Managing Partner
Leader, Insurance Litigation Practice Team
Languages
Spanish
English
Bar Admissions
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
United States District Court, District of Puerto Rico
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Education
Babson College
University of Puerto Rico, B.B.A., Management and Finance, Magna Cum Laude
University of Puerto Rico, J.D.
Affiliations
Puerto Rico Bar Association (Past Member Civil Rights Committee)
Puerto Rico Lawyers Association
Federal Bar Association (Former National Vice President, First Circuit)
Federalist Society, Puerto Rico Lawyers Chapter, Member Board of Directors
Sociedad Española de Auxilio Mutuo y Beneficencia Member, Board of Trustees
Hospital Español de Auxilio Mutuo San Pablo, Member, Board of Directors
Santurce Rotary Club, Past President
A well-known and respected attorney, he has vast experience in a broad range of disciplines including Advertising, Marketing, Real Estate, Title Insurance, Corporate Litigation, Health Law and Employment Law.
He attended Babson College in Massachusetts and obtained his bachelor’s degree in business, magna cum laude and his Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico. He was member and contributor of the University of Puerto Rico Law Review and co-authored several of its law review articles. He was chosen by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) to, upon graduation, become a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow. He also attended and completed the Program of Instruction for Lawyers at Harvard University.
He is admitted to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Seventh and Ninth Circuits and before the Supreme Court of the United States.
He co-authored “A State by State Guide to Construction and Design Law,” published by ABA Publishing, American Bar Association, 1998 as well as its 2008 update. He has also written extensively under the auspices of the National Business Institute on diverse subjects ranging from Construction Law, to Title Insurance Law, to Foreclosure Law.
He has been involved in several leading cases in diverse areas of the law. Among those is the case that first set the legal guidelines regarding claims against judiciary officers in Puerto Rico (Feliciano Rosado v. Matos, Jr., 81 JTS 1, 110 D.P.R. 550, P.R. and the Condominium Law case that allows the building of additional floors (Alvarez Figueredo v. Gonzalez Lamela, 93 JTS 132, 134 D.P.R. 374 and 95 JTS 107, 138 D.P.R. 958 (on reconsideration).
He has also been involved in other cases, some of them also leading in their field, including First Amendment religious rights (Humanistas Seculares de Puerto Rico v. Camara de Representantes de Puerto Rico, 2017 WL 1327635 (D.P.R. 2017); the long-arm reach of Lanham Act claims (Asociacion de Laboratorios Clinicos v. Med. Card Sys. Inc., WL 845314, (D.P.R. 2016); RICO Act Civil Litigation (Home Orthopedics v. Rodriguez, 781 F.3d 521, (1st Cir. 2015); Directors’ and Officers’ actions for the advancement of legal fees, (Rishell v. Med. Card Sys.,Inc., 925 F. Supp. 2d 211, 2013 WL 709832 (D.P.R. 2013), Civil Rights (Camilo-Robles v. Hoyos, 151 F.3d 1, 1st Cir. (Puerto Rico); Employment Law (Melendez-Arroyo v. Cutler-Hammer de P.R. Co., Inc., 273 F.3d 30, 87 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 673, 81 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,845, 1st Cir. (PuertoRico); the Puerto Rico Dealers Act (Morales v. Gregg Shirt Makers, Inc., 682 F.Supp. 142 and Gonzalez v. Brown Group, Inc., 628 F.Supp. 436); Title Insurance (Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. Sotomayor, 394 F.Supp.2d 452) and Lennox Industries, Inc. v. Caicedo Yusti, 172 F.R.D. 617, 38 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1232); Construction Law (Combustion Engineering Caribe, Inc. v. Geo P. Reintjes Co., Inc., 298 F.Supp.2d 215 and Miramar Const. Co. v. Home Depot, Inc., 167 F.Supp.2d 182); Zoning (Fuertes y otros v. A.R.P.E., 93 JTS 165, 134 D.P.R. 947); Bankruptcy (In re Paradise Boat Leasing Corp., 2 B.R. 482, 1 Collier Bankr.Cas.2d 413, 5 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 1122) and Contractual Damages (Betancourt v. Nippy, Inc., 137 F. Supp.2d 27).
In 2000 he was entrusted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with representing all of its public agencies and agency heads regarding the discovery efforts initiated by Puerto Rico’s largest daily newspaper in an unprecedented First Amendment lawsuit filed against the Governor of Puerto Rico and other members of his Cabinet.
Having a special ability to draw the roadmap to a controversy’s earliest resolution is Mr. Santana’s biggest asset. His extensive and varied legal experience, which took him from an undefeated criminal defense practice in both state and federal court at the beginning of his career, to a successful business, title insurance and commercial trial law practice today, has given Mr. Santana the underlying skills to either quickly and favorably settle a controversy before the onset of litigation or to successfully litigate it at trial and through the appellate process.
