John Greaves is an airline transport pilot and a former captain of Comair. He has represented victims in 35 airline crashes since joining the firm in 1994.
Born:
- Kansas City, Missouri, February 18, 1948
Education:
- University of Missouri at Kansas City (B.A., 1976)
- Airline Transport Pilot License, USA (1982)
- Drake University Law School (J.D., With Honors, 1992)
- Drake University College of Business and Public Administration (M.P.A., 1992)
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
Member:
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Iowa
- District of Columbia Bar
- State Bar of Missouri
- Iowa Trial Lawyers Association
- American Bar Association, The Forum on Air and Space Law, Litigation Section and Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Aviation Law Section, VIOXX Litigation Group
- 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
Judge Pro Tem
- Los Angeles County Superior Court
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
Honors:
- 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
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 Activities:
- 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