The seminar, hosted by the ICC Institute of World Business Law and the ICC Costa Rican National Committee, provided insight and understanding regarding the ICC Rules of Arbitration through practical and interactive sessions.

The ICC was created in 1919 by a handful of entrepreneurs with the mission to promote international trade and investment through a rules-based multilateral system. Today, ICC’s global network has grown to more than six million companies, chambers of commerce, and business associations in more than 130 countries.

Mestre’s practice is focused on commercial litigation, including international arbitration and litigation as well as white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations.

The post Best Lawyers discusses Jorge A. Mestre’s invitation to speak at ICC Advanced PIDA training appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

A Puerto Rico federal judge on Wednesday rejected insurers’ attempts to apply an insured v. insured exclusion to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s claims seeking $176 million from former executives of Westernbank Puerto Rico, while expanding coverage in a policy year the insurers argued was out of reach.

U.S. District Judge Gustavo Gelpi sided against American International Group Inc. and other insurers on summary judgment motions in a coverage battle stemming from the FDIC’s litigation seeking damages from Westernbank’s former directors and officers after the agency took over as the bank’s receiver.

AIG argued that the FDIC had stepped into the shoes of the bank when bringing these claims, and thus, an exclusion for claims from one insured — the bank — against another insured — the directors and officers — applied. But Judge Gelpi said there was a question of fact as to whether the FDIC was representing depositors and account holders after seeing its depositors’ insurance fund depleted by more than $3.3 billion.

“The court does not accept AIG’s argument that the FDIC fails to specify who or what it represents and that such failure merits summary judgment,” Judge Gelpi said.

Click here to see the full article.

Click here to see the D&Os’ motion to clarify the court’s advancement order, the reply in support of the motion to clarify, the response to AIG’s motion for summary judgment relating to the insured v. insured exclusion and the order.

The directors and officers are represented by Andrés Rivero, Jorge A. Mestre, Alan H. Rolnick, Charlie E. Whorton, and M. Paula Aguila.

The post Law360 discusses Rivero Mestre’s latest insurance coverage win in the Westernbank Puerto Rico case appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí also rejected a group of insurers’ arguments that the FDIC cannot try to force them to provide liability coverage, rejecting the group’s argument that a so-called insured vs. insured policy exclusion barred the FDIC’s claims against them because the regulator is now Westernbank’s receiver.

. . .

The insurers had argued that the FDIC, since it stands in the shoes of Westernbank, should be barred from bringing the suit under a policy exclusion that blocks coverage for claims brought by one insured against another.

But Judge Gelpí wrote Tuesday that the exclusion is intended to protect insurance companies from collusive suits among insured parties and that the FDIC would not reap the benefits enjoyed by those kinds of actors.

“The FDIC’s role as a regulator sufficiently distinguishes it from those whom the parties

intended to prevent from bringing claims under the exclusion,” the order said.

The judge also noted the FDIC had sued on behalf of depositors, account holders and a depleted insurance fund, as opposed to Westernbank shareholder W Holding. (Click here to see full article; click here to see the court order).

Andrés Rivero, Jorge A. Mestre, Alan H. Rolnick, Charlie Whorton, and M. Paula Aguila of Rivero Mestre, represent six directors and officers of Westernbank of Puerto Rico. Over the course of fifty-two years, Westernbank grew from a small, community institution into one of the largest, most profitable, and healthiest banks in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It did so by working hand in hand with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“OCFI”) and with federal regulators, rising from humble beginnings as a local Mayaguëz bank to become the Commonwealth’s second-largest, with branches throughout the island. Federal regulators and the OCFI conducted annual examinations and awarded Westernbank the highest possible score for twelve consecutive years, from 1993 to 2005. In 2010, while Westernbank, like everyone else, was working hard to ride out a global recession, the OCFI closed its doors, seized it, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. Now, the FDIC demands that Westernbank’s long-serving directors, officers, and their spouses be held personally liable for operating a bank to which federal regulators gave the highest marks until months before a worldwide economic collapse.