The diversity of Mr. Santana’s practice is shown in the variety of cases, some of them leading, in diverse areas of the law which he undertakes for his clients:
Feliciano Rosado v. Matos, Jr., 81 JTS 1, 110 D.P.R. 550, P.R. the case that first set the legal guidelines regarding claims against judiciary officers in Puerto Rico;
Alvarez Figueredo v. Gonzalez Lamela, 93 JTS 132, 134 D.P.R. 374 and 95 JTS 107, 138 D.P.R. 958 (on reconsideration), Condominium Law, the case that establishes the circumstances a Condominium may build additional floors
Humanistas Seculares de Puerto Rico v. Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico, 2017 WL 1327635 (D.P.R. 2017) First Amendment religious rights and lack of standing to sue
Asociacion de Laboratorios Clinicos v. Med. Card Sys. Inc., WL 845314, (D.P.R. 2016) about the long-arm reach of Lanham Act claims
Home Orthopedics v. Rodriguez, 781 F.3d 521, (1st Cir. 2015) RICO Act Civil Litigation
Rishell v. Med. Card Sys.,Inc., 925 F. Supp. 2d 211, 2013 WL 709832 (D.P.R. 2013) Directors’ and Officers’ action for the advancement of legal fees
Camilo-Robles v. Hoyos, 151 F.3d 1, 1st Cir. (Puerto Rico) Civil Rights
Melendez-Arroyo v. Cutler-Hammer de P.R. Co., Inc., 273 F.3d 30, 87 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 673, 81 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,845, 1st Cir. (PuertoRico) Employment Law
Morales v. Gregg Shirt Makers, Inc., 682 F.Supp. 142 and Gonzalez v. Brown Group, Inc., 628 F.Supp. 436), the Puerto Rico Dealers Act
Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. Sotomayor, 394 F.Supp.2d 452) and Lennox Industries, Inc. v. Caicedo Yusti, 172 F.R.D. 617, 38 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1232, Title Insurance Construction Law
Combustion Engineering Caribe, Inc. v. Geo P. Reintjes Co., Inc., 298 F.Supp.2d 215 and Miramar Const. Co. v. Home Depot, Inc., 167 F.Supp.2d 182); Construction Law
Fuertes y otros v. A.R.P.E., 93 JTS 165, 134 D.P.R. 947), Zoning Regulations
In re Paradise Boat Leasing Corp., 2 B.R. 482, 1 Collier Bankr.Cas.2d 413, 5 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 1122, Bankruptcy
Betancourt v. Nippy, Inc., 137 F. Supp.2d 27, Contractual Damages
Title Insurance
Real Estate
Construction Law
Employment Law
BioGraphy
Mr. Santana specializes in Complex Civil and Commercial Litigation.
A well-known and respected attorney, he has vast experience in a broad range of disciplines including Advertising, Marketing, Real Estate, Title Insurance, Corporate Litigation, Health Law and Employment Law.
He attended Babson College in Massachusetts and obtained his bachelor’s degree in business, magna cum laude and his Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico. He was member and contributor of the University of Puerto Rico Law Review and co-authored several of its law review articles. He was chosen by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) to, upon graduation, become a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow. He also attended and completed the Program of Instruction for Lawyers at Harvard University.
He is admitted to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Seventh and Ninth Circuits and before the Supreme Court of the United States.
He co-authored “A State by State Guide to Construction and Design Law,” published by ABA Publishing, American Bar Association, 1998 as well as its 2008 update. He has also written extensively under the auspices of the National Business Institute on diverse subjects ranging from Construction Law, to Title Insurance Law, to Foreclosure Law.
He has been involved in several leading cases in diverse areas of the law. Among those is the case that first set the legal guidelines regarding claims against judiciary officers in Puerto Rico (Feliciano Rosado v. Matos, Jr., 81 JTS 1, 110 D.P.R. 550, P.R. and the Condominium Law case that allows the building of additional floors (Alvarez Figueredo v. Gonzalez Lamela, 93 JTS 132, 134 D.P.R. 374 and 95 JTS 107, 138 D.P.R. 958 (on reconsideration).
In 2000 he was entrusted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with representing all of its public agencies and agency heads regarding the discovery efforts initiated by Puerto Rico’s largest daily newspaper in an unprecedented First Amendment lawsuit filed against the Governor of Puerto Rico and other members of his Cabinet.
