John K. Fiorilla

Mr. Fiorilla focuses his practice in the railroad industry and helping to create and present railroad management policy and positions with diversified management and litigation experience as both house counsel and local counsel for Class I and Short Line Railroads. He has specific experience in presenting finance, real estate, operations, engineering, government affairs, and customer service positions. John also served as a Captain in the Transportation Corps, U.S. Army Reserve from 1971-1986.

Bar Admissions

• U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania

• U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court Northern District of New York

• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois

• U.S. District Court District of Maine

• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit

• U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas

• U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin

• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin

• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan

• U.S. District Court Northern District of California

• U.S. District Court District of Colorado

• U.S. District Court District of Nebraska

• U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit

• U.S. Court of Federal Claims

• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania

• U.S. Supreme Court

• Interstate Commerce Commission

• New Jersey

• Supreme Court of New Jersey

• U.S. District Court District of New Jersey

Education

• Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC.
  Juris Doctorate.

• Seton Hall University. A.B.

Publications

• Railroad Eminent Domain in New Jersey, The Chronical, Southern New Jersey Development Council, Spring 2016 newsletter.

• Third Party Demurrage Liability: The STB Makes It Clear that Warehouseman/Transloader is Responsible, Regulatory Tracks, a publication of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s General Counsel Committee.

• Demurrage Charges: Even Shortlines Can Demand and Collect Them, Legal Tracks, a publication of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s General Counsel Committee, July, 2013.

• Golden Rule of Demurrage Charges, published in Capehart Scatchard’s Transportation Newsletter, February, 2009.

Professional Awards & Honors

• Selected to New Jersey Super Lawyers (2006-2010) – 5% of attorneys selected to Super Lawyers.

• “South Jersey’s Top Attorneys”, SJ Magazine

• In a survey of the Top 500 U.S. companies by Corporate Counsel magazine, Norfolk Southern selected Capehart Scatchard as a “Go To Law Firm” due to his assistance in the area of litigation

• Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated Preeminent, 5.0 out of 5.0

• “South Jersey’s Awesome Attorneys”, South Jersey Magazine

• “Best Attorney in Business”, South Jersey Biz

• Receiver of the Historic Rail Equipment owned by the Pemberton Township Historic Trust

• Morristown & Erie Railway locomotive #22 christened the “John K. Fiorilla” as a thank you for work done for the M&E

Professional Associations & Memberships

• American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association

• Association for Transportation Law Professionals

• Conference of Freight Counsel

• National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel

• New Jersey State Bar Association, (Federal Practice and Procedure Section)

• Legislative Aide to Congressman Robert A. Roe, 1971 – 1974

• Surface Transportation Board, 1975

• Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, Assistant General Attorney, 1975 – 1976

• Consolidated Rail Corporation, Senior General Attorney – Litigation, 1976 – 1990

• National Railway Historical Society, General Counsel, 1995 – Present

• Tri-State Railway Historical Society, General Counsel, 1975 – Present

Classes & Seminars

• “Railroading — 50 years of Change,” New Jersey Transaction Conference, April 2018

• “Railroad Condemnation – New Jersey Case Study,” American Railway Development Association, June 2017.

• “A Rail Road’s Right and Obligation to Hold Loaded LPG Rail Cars As Part of the Transportation Process Is Preempted By Federal Law,” New Jersey TransAction Conference, April 2017.

• “National Transportation Safety Board:  What It Is. What it Does. What to Do When They Call,” New Jersey TransAction Conference, April 2016

• “Demurrage Collection Program,” co-presented with Lande Langford to CN, Montreal, Canada, March 2016.

• “Third Party Demurrage Liability: In the U.S., the STB Makes it Clear the Warehouseman / Transloader Is Responsible, May 2015

• “Railroad Eminent Domain – Jersey Style,” State of New Jersey Transportation Conference, April 2014

• “Collecting Tariff Charges and Keeping Your Customers – Car Storage Issues,” ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium, Kansas City, Missouri, November 2013

• “Preemption Is Alive and Well — What To Say When The Sierra Club Comes Calling,” ASLRRA 100th Annual Convention Meeting, Atlanta, GA, April 2013

• “Preemption: Where It Stands, Practical Business Applications of STB and Court U.S. Preemption Rulings,” Canadian Transportation Lawyers’ Association Annual Meeting, September 2012

• “Preemption Negotiation and Litigation – Making It Work For You,” American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association Conference, San Antonio, TX, May 2011

• “Railroad Eminent Domain – Jersey Style,” Norfolk Southern Real Estate Department, April 2011