Robert Phelan litigates property subrogation and maritime, inland marine, and other transportation cases involving shipping law, international trade law and private international law. Based in New York City and admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars, Robert has also been admitted pro hac vice to litigate such cases throughout the domestic United States in federal District Courts in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Robert prosecutes multi-modal claims and recoveries for domestic and international clients arising from air, land or sea losses occurring in Central and South America, Europe, and Asia.
He routinely handles complex losses involving failures in yacht design, construction, maintenance and operation including vessel collisions. Robert also frequently represents seawall, pier, or bridge claimants in allision cases, either as a subrogating plaintiff or as a defendant in maritime limitation actions. In recognition of his handling of maritime matters, Robert has attained the status of a Proctor in Admiralty in the Maritime Law Association of the United States.
Robert also frequently litigates Carmack inland marine transportation matters throughout the United States for clients regularly insuring domestic freight in interstate commerce. He has handled recoveries for such clients for damage to, amongst other things, jet engines, industrial machinery, IT equipment, pharmaceuticals, clothing, refrigerated foods, and specialized construction equipment.
In addition, Robert has extensive experience litigating damage to fine art and antique furniture owned by art collectors, on loan to museums and bought from auction houses and galleries, during transit, in storage, and whilst on display. He has recovered for his clients and high net worth individuals for losses and damage to artwork created by artists and designers such as Andrew Wyeth, Ellsworth Kelly, Anish Kapoor, Mary Corse, Kaws, Adam McEwen, Joan Patten, Sam Francis, Carlo Scarpa, and Yayoi Kusama, amongst others.
Robert also litigates commercial property and high net worth individual personal property matters in New York and New Jersey, handling matters for subrogation clients damaged in such high-profile NYC tragedies as the 1993 WTC Bombing, the 2006 Bartha mid-town explosion, the 2010 seven-alarm fire in Chinatown, and the 2023 Ann Street parking garage collapse. He also just recently favorably concluded a complex eight-year construction litigation arising from a fire at a client's insured's Long Island mansion that caused over $20 million dollars worth of damages.
Robert earned a Bachelor of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University in 1995 and a law degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2000. Robert completed the Russian politics certificate program at Saint Petersburg Mining University in 1993 and the European Union Law certificate program at Uppsala University in 1999.