He has also been involved in diverse cases, some of them leading in their field, among them the case that first set the legal guidelines regarding claims against judiciary officers in Puerto Rico (Feliciano Rosado v. Matos, Jr., 81 JTS 1, 110 D.P.R. 550, P.R.; the Condominium Law case that allows the building of additional floors (Alvarez Figueredo v. Gonzalez Lamela, 93 JTS 132, 134 D.P.R. 374 and 95 JTS 107, 138 D.P.R. 958 (on reconsideration); First Amendment religious rights (Humanistas Seculares de Puerto Rico v. Camara de Representantes de Puerto Rico, 2017 WL 1327635 (D.P.R. 2017); the long-arm reach of Lanham Act claims (Asociacion de Laboratorios Clinicos v. Med. Card Sys. Inc., WL 845314, (D.P.R. 2016); RICO Act Civil Litigation (Home Orthopedics v. Rodriguez, 781 F.3d 521, (1st Cir. 2015); Directors’ and Officers’ actions for the advancement of legal fees, (Rishell v. Med. Card Sys.,Inc., 925 F. Supp. 2d 211, 2013 WL 709832 (D.P.R. 2013), Civil Rights (Camilo-Robles v. Hoyos, 151 F.3d 1, 1st Cir. (Puerto Rico); Employment Law (Melendez-Arroyo v. Cutler-Hammer de P.R. Co., Inc., 273 F.3d 30, 87 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 673, 81 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,845, 1st Cir. (PuertoRico); the Puerto Rico Dealers Act (Morales v. Gregg Shirt Makers, Inc., 682 F.Supp. 142 and Gonzalez v. Brown Group, Inc., 628 F.Supp. 436); Title Insurance (Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. Sotomayor, 394 F.Supp.2d 452) and Lennox Industries, Inc. v. Caicedo Yusti, 172 F.R.D. 617, 38 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1232); Construction Law (Combustion Engineering Caribe, Inc. v. Geo P. Reintjes Co., Inc., 298 F.Supp.2d 215 and Miramar Const. Co. v. Home Depot, Inc., 167 F.Supp.2d 182); Zoning (Fuertes y otros v. A.R.P.E., 93 JTS 165, 134 D.P.R. 947); Bankruptcy (In re Paradise Boat Leasing Corp., 2 B.R. 482, 1 Collier Bankr.Cas.2d 413, 5 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 1122) and Contractual Damages (Betancourt v. Nippy, Inc., 137 F. Supp.2d 27).
Having a special ability to draw the roadmap to a controversy’s earliest resolution is Mr. Santana’s biggest asset. His extensive and varied legal experience, which took him from an undefeated criminal defense practice in both state and federal court at the beginning of his career, to a successful business, title insurance and commercial trial law practice today, has given Mr. Santana the underlying skills to either quickly and favorably settle a controversy before the onset of litigation or to successfully litigate it at trial and through the appellate process.
Representive Cases
The diversity of Mr. Santana’s practice is shown in the variety of cases, some of them leading, in diverse areas of the law which he undertakes for his clients:
Feliciano Rosado v. Matos, Jr., 81 JTS 1, 110 D.P.R. 550, P.R. the case that first set the legal guidelines regarding claims against judiciary officers in Puerto Rico;
Alvarez Figueredo v. Gonzalez Lamela, 93 JTS 132, 134 D.P.R. 374 and 95 JTS 107, 138 D.P.R. 958 (on reconsideration), Condominium Law, the case that establishes the circumstances a Condominium may build additional floors
Humanistas Seculares de Puerto Rico v. Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico, 2017 WL 1327635 (D.P.R. 2017) First Amendment religious rights and lack of standing to sue
Asociacion de Laboratorios Clinicos v. Med. Card Sys. Inc., WL 845314, (D.P.R. 2016) about the long-arm reach of Lanham Act claims
Home Orthopedics v. Rodriguez, 781 F.3d 521, (1st Cir. 2015) RICO Act Civil Litigation
Rishell v. Med. Card Sys.,Inc., 925 F. Supp. 2d 211, 2013 WL 709832 (D.P.R. 2013) Directors’ and Officers’ action for the advancement of legal fees
Camilo-Robles v. Hoyos, 151 F.3d 1, 1st Cir. (Puerto Rico) Civil Rights
Melendez-Arroyo v. Cutler-Hammer de P.R. Co., Inc., 273 F.3d 30, 87 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 673, 81 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,845, 1st Cir. (PuertoRico) Employment Law
Morales v. Gregg Shirt Makers, Inc., 682 F.Supp. 142 and Gonzalez v. Brown Group, Inc., 628 F.Supp. 436), the Puerto Rico Dealers Act
Chicago Title Ins. Co. v. Sotomayor, 394 F.Supp.2d 452) and Lennox Industries, Inc. v. Caicedo Yusti, 172 F.R.D. 617, 38 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1232, Title Insurance Construction Law
Combustion Engineering Caribe, Inc. v. Geo P. Reintjes Co., Inc., 298 F.Supp.2d 215 and Miramar Const. Co. v. Home Depot, Inc., 167 F.Supp.2d 182); Construction Law
Fuertes y otros v. A.R.P.E., 93 JTS 165, 134 D.P.R. 947), Zoning Regulations
In re Paradise Boat Leasing Corp., 2 B.R. 482, 1 Collier Bankr.Cas.2d 413, 5 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 1122, Bankruptcy
Betancourt v. Nippy, Inc., 137 F. Supp.2d 27, Contractual Damages
Practices
Complex Commercial Litigation
Title Insurance
Real Estate
Construction Law
Employment Law
