Alexi practices in the state and federal courts of New York and New Jersey, but he has represented clients in litigation throughout the United States. The majority of his cases involve defending clients and/or seeking loss transfer of claims arising from premises liability; auto, livery, trucking and cargo liability; product liability; aviation, air transportation and airport operations liability; dram shop (alcohol) liability; and intentional torts.

When he is not in the courtroom, Alexi spends a significant portion of his time providing legal services to clients regarding loss investigations, claims adjusting, and coverage opinions. He routinely assists underwriters, third-party administrators, and independent adjusters with investigations of suspicious or fraudulent insurance claims. Consequently, Alexi has conducted hundreds of examinations under oath involving individual insureds, business owners, corporate officers, assignees of policy benefits, and third-party claimants. 

Alexi is also skilled at developing strategies and executing a plan of action to tackle complex and contentious claims. He is experienced in interviewing non-party witnesses, assisting with loss site inspections, preparing specific document requests, providing coverage opinions, and drafting denial letters. He has worked on claims adjustment teams with many types of experts and professional consultants (i.e. engineers, fire investigators, forensic accountants, environmental scientists, meteorologists) to achieve the best outcome for clients.

Being knowledgeable and skilled in loss investigations, policy analysis, and civil procedure allows Alexi to confidently and effectively represent clients in insurance coverage litigation. He has had the privilege to represent some of the globe’s largest underwriters in cases with a high risk of exposure. Whether he serving as defense counsel or prosecuting a client’s case, Alexi has handled claims for subrogation, indemnification, primacy, rescission, exhaustion, disgorgement, and declaratory judgment.

Alexi has considerable experience with commercial transactions and litigation. His clients routinely call on him to provide advice and representation in cases involving leases, mortgages, promissory notes, professional fee arrangements, revolving credit, construction projects, start-up financing, digital commerce, and computer software services. He provides his clients with legal guidance during contract negotiations and drafts model language with goal of avoiding legal disputes

Additionally, he is well versed in creditor rights and judgment enforcement. He has served as counsel to banks, credit unions and thrifts in litigation arising from the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending Act, Fair Credit Billing Act as well as New York’s Consumer Protection Law and Debtor & Creditor Law. Alexi uses his experience in these fields to provide pro bono representation to elderly, critically ill, veterans afflicted by PTSD and victims of fraud.

As a resident of Suffolk County, Alexi has represented numerous towns and incorporated villages on Long Island. He has effectively represented clients in claims involving public contracts, trespass, conversion, adverse possession, and property damage from municipal infrastructure projects. 

In addition to his legal practice, Alexi was a special professor of law at Hofstra University School of Law, from 2014 to 2019, where he taught a mock trial course focused on trial skills, evidence, and professional demeanor in the courtroom. He remains active with his Alma mater and enjoys helping law students gain practical skills for the practice of law.

During law school, Alexi received numerous awards, including the Judge Edward Hart Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Trial Advocacy and the Hofstra Trial Advocacy Association’s Outstanding Trial Advocacy Skills Award. He was a member and contributor to the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal. He was also a member of the Moot Court Board and the Trial Advocacy Association.

Honors:

New York Metro Super Lawyers, Rising Stars – Selectee (5x) – 2017 – 2022

American Hellenic Progressive Association, District 6 Chapter Secretary of the Year – 2022

Judge Edward Hart Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in Trial Advocacy – 2011

Hofstra Trial Advocacy Association’s Outstanding Trial Advocacy Skills Award – 2011

Professional Leadership:

• Hellenic Lawyers Association – Member
• Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce – Member
• AHEPA Chapter 319 Port Jefferson, Inc.* – General Counsel

*A 501(c)(3) organization with tax exempt status and eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions pursuant to the IRS.

• American Hellenic Progressive Association – Member
• Associated Builders & Contractors, Empire State Chapter – Member
• The International Association of Commercial Collectors, Inc. – Member 
• Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University – Special Professor of Law

2014 – 2019

Representative Matters:

• Mamakos v. United Airlines, Inc., Unites States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Sept. 29, 2021)

Plaintiff commenced this lawsuit against a commercial airline after she was ejected from one of its flights and sought to recover damages under different theories of negligence, intentional torts, and breach of contract. Following the close of an extensive and contentious period of discovery, Alexi filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of plaintiff’s claims. The court agreed with Alexi’s argument that plaintiff’s state law tort claims were impliedly preempted by the Federal Aviation Act and that the airline legally exercised its statutory authority of “permissive refusal.” Additionally, the court was also convinced that the airline had a contractual right to refuse to transport plaintiff and, therefore, did not breach the terms of the Contract of Carriage. Consequently, the court granted summary judgment and dismissed all of plaintiff’s claims.

• One Stop Auto Sales, LLC v. Praetorian Insurance Company, Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County (Mar. 8, 2021)

In this breach of insurance contract action filed against a carrier represented by Alexi, plaintiff sought millions of dollars in damages in connection with the alleged theft of hundreds of motor vehicles and diverted payments under consumer finance agreements. At the close of discovery, Alexi filed and argued a motion for summary judgment on behalf of the insurer. He was able to persuade the court that plaintiff breached the insurance policy by failing to provide timely notice of the loss and that the delay caused irreversible prejudice to the insurer. The court granted the carrier summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s claim, in its entirety.

• Kim v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., New York Supreme Court, Queens County (Jan. 23, 2020)

In this lawsuit by a foreign national against a commercial airline, plaintiff sought punitive damages for the alleged mishandling of his luggage, including pilfered medical records. Alexi pressed plaintiff for supporting documents and witnesses during discovery, which yielded no evidence of wrongdoing by the airline. He convinced the Court to dismiss plaintiff’s entire lawsuit as a sanction for the frivolous and meritless allegations in the complaint. 

