Frederick (Rick) Alimonti

Frederick (Rick) P. Alimonti

Nationally Recognized Mediator | Arbitrator | Trial Attorney

Aviation • Personal Injury • Employment • Insurance Coverage • Product Liability • Commercial & Civil Litigation Mediator

Valhalla, New York | Serving New York, Federal Courts, and Nationwide
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Overview

Frederick ("Rick") Alimonti is a nationally recognized mediator, arbitrator, and trial attorney with more than 35 years of litigation experience and over 15 years as a mediator, handling complex civil disputes throughout New York and across the United States. Since beginning his mediation practice in 2011, Rick has earned a reputation for resolving difficult, high-exposure matters involving aviation, personal injury, employment, insurance coverage, product liability, premises liability, civil rights, and commercial litigation.

Rick is a member of the Mediation Panel for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, where he has served since 2011. He was also an inaugural member of the Court's Mediation Advisory Committee, helping establish policies and procedures for one of the nation's most respected federal court mediation programs.

In 2012, Rick founded Alimonti Mediation Services, providing private mediation and arbitration services for attorneys, insurers, corporations, governmental entities, and individuals seeking efficient, practical resolution of complex disputes.

In recognition of his work as a neutral, Rick was inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN) in 2024 and served as Chair of the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Dispute Resolution Committee during the 2023–2024 bar year before continuing as its Scope Liaison to the TIPS Section. Rick has since been elevated to Co-Chair of TIPS “Scope,” to which all TIPS general, i.e., substantive committees, report.

Whether the dispute involves aviation, insurance coverage, employment, product liability, general torts, catastrophic injury, or sophisticated commercial litigation, Rick is known for helping parties realistically assess risk, overcome impasse, and achieve durable resolutions through informed negotiation.

Rick takes great pride in the fact that many of his mediation clients started as participants in the SDNY complimentary mediation program and later considered him “worth paying for.” Many other mediation clients have been adverse to Rick in litigation, only to later retain him as a Mediator. Rick considers this the highest complaint a neutral can attain.
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Mediation Philosophy

Rick considers his mediation clients as his settlement partners, and he adopts this approach from the moment the mediation is confirmed. Proper preparation and rapport building is foremost in his approach. This process begins well before the mediation session through comprehensive review of pleadings, legal authorities, and both shared and ex parte settlement submissions. Extensive pre-mediation teleconferences with counsel and others are at the core of Rick’s approach to mediation. By identifying and addressing critical issues pre-mediation, the formal mediation avoids surprises, starts with momentum, and builds upon it.

Rick’s mediation clients site this preparation as a major factor, differentiating Rick from many mediators; they also appreciate his “relentlessness” when a case does not settle at the mediation itself, but the eventual settlement is facilitated by calls and supplemental sessions as needed.

Rick employs a hybrid facilitative and evaluative approach, helping parties communicate more effectively while also providing candid analysis of litigation risks, trial outcomes, damages, and settlement opportunities when appropriate.

One of his guiding principles is reflected in a phrase many attorneys associate with him:

"Don't hire a mediator and settle for a calculator."

His philosophy emphasizes thoughtful evaluation, active problem-solving, and helping parties reach informed decisions rather than merely exchanging settlement numbers.
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Representative Experience

Rick has successfully mediated disputes ranging from five-figure settlements to complex multi-million-dollar claims.

Representative matters include:

Mediator in the $20 million settlement in Krivak v. Putnam County, New York.

Mediator in the first resolved claims arising from the January 29, 2025 American Airlines/PSA Flight 5342 mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, achieving a pre-litigation settlement in April 2026 on behalf of the family of Flight Attendant, Ian Epstein.

Numerous aviation, insurance, employment, product liability, premises liability, and catastrophic injury mediations involving national corporations, insurers, governmental entities, and private litigants.
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Publications & Speaking

Rick is a nationally sought-after speaker on mediation, mediation advocacy, legal ethics, aviation litigation, and dispute resolution.

• Mediating the Product Liability Case 101: A Mediator's Perspective (ABA TortSource, 2026)
• Aviation Litigation: The View from 30,000 Feet (ABA TortSource, 2026)
• Mediating the Employment Case 101 (ABA TIPS, 2025)
• Some Lessons on What Not to Do in Observing the Mets/Alonso Negotiations (ABA TIPS, 2025)
• The Road to Becoming a Mediator—Along with the Speed Bumps (ABA, 2024)
• How Being a Mediator Has Changed How I Advocate in Mediation (ABA TIPS, 2023)

He also produces the educational video series "From the Center Seat: Mediation Advocacy Tips," and regularly presents CLE programs for the American Bar Association, Lawline, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and other national legal organizations.
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Practice Areas

Rick mediates a broad range of civil disputes, including: