Arturo J. García Solá

E-mail address:  ajg@mcvpr.com
Phone number:  (787) 250-5632
Fax number:  (787) 759-2785

Arturo J. García-Solá joined the firm's Litigation Department in 1985. He has been the firm's Managing Director since June 2002.

Practice Areas

Mr. García-Solá has developed a general civil and commercial litigation practice with emphasis in franchise and distribution laws, constitutional law, contractual disputes, trusts and estates litigation. He has significant experience in government and legislative affairs, municipal financing, and has dealt with many bankruptcy matters. He practices extensively before the federal courts, both at trial and appellate levels, and the United States Supreme Court. As a litigator, Mr. García Solá has twice argued before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, the highest court in Puerto Rico which allows oral arguments only in few cases of significant public interest. He has appeared many times before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Education

In 1980, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Sciences, with a concentration in Latin American Studies, from Columbia University. Three years later, in 1983, he graduated from Columbia University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. He initiated his career clerking for the Hon. Juan M. Pérez-Giménez, then Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, from September 1983 until October 1985.

Admissions

He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He also practiced before the former United States Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals (that specialized in oil and energy matters.)

Memberships

Active member of the Federal Bar Association since 1985; served as President of the Association's Puerto Rico Chapter in 2001. Mr. García Solá has served as member of various Merit Selection Panels that assisted the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in selecting magistrate judges and judges for the court. He was also a member of the 2001 First Circuit Judicial Conference Planning Committee.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of United Way, Puerto Rico Chapter and a member of the Young President's Organization.

Representative Cases

• Goya Foods, Inc. v. Unanue-Casal: Action filed before the Federal District Court in Puerto Rico, seeking to reach and apply an assortment of assets that had been fraudulently shielded from a New Jersey multi-million judgment. The case and others stemming from it were successfully litigated for almost ten years and produced several published opinions from both the District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
• Melecio v. Puerto Rican American Insurance; Morales v. Asociación de Suscripción Conjunta de Seguro de Responsabilidad Obligatorio; Rubiera v. Asociación de Suscripción Conjunta de Seguro de Responsabilidad Obligatorio: Three class actions, Melecio pending in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, and Morales and Rubiera pending in the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance. McConnell Valdés represents Allstate, one of the defendants in all three actions. In addition, Arturo J. García Solá is the lead counsel in this complex litigation on behalf of the auto insurance companies doing business in Puerto Rico who participated in the Compulsory Liability Insurance Joint Underwriting Association. The class actions were brought on behalf of all insurance agents and brokers in Puerto Rico alleging that the Compulsory Liability Insurance Joint Underwriting Association established a monopoly whereby the Association became the sole provider of compulsory liability insurance and allegedly causing the class to suffer "economic ruin" because the Association allegedly did not pay the commissions due to the class. These cases are currently pending before the courts, but extensive motion practice and appeals have been filed in connection therewith. Most recently, Mr. García Solá argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in connection with an appeal filed in Melecio.
• Sears Roebuck de Puerto Rico, Inc. Service Contract Litigation: Consumer class action against Sears Roebuck de Puerto Rico, Inc., a subsidiary of Sears Roebuck & Co., challenging the validity of all service contracts sold in the Puerto Rico market from September 2000 until March 2003. The case was successfully litigated up to the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, who affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the action. Plaintiffs moved for reconsideration but subsequently withdrew their motion.
• Municipio de San Juan v. Banco Gubernamental de Fomento: Mr. García Solá represented the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank in connection with an action filed by the City of San Juan. In this action, the City of San Juan asked the Court to allow it to use the excess of the annual accumulated funds deposited in the Redemption Fund. The accumulated funds were derived from certain Special Additional Contribution imposed on property located in the city and were held by the Bank as a guarantee for the payment of the City's obligations with the Bank. The city required the annual excess of the accumulated funds to pay other municipal debts and obligations. The Bank argued that an excess of the accumulated funds only existed after the total debt owed to the Bank was fully paid. This case was appealed all the way to the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.
• Estate of Joseph F. Unanue: This is a complex estate matter involving a myriad of family, probate, estate settlement, inheritance, trust and tax issues under Puerto Rico law. It has required extensive litigation at the trial and appellate levels, as well as intensive negotiations between the parties involved.