Frank J. Mastro
Principal
fmastro@semmes.com

Baltimore Office
Suite 1400
25 S. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410.576.4713
410.539.5223 (Fax)

Mr. Mastro practices primarily in the areas of business litigation and transportation law. He has represented a diverse array of businesses, from Fortune 500 corporations to small family-owned companies, in litigation in Federal and State courts in Maryland and across the country. Mr. Mastro's practice includes both trial and appellate work, and he has successfully briefed and argued a number of appeals resulting in published opinions.

Within the transportation industry, Mr. Mastro is counsel to a Class I freight railroad and has handled a wide variety of matters including cargo loss, damage and delay claims, casualty and business interruption claims arising out of major derailments, freight transportation rate disputes and arbitration, contract disputes, and regulatory issues. Mr. Mastro also has represented the interests of motor carriers, household movers, tugboat companies, and warehouse operators in matters ranging from the loss and damage claims, insurance coverage disputes, and contract disputes, to drafting owner-operator and broker-carrier agreements, and providing business and regulatory advice. Mr. Mastro is a member of the Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA) and the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel (NARTC).

Mr. Mastro also has handled numerous business litigation matters including contract disputes, legal malpractice defense, consumer class action defense, securities arbitration, property replevins, and collections. He is regional counsel to a national financial services company and handles a variety of litigation and regulatory compliance matters associated with automobile financing and leasing, credit extension and reporting, and vehicle repossessions and forfeitures.

Since 1999, Mr. Mastro has been an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, teaching first and second-year law students in the school's Legal Writing and Skills program. Mr. Mastro has authored articles which have appeared in the ABA's Litigation Journal, The Transportation Lawyer, and the University of Baltimore Law Review. In 2001, he received the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland's annual Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of his work with the Homeless Persons Representation Project, a Baltimore non-profit organization dedicated to providing legal services to homeless persons and those at risk of becoming homeless.

Admitted

• 1999, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
• 1998, District of Columbia
• 1997, U.S. District Court of Maryland
• 1996, Maryland

Education

• University of Baltimore School of Law (J.D., summa cum laude 1996)
• University of Notre Dame (B.A. American Studies, 1988)

Affiliations, Associations & Special Achievements

• Maryland State Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar
• National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel (NARTC)
• Transportation Lawyers Association (TLA)
• National Italian American Bar Association (NIABA)
• Adjunct Professor, University of Baltimore School of Law (1999 – present)
• University of Baltimore Law Review, Associate Editor
• University of Baltimore Heiusler Honor Society
• University of Baltimore Teaching Assistant

Publications

• "Preemption is Not Dead: the Continued Vitality of Preemption Under the Federal Railroad Safety Act Following the 2007 Amendment to 49 U.S.C. § 20106, 37", Transportation Law Journal 1 (Spring 2010)
• "Foreign Shipper of Asbestos Not Subject to Personal Jurisdiction in Case Brought by Stevedores who Allegedly Developed Mesothelioma from Transloading Shipper's Cargo During Intermodal Transportation", The Transportation Lawyer (Feb. 2010)
• "Sixth Circuit Holds Employee's Claims of Injury Due to 'Oversized' Ballast Precluded by the FRSA but Issue Appears Destined for Supreme Court", The Transportation Lawyer (Oct. 2009)
• "FRSA Preemption Not 'Complete' but Still a Viable Affirmative Defense", The Transportation Lawyer (Feb. 2009)
• "Congress Clarifies The Preemptive Effect Of The Federal Railroad Safety Act", The Transportation Lawyer (October 2007)
• "Exposing Litigants Who Fabricate Evidence", The Journal Of The ABA Section of Litigation (Summer 2006)
• "Lying About A Spouse's Adultery To Speed Up A Divorce Does Not Prevent A Suit To Enforce The Spouse's Promise To Pay Support", 25 University of Baltimore Law Review 83 (1995)