William O. Angelley

Partner

William O. Angelley joined Kreindler & Kreindler LLP in 2003 and became a partner in 2008. His practice is focused on aviation, products liability and other complex litigation.

Before joining Kreindler & Kreindler, Mr. Angelley practiced with an aviation defense firm in Dallas, Texas, where he represented a variety of aviation companies, including maintenance and overhaul facilities, manufacturers, and operators. He has litigated and been lead trial counsel in cases pending in state and federal courts throughout the United States. During the course of his career, Mr. Angelley has been involved in numerous commercial, military and general aviation cases, including:

• American Connection Flight 5966 crash near Kirksville, MO in October 2004;
• Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash near Anacapa Island, California in January 2000;
• Swissair Flight 111 crash near Halifax, Nova Scotia in September 1998;
• Raytheon Patriot Missile shoot down of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 aircraft in Iraq;
• The crash of a Lear 35 aircraft near Mina, South Dakota in October 1999 that killed professional golfer Payne Stewart;
• The crash of an Army UH-60 helicopter near Fort Hood, Texas in November 2004;
• The crash of a Florida National Guard C-23B transport plane near Unadilla, Georgia in March 2001;
• accidents arising from the failure of Beech T-34 wing structure failures;
• accidents and commercial litigation arising from Lycoming crankshaft failures; and
• accidents arising from Precision Airmotive carburetor and fuel system failures.

Mr. Angelley has been on the forefront of defending against preemption efforts by aircraft manufacturers and their insurers. Preemption is a legal theory used by many aviation defendants in an attempt to immunize themselves from law suits, thus stripping away the rights of victims, by arguing that the Federal Aviation Regulations replace traditional negligence and products liability standards. In the aviation context, preemption is a dubious theory and Mr. Angelley has been integral in obtaining several key rulings denying such efforts.

Mr. Angelley has published numerous articles concerning aviation law and is a frequent speaker at legal education forums and bar association meetings. Some of his articles and speeches are listed below:

• Author, Plaintiff Thwarts Cessna’s Preemption Arguments in Monroe v. Cessna,
  AAJ Aviation Section Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 2, Winter 2007.
• Author, The Need for Mandatory Aviation Insurance, AAJ Section Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 2, Winter 2008 (with Justin T. Green).
• Speaker, A Discussion of Monroe v. Cessna Aircraft Company, New York City Bar Association, June 2006.
• Speaker, Update on the September 11, 2001 Victim Compensation Fund and Related Litigation, Lubbock Bar Association, May 2004.
• Speaker/Author, Field Preemption and the Federal Aviation Regulations, SMU
  Airlaw Symposium, February 2003.
• Author, The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, Texas Bar Journal, January 7, 2002.
• Speaker, Aviation Product Liability Insurance, Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Conference, June 2001.

Mr. Angelley graduated with honors from Texas Tech University in 1988. After graduation, he entered the United States Navy flight program and received his wings in July 1990. During his tenure in the Navy, Mr. Angelley accumulated more than 1100 flight hours in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. He also served as a detachment maintenance officer and operations officer for his squadron. Mr. Angelley holds commercial pilot ratings in airplanes and helicopters.

After spending six years in the Navy, Mr. Angelley entered law school at the University of Texas in Austin and graduated in 1997. While in law school, he participated in various mock trial and moot court competitions and founded the Texas Aviation Law Association.

Mr. Angelley is a member of the State Bars of Texas and New York and has been admitted to practice in all Texas Federal Courts and the Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York. He is currently awaiting admission in California. He is also a member of the American Association for Justice, American Bar Association, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and the New York City Bar Association, where he has served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Aviation Section.