to: Southern California Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition, 2009 - 2010
- Avvo.com Superb Score 10.0 out of 10
- Listed, Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers
- Who's Who in the World
- Who's Who in American Law
- Who's Who in America
- Who's Who in the West
- Air Line Pilots Association, Counsel 37, Distinguished Service Award
- Aviation Counsel Magazine's List of Recommended High Flyers, believed by the International Air Transport Association's Legal Dept. to be one of the most elite lists of aviation law practitioners ever produced
- National Air Disaster Foundation Safety Award, 2002
- Recipient: Outstanding Section Member 2009, Aviation Section of the American Assn. for Justice
Published Cases:
- Feazell v. Mesa Airlines, Inc., 917 S.W. 2d 895 (Tex. App. 1996)
- In re Air Crash Off Point Mugu, California, on January 30, 2000 145 F.Supp.2d 1156 (N.D.Cal., 2001)
Non-published Cases:
- In re September 11 Litigation No. 21 MC 97 (AKH), 2003 WL 22251325 (S.D.N.Y. 2003)
Practice Areas:
- Airline Crash Litigation
- Aviation Accidents
- Aviation Product Liability
- Complex and Multi-District Litigation
- Helicopter Crash Litigation
- Personal Injury Law
- Wrongful Death Law
PILOT EXPERIENCE
Ratings:
- Airline Transport Pilot Certificate, Multi-Engine Land, with type ratings for the EMB-110, SD-3, SF-340 airliners
Hours:
- 10,000 + hours total flight time since 1966
- 3,000 + hours as Captain in Part 121 and Part 135 scheduled airline operations
- 39 years as a licensed pilot
- 5 years as a pilot in scheduled airlines service, 4 years of which in the capacity of captain
Aviation Experience:
- Comair Airlines, Captain
- Wright Airlines, First Officer
- Aero-Mech Airlines, First Officer
- Air Illinois, First Officer
- As Captain; supervised flight and ground crews, ensured compliance with all FAA operations, and maintenance regulations, documents and inspections
- 6 years as a Flight Instructor
- 4 years experience as a Charter Pilot and Charter Company Operator/President/CEO of VIPilot, Inc.
- Contract Administration Committee Chairman, Air Line Pilots Association, Council 37
Awards:
- Air Line Pilots Association, Council 37, Distinguished Service Award
Qualified as Pilot-In-Command in:
- Saab-340
- SD-3
- EMB-110
- Piper Aerostar
- Piper Navajo
- Piper Seneca
- Cessna 310
- Cessna 340
- Cessna 411
- Cessna 421
- Cessna 441 Conquest
- Beechcraft 99 Airliner
- Beechcraft Baron
- Beechcraft King Air
JOHN A. GREAVES, of counsel 
