Francisco G. Bruno

E-mail address: fgb@mcvpr.com
Phone number: (787) 250-5608
Fax number: (787) 759-2776

Francisco G. Bruno is a Capital Partner of the Firm and Chairman of the Litigation Practice Group. He is member of the Firm's Policy Committee, Chairman of the Maritime Practice Area and part of the Construction and the Product Liability and Toxic Torts Practice Areas. He has over 35 years of litigation experience in federal and state court.

Practice Areas

Since he started practicing law in 1970, Mr. Bruno has been dedicated to litigation at both the federal and state court levels, and has developed extensive experience in environmental and commercial litigation. He has also led several complex high-profile cases, involving environmental and personal injury disputes. His experience in admiralty and maritime matters has given him the opportunity of assisting the firm's clients in various maritime matters in the Dominican Republic and other areas of the Caribbean, including the United States Virgin Islands.

As member of the Product Liability and Toxic Tort Practice Area he lead defense counsel for three pharmaceutical companies in a class action stemming from alleged toxic emissions from an industrial wastewater treatment plant to where these companies and others discharge. He was also co-chair of the plaintiffs' steering committee in a high-profile and complex litigation filed against Enron, stemming from a gas explosion that killed 33 people and settled for over $100 million.

Education

Mr. Bruno obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Business School of the University of Puerto Rico in 1967, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in 1970.

Admissions

Mr. Bruno is admitted to the 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, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Memberships

He is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, the Maritime Law Association of the United States, the American Bar Association, and the Instituto Iberoamericano de Derecho Marítimo. Mr. Bruno is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (past Chair of the Puerto Rico Committee) and of the American Bar Foundation.

Representative Cases

Some of the cases in which Mr. Bruno has appeared as counsel include:

• Aseguradores de Lloyd's London v. Cía. de Desarrollo Comercial de Puerto Rico, 126 P.R. Dec. 251 (1990);
• Professional Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Distribuidora Automotriz, Inc., 121 P.R. Dec. 536 (1988);
• Silva Wiscovich v. Weber Dental Mfg. Co., 119 P.R. Dec. 550 (1987);
• Calimano Díaz v. Rovira Calimano, 113 P.R. Dec. 702 (1983);
• Rodríguez Rivera v. Autoridad de Carreteras, 100 P.R. Dec. 184 (1980);
• Navieros Inter-Americanos, S. A. v. M/V Vasilia Exp., 120 F.3d 304 (1st Cir. 1997), 1997 A.M.C. 2845;
• Royal Caribbean Corp. v. Puerto Rico Ports Authority, 973 F.2d 8 (1st Cir. 1992), 1993 A.M.C. 152;
• Comité Pro Rescate de la Salud v. Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, 888 F.2d 180 (1st Cir. 1989), 20 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,211;
• Smit Americas, Inc. v. M/V Mantinia, 259 F. Supp.2d 118 (D.P.R. 2003), 2003 A.M.C. 1096, and 33 F. Supp.2d 109 (D.P.R. 1999), 1999 A.M.C. 1060;
• In re Río Piedras Explosion Litigation, 106 F. Supp.2d 198 (D.P.R. 2000).