The post Rivero Mestre wins first decision in banking crisis on Insured v. Insured issue in D&O insurance dispute appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

Mestre will teach Introduction to Business Law in the School of Business Administration’s Business Law Department. The course focuses on legal, ethical, and international implications of business transactions. It is intended to provide students with insight about how the legal system works in conjunction with the domestic and international business environment, blending theoretical and practical concepts.

Mestre’s practice is focused exclusively on commercial litigation, including international arbitration and litigation. He has litigated domestic and international arbitration matters in both English and Spanish.

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Various businesses and individuals, including Mr. Antoniazzi and Green Pampas, were alleged to have violated both the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962 and New York law in connection with the sale of urea to Paraguayan and Peruvian corporations and related letters of credit.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Engelmayer dismissed all claims against Mr. Antoniazzi and Green Pampas, finding that the plaintiffs’ RICO claim failed as a matter of law and that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over Mr. Antoniazzi and Green Pampas. Further, the court noted that even if jurisdiction were proper as to Green Pampas, dismissal would be independently merited based on a binding arbitration provision in the parties’ purchase agreement.

Andrés Rivero, Jorge A. Mestre, and William Silcott of Rivero Mestre represented Green Pampas and Mr. Antoniazzi.

Click here to see the Opinion and Order.

The post Rivero Mestre wins dismissal in RICO action appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

Executives and directors of the now-defunct Westernbank Puerto Rico asked a federal judge Wednesday to dismiss a $176 million Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. suit accusing the group of gross negligence in its handling of loans prior to the bank’s closure in 2010.

In a motion filed in the U.S. district court in Puerto Rico, the six former Westernbank executives and directors argue that the FDIC is trying to hold them accountable for not adequately anticipating the recent financial crisis — which had a devastating effect on the bank — even though financial luminaries including FDIC senior officials have admitted that nobody could have reasonably foreseen such a meltdown.

“The FDIC has embarked on a quest to scapegoat the bank’s officers and directors, whose lives have been as thoroughly turned upside down by this chain of events as any other investors or creditors,” the motion claimed. (Click here to see full article; click here to see the D&Os motion to dismiss the FDIC complaint).

Andrés Rivero, Jorge A. Mestre, Alan H. Rolnick, Charlie Whorton, and M. Paula Aguila of Rivero Mestre, represent six directors and officers of Westernbank of Puerto Rico. Over the course of fifty-two years, Westernbank grew from a small, community institution into one of the largest, most profitable, and healthiest banks in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It did so by working hand in hand with the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“OCFI”) and with federal regulators, rising from humble beginnings as a local Mayaguëz bank to become the Commonwealth’s second-largest, with branches throughout the island. Federal regulators and the OCFI conducted annual examinations and awarded Westernbank the highest possible score for twelve consecutive years, from 1993 to 2005. In 2010, while Westernbank, like everyone else, was working hard to ride out a global recession, the OCFI closed its doors, seized it, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. Now, the FDIC demands that Westernbank’s long-serving directors, officers, and their spouses be held personally liable for operating a bank to which federal regulators gave the highest marks until months before a worldwide economic collapse.

The post Rivero Mestre’s representation of Westernbank’s directors and officers discussed in Law360 appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

Mestre was a guest lecturer at the College of Law’s course on Complex Litigation. Among other things, the course examines how the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, especially in the area of complex litigation, can become instruments of policy. Topics covered in the class include class actions and complex litigation.

Mestre’s practice is focused exclusively on commercial litigation, including international arbitration and litigation.

