Eric Palombo

Eric Palombo is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and the Transportation Law Practice. Eric has extensive experience having litigated matters throughout the country. While his practice is diverse, his primary focus is on transportation law and representing clients in matters involving substantial property damage claims and commercial disputes, including significant derailments, freight claim litigation and matters involving damage to transportation infrastructure such as maritime allisions, maritime limitation of liability actions, and architectural, engineering and construction defect cases. His transportation experience covers rail, motor carrier and maritime law as well as claims arising under the Carmack Amendment and the Carriage of Goods by Seas Act.

Eric handles matters through all stages of litigation from the inception of the claim through trial and appeal. Eric has litigated cases in state and federal courts throughout the country including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Virginia and West Virginia. Through the course of his career, Eric has litigated multi-million dollar lawsuits representing corporate plaintiffs and defendants, achieving significant victories including recovering in excess of $20 million dollars on behalf of his clients and defeating claims ranging in size from the hundreds of thousands to over $10 million.

In addition to his litigation experience, Palombo assists clients in NTSB and U.S. Coast Guard investigations, in matters before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, and in U.S. Customs and Border Protection matters associated with regulatory compliance and enforcement actions. He has also drafted carrier tariffs, transportation agreements and provides consultation on a wide variety of transportation and risk related issues. Eric works diligently to achieve the best possible outcome for his clients whether through dispositive motions, trial, appeal or settlement.

Before joining Flaster Greenberg, Eric was a name partner of Cohen & Palombo, a boutique transportation law firm. Eric is a graduate of The Villanova University Law School, cum laude, where he was awarded Order of the Coif. After graduating from law school, he completed a one year judicial clerkship for the Honorable Susan Devlin Scott, in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

• CSX Transportation, Inc., et al., v. Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Civil Action No. 2:16-cv-00557, represented the owners of a bridge seeking in excess of $10 million in damages arising from the Scioto Greenways Project in Columbus, Ohio. The project involved modification to the Scioto River to add greenspace. The bridge spanned the river and began to sink during the course of the project giving rise to a myriad of architecture, engineering and construction defect claims against the project owner and its engineering and construction contractors. The case eventually settled prior to trial.
• Sanofi-Aventis U.S., LLC, et. al. v. Great American Lines, Inc,. et al., 16-3668, 2017 WL 6032465, (3d Cir. Dec. 6, 2017) obtained summary judgment and drafted appellate brief successfully convincing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to affirm the District Court’s award of summary judgment finding that his client was not liable for a $9 million freight claim arising from the theft of a trailer of pharmaceuticals while in transit based upon the terms and conditions contained within the governing transportation contract.

• Icicle Seafoods, Inc., et al. v. BNSF Railway Company, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Civil Action No. 2:21-cv-01715-TSZ, secured summary judgment on behalf of rail carrier enforcing $50,000 limitation of liability in response to a freight claim arising from the alleged damage to frozen fish in excess of $240,000. In the same decision, Mr. Palombo defeated Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment by successfully arguing that the Plaintiff failed to carry its burden under the Carmack Amendment.

• Central Transport, LLC Global Aeroleasing, LLC, et al., 2020 WL 7040048; 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90862, secured summary judgment on behalf of motor carrier limiting its liability to $3,140.00 in response to a freight claim seeking to recover in excess of $1 million for alleged damage to commercial airplane landing gear.
• CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Steelways, Inc. et al., ­S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Civil Action No. 7:17-cv-06082represented rail carrier in a significant derailment matter involving millions in property damage when a train derailed after one of the defendants’ employees left equipment on active tracks. The matter ultimately settled before reaching trial.

• Transportation Lawyers Association
• Association of Transportation Law Professionals
• Villanova Inn of Court
• Law 360's Transportation Editorial Advisory Board
  • Member, 2024