Mark Robertson

Mark W. Robertson is a partner in the labor/employment and aviation groups, with a specific focus on litigation and arbitration involving the Railway Labor Act. Legal 500 has repeatedly recognized Mark for both his labor and employment litigation work and his labor-management relations work, and Law360 recently recognized Mark as one of the top transportation attorneys in the nation, naming him a 2017 Transportation MVP.

Representative current and past airline clients include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines, PSA Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways. In addition to representing airlines in labor/employment matters, Mark also regularly represents airlines in consumer class actions, general commercial litigation matters, and in collective bargaining negotiations.

In addition to Mark’s extensive experience in the airline industry, he has represented employers in sectors such as entertainment, private equity, financial services, professional services, education, gaming, construction, technology, and manufacturing. Mark serves as the pro bono partner for O’Melveny’s New York Office and is a senior editor of The Railway Labor Act.

Experience:

• Prevailed on motion to dismiss in action brought against airline by three pilots seeking to vacate an interest arbitration award that established certain contractual rights.  See Krakowski v. Am. Airlines, Inc. (In re AMR Corp.), 2019 WL 112336 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. March 8, 2019).
• Prevailed on a motion to dismiss based on Railway Labor Act preemption and failure to state a claim in litigation for wrongful termination brought against an airline by a former union chairman. See Bryan v. Allied Pilots Association, et al., 2018 WL 6697691 (D. Mass. December 19, 2018).
• Prevailed on motion to dismiss based on Airline Deregulation Act preemption in a putative international class action brought by 22 plaintiffs who asserted claims against an airline for breach of contract, fraud, and unjust enrichment based on the airline charging fees for carry-on bags. See Cox v. Spirit Airlines, Inc., No. 1:17-cv-05172-WFK-VMS, (E.D.N.Y. November 20, 2018).
• Obtained summary judgment in a class action brought against American Airlines by a group of former TWA pilots asserting a collusion claim related to an arbitration involving the airline’s pilot seniority list. See Krakowski v. Am. Airlines, Inc. (In re AMR Corp.), 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 1726 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 12, 2018).
• Represented airline in putative class action brought by mechanic who alleged the airline committed fraud and impermissibly changed his wage rates and prevailed on motion to dismiss based on Garmon preemption. See Ballard v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206948 (N.D. Ill. December 18, 2017).
• Prevailed on a motion to dismiss on behalf of several airlines in litigation brought by a passenger asserting claims under Title VI, Federal Aviation law, Section 1981, and New York state law who claimed the airlines refused to board him based on his race/ethnicity. See Shin v. Am. Airlines Grp. Inc. et al., 2017 WL 3316129 (E.D. N.Y. August 3, 2017), aff’d 726 F. App’x 89 (2d Cir. 2018).
• Represented airline in putative class action regarding airline’s practices regarding fees and expiration of tickets and prevailed on motion to dismiss based on Airline Deregulation Act preemption. See Robinson v. American Airlines, Inc., Nos. 17-6166, 17-6167, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 21427, 2018 WL 3689657 (10th Cir. Aug. 2, 2018).
• Represented airline in putative class action brought by group of pilots asserting collusion claim related to the airline’s pilot seniority list and prevailed on motion to dismiss. See Krakowski v. Am. Airlines, Inc. (In re AMR Corp.), 567 B.R. 247 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. April 14, 2017).
• Prevailed on a motion to dismiss based on Montreal Convention on behalf of multiple airlines in litigation brought by four passengers who claimed they were removed from a flight because they are Muslim, and who asserted claims under Section 1981, Title VI, Federal Aviation law and New York State Human Rights Law. See Alam v. Am. Airlines Grp. Inc. et al., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38950 (E.D.N.Y. March 17, 2017).

Admissions:

• New York
• California
• District of Columbia
• Texas
• US District Court, Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of California, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York
• US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia, Second, Third, Seventh, Ninth and Tenth Circuits

Education:

• Pepperdine University, J.D.: summa cum laude; Pepperdine Law Review
• Pepperdine University, M.B.A.
• University of Louisiana at Monroe, B.B.A.: summa cum laude