The post Jorge A. Mestre spoke about multi-district litigation at the Florida International University College of Law appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

The action alleged that Venezuelan government officials and business figures, including Mr. Lara and AIL, violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962, in connection with the Venezuelan government’s approval of a currency exchange application and the sale of two Venezuelan banks for $150 million.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the case, finding that RICO does not apply where the alleged enterprise and the impact of the alleged predicate activity are entirely foreign. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff relied on Morrison v. Nat’l Australia Bank Ltd., a June 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case that held when a statute gives no clear indication of an extraterritorial application—in this case, RICO—it presumably has none. The district court further rejected the argument that RICO would apply simply because of allegations of a few isolated financial transactions in the U.S. “[T]he presumption against extraterritoriality,” noted the court, “would be a craven watchdog indeed if it retreated to its kennel whenever some domestic activity is involved in the case.”

The Second Circuit, ruling in favor of Mr. Lara, AIL, and other defendants, affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the case with prejudice. The Second Circuit noted that the complaint alleged inadequate conduct in the U.S. to state a domestic RICO claim and that the alleged enterprise was “patently foreign.”

Andrés Rivero, Catherine Grieve, and Erimar von der Osten of Rivero Mestre represented Mr. Lara and AIL.

Click here to see the Second Circuit Summary Order.

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Following a trial on several claims arising from a failed real estate transaction, including a claim for millions of dollars in speculative lost profits, a judgment was entered against River Bridge for the full amount claimed. A subsequent fee hearing granted a judgment on fees that reflected the results obtained by the prevailing party against the River Bridge entities. An appeal of the merits judgment concluded with a reversal of the lost profits portion of the award, resulting in a reduction of the amount of the judgment by approximately 85%. The River Bridge entities filed a motion for relief from the attorney’s fees judgment. That motion was summarily denied by the trial court.

Jorge A. Mestre and Ana C. Muñoz represented the River Bridge entities in their appeal to the Fourth DCA on the denial of the 1.540(b)(5) motion. In reversing the trial court’s order denying the motion and remanding the matter for further proceedings, the Fourth DCA found that the trial court had erred by not conducting a proper evidentiary hearing to determine whether attorney’s fees accrued in preparing issues on which the River Bridge entities ultimately prevailed could be parsed out from the fees from the much narrower issues not related to the reversed speculative lost profits. The opinion gives significant guidance indicating a view that in many similar cases, trial courts have been, or should have been, able to disentangle fees, once a proper examination of the trial record and fees evidence is undertaken.

Click here to see the Fourth DCA decision.

The post Rivero Mestre successfully represents River Bridge Corporation and River Bridge Realty Corporation in an appeal before Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

The American Banker reported that

[t]he case of WesternBank’s directors illustrates how much is now up in the air. The Mayaguez, Puerto Rico bank was seized in April, 2010 by the FDIC, which seized its assets and transferred them to Banco Popular. Following the failure, the FDIC notified WesternBank’s management and directors that it was considering a $367 million suit against them.

The directors hired Miami law firm Rivero Mestre to defend them and notified its D&O insurer, AIG subsidiary Chartis, that it wished to tap its $50 million policy to cover legal fees. Chartis told the law firm that it did not intend to pay for the board’s defense or subsequent judgments, according to a complaint filed by the directors.

. . . .

The firm filed its suit in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, WesternBank’s home town, which Rivero describes as a “favorable” location. The FDIC has not yet intervened in the case, though it has the legal right do so.

WesternBank’s D&O policy does not include regulatory exclusion provisions, meaning that “the battle’s going to be on the insured versus insured issue,” Rivero says.

On the issue of D&O coverage, the interests of the FDIC and the directors are closely aligned. If directors are able to tap insurance coverage, Rivero says, he’ll likely try to hand over the policy proceeds to the FDIC in exchange for the agency’s agreement to drop claims against the personal assets of the bank’s former officials.

Rivero argues that the insurer rejected his client’s claim because it wants to hold the line against future litigation. If Chartis pays out on one claim, he says, the insurer would likely face a flood of similar claims.

“As soon as they pay somebody it’s going to break the dam,” he says. “We have another bank that we have done work for, and they’re insured by Chartis,” Rivero says. “We’re expecting a similar situation there, unless we set a precedent.”

Click here to see full article.

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