Alvin Hellerstein

Alvin K. Hellerstein (born 1933) is a Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and has been involved in several high-profile cases.

He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 15, 1998, to a seat vacated by Louis L. Stanton; Confirmed by the Senate on October 21, 1998, and received his commission on October 22, 1998. He took senior status on January 31, 2011.

Prior to judicial appointment

Alvin Hellerstein was the co-head of the Litigation Department at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. He received his LL.B. from Columbia Law School, where he was an editor of the Columbia Law Review, and served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1959 to 1960.

World Trade Center cases

In 2003, Hellerstein agreed to hear a consolidated master case against three airlines, ICTS International NV and Pinkerton's airport security firms, the World Trade Center owners, and Boeing Co., the aircraft manufacturer. The case was brought by people injured in the attacks, representatives of those who died, and entities that suffered property damage. In September 2004, just before the three-year statute of limitations expired, the insurers for the World Trade Center filed suit against American Airlines, United Airlines, and Pinkerton's airport security firm, alleging their negligence allowed the planes to be hijacked. Because the Air Transportation Act, which was passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, limits the liability of airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and airports to the amount of their insurance coverage, this case will likely be combined with the consolidated master case filed in 2003.