The good lawyer is not the man who has an eye to every side and angle of contingency, and qualifies all his qualifications, but who throws himself on your part so heartily, that he can get you out of a scrape.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Attorney Profile
Thomas E. Stagg
- Partner
- phone (516) 357-8100
- fax (516) 357-8112
- email tstagg@sjslaw.com
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Thomas Stagg, a partner at Simmons, Jannace & Stagg, LLP, focuses his practice on commercial, general and appellate litigation. He represents clients in federal and state courts in New York and New Jersey, as well as in Connecticut federal court, and has argued before New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, on behalf of international banking clients. Thomas has achieved an “AV” Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating, which is assigned to lawyers who have reached the height of professional excellence and who are recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.
Thomas has represented the firm’s banking and credit clients in connection with Uniform Commercial Code matters and federal and state consumer credit statutes, including the Truth in Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. On behalf of corporate, municipal and private clients, he has successfully litigated numerous actions involving federal and state environmental laws, involving class action constitutional and land use issues. He has also served as counsel to a large municipality in its negotiations with New York State for a multimillion dollar grant.
After graduating from the State University of New York at Binghamton and St. John's University School of Law, where he was Associate Notes and Comments Editor of St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary, Thomas began his legal career with the Washington, D.C. based firm of Beveridge & Diamond. His publications include, as coauthor, "Contractual Protection: An Existing Remedy for Bondholder Distress." 4 St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary 2. He lectures on environmental lender liability and has served on the Long Island Sound Nonpoint Source Pollution Committee.
Thomas is a member of the bars of New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. His reported cases include: Elio Bruno v. First USA Bank, N.A. (In re Bruno), 356 B.R. 89 (W.D.N.Y. 2006); Salles v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 12 Misc.3d 1165(A), 820 N.Y.S.2d 845 (Sup. Ct. Bronx County, 2006); Punk Ziegel & Co., L.P. v. Energy Partners, Ltd., et al., (Sup. Ct. New York County, 2006) (Lowe, J. - Index No. 602773/05); Neama v. Town of Babylon 18. A.D.2d 836, 796 N.Y.S.2d 644, 2005 WL 1279054 (2d Dep't 2005);Overby v. Chase Manhattan Bank & J.P. Morgan Chase (S.D.N.Y. 2005);Kurz v. Chase Manhattan Bank USA, NA., 324 F.Supp.2d 444, (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (reported as Decision of Interest, June 17, 2004 New York Law Journal); Kurz v. Chase Manhattan Bank USA, N.A., 319 F.Supp.2d 457, (S.D.N.Y. 2004); Salles v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 300 A.D.2d 226, 754 N.Y.S.2d 236 (1st Dep't 2002); Doremus v. Town of Oyster Bay, 274 A.D.2d 390, 711 N.Y.S.2d 443 (2d Dep't 2000); Barbara Anne, Inc. v. Smithhaven Center Associates, LLC, 273 A.D.2d 331, 709 N.Y.S.2d 596, (2d Dep't 2000); Mouradian v. Astoria Federal Sav. and Loan, 91 N.Y.2d 124, 667 N.Y.S.2d 340 (1997); Resolution Trust Corp. v. Hidden Ponds Phase IV Development Associates, 873 F.Supp. 799 (E.D.N.Y. 1995); Village of Grand View v. Skinner, 947 F.2d 651 (2d Cir. 1991).
Away from work, Thomas enjoys traveling with his family and fly fishing.
- Areas Of Practice:
- Commercial Litigation
- Banking Litigation
- Environmental Law
- General Liability Defense
- Bar Admissions:
- New York, 1991
- New Jersey, 1991
- District of Columbia, 1991
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1992
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1992
- U.S. District Court Western District of New York, 2006
- U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 1991
- U.S. District Court District of Connecticut, 2002
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2002
- United States Supreme Court, 2007
- Education:
- St. John's University School of Law, Jamaica, New York, 1990 - J.D.
- State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, 1984 - B.A.
- Published Works:
- Contractual Protection: An Existing Remedy for Bondholder Distress, 4 St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary 2, 1989
- Classes/Seminars Taught:
- Environmental Lender Liability
- Professional Associations and Memberships:
- L.I. Sound Nonpoint Source Pollution Committee