• Gremaux v. Solano et al., New York Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Aug. 22, 2019)

The plaintiff in this case was injured in an accident in Key West, Florida when the golf cart, in which he was a passenger, overturned. Plaintiff sued the driver and the rental company, the latter of whom was represented by Alexi. Following written discovery and rigorous questioning of witnesses at depositions, Alexi established there was no evidence of defects with the golf cart. Thereafter, he convinced the plaintiff and co-defendant to voluntarily discontinue their claims against his client.

• Zivkovic v. Pacific 670-674, LLC et al., New York Supreme Court, Kings County (Sept. 27, 2019)

Alexi represented a property developer and construction management company in this Labor Law action. The plaintiff was injured when he fell from a ladder while welding at a construction site and brought four separate claims. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment under Labor Law § 240(1), also known as New York’s “Scaffolding Law,” and the responsible third-party defendant refused to indemnify Alexi’s clients despite having agreed to do so in a subcontract for the project. Alexi defeated plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment by arguing that his own testimony showed he did not know what caused him to fall form the ladder, let alone that the ladder was defective or did not provide proper fall protection. Additionally, Alexi prevailed on his cross-motion for summary judgment and obtained dismissal of plaintiff’s three other Labor Law claims based on the same testimony. Finally, Alexi successfully moved for summary judgment against the subcontractor based on the project contracts and won indemnification for his clients, which absolved them of liability and legal fees.

• Jefferson Capital System, LLC v. Warren, Trial Court of Massachusetts, Waltham District Court (June 13, 2019) 

In this special action plaintiff sought to enforce a domestic money judgment by obtaining an order to attach the wages against the former clerk of a defunct corporation. Alexi prevailed on a motion to vacate and set aside the judgment against his client by arguing the court lacked personal jurisdiction due to improper service and, therefore, the judgment was void. As a result of the successful motion, the plaintiff was estopped for enforcing the judgment and time barred from re-filing its claims. 

• Pennino v. Brooklyn Kings Plaza, LLC et al., New York Supreme Court, Kings County (Dec. 27, 2017)

In this personal injury lawsuit, Alexi defended the Kings Plaza Shopping Mall where the plaintiff slipped and fell on ice and slush upon exiting a car on the fourth level of a parking garage. The plaintiff suffered a severe leg fracture requiring multiple surgeries. He prepared and argued a motion for summary judgment based on New York’s storm-in-progress doctrine utilizing meteorological data and witness testimony. Plaintiff opposed dismissal by arguing that the storm had ceased for several hours at the time of the accident and even if it had not the legal doctrine does not apply to in-door conditions. Alexi persuaded the Court that the storm-in-progress doctrine may be applied to structures that are open to the elements and that a lull in a storm does not impose a duty on a shopping mall to remove accumulations of snow and ice. The motion for summary judgment was granted and plaintiff’s complaint was dismissed with prejudice.

• Ameriprise Insurance Company v. Pugsley Medical Care, P.C., New York Supreme Court, New York County (Aug. 15, 2016)

In this special action involving issues of insurance coverage, Alexi sought de novo review of arbitration awards that found defendant was entitled to Personal Injury Protection benefits despite failing to appear for an examination under oath. Alexi argued that the arbitrator misapprehended the law, and the awards must be vacated because the defendant’s appearance at an examination under oath was a condition precedent to coverage under the applicable insurance policy. The Court agreed with Alexi’s arguments and issued a declaratory judgment that the insurance carrier was not obligated to honor or pay claims submitted by the defendant.

• Quinones v. Staples, Inc., Supreme Court of New York, Queens County (Aug. 20, 2015)

In this premises liability case, plaintiff filed a lawsuit against a major department store after falling down a wet set of stairs and suffering personal injuries. Alexi utilized deposition testimony from multiple witnesses to establish that the stairs were cleaned shortly before the accident and, therefore, his client did not have notice of the alleged dangerous condition. The Court found the defendant was entitled to summary judgment based on the lack of notice and dismissed the action in its entirety.

• Zuchowski v. General Growth Properties, Inc. et al., Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County (Aug. 7, 2015)

Alexi represented the Staten Island Mall in this negligence lawsuit where an elderly plaintiff slipped and fell due to the accumulation of water on the floor from a roof leak. The janitorial service provider for the mall, who was a co-defendant, refused to accept responsibility for the accident and argued that its contract with the shopping mall violated New Jersey law. Alexi won summary judgment against the janitorial service provider by convincing the Court that the contract was legal, enforceable, and required indemnification of the shopping mall, including attorney’s fees.

• Medical Records Retrieval v. IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company, New York Supreme Court, New York County (Apr. 9, 2015)

In this case plaintiff sought to vacate a master arbitration award in favor of Alexi’s client. Plaintiff argued that the arbitration award was arbitrary and capricious, lacked a rational basis and that the master arbitrator failed to follow settled law. Alexi defeated plaintiff’s petition and obtained affirmation of the award by convincing the Court that the master arbitrator properly applied case law relating to an insurance carrier’s contractual right to refuse coverage when the insured fails to attend a properly requested independent medical examination.

• Ameriprise Insurance Company v. Michaud et al., New York Supreme Court, New York County (Aug. 21, 2014)

In this insurance coverage dispute, Alexi obtained a declaratory judgment that his client was not obligated to pay insurance benefits to numerous defendants, who were suspected of being involved in a staged accident ring.