Attorneys

E-mail address: ra@mcvpr.com
Phone number: (787) 250-5699
Fax number: (787) 759-2731

Roberto Abesada-Agüet is an Income Member of the Litigation Practice Group. He is also an adjunct professor of law at the Inter American University School of Law .

Practice and Experience

Mr. Abesada is a trial and appellate attorney with experience in state and federal court. His main practice areas are in personal injury, commercial and construction litigation.

Education

In 1996, Mr. Abesada obtained a Bachelors Degree in Business (magna cum laude) from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus and in 1999 a Juris Doctor degree (cum laude) from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Abesada was a Law Review member and worked with well recognized professors of law such as Raúl Serrano Geyls, Carlos I. Gorrín Peralta and Ennio Colón Ramírez, the last two as a professor's assistant.

Admissions

Admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Memberships

Puerto Rico and Federal Bar Associations and the firm's Pro Bono Program. Since 2008, Mr. Abesada has served in the State Bar's Committee to Evaluate Judicial Appointments and, most recently, in the Committee to Review the Puerto Rico Rules of Civil Procedure.

Representative Cases

• Blas Toledo v. Hospital Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe, 2006 T.S.P.R. 47.
• Souffront Cordero v. AAA, 2005 T.S.P.R. 49
• R & J Motors, Inc. v. DACO, 2005 T.S.P.R. 48
• Municipality of San Juan v. COFECC, 415 F.3d 145 (1st Cir. 2005).
• Jewelers Mut. Ins. Co. v. N. Barquet, Inc., 410 F.3d 2 (1st Cir. 2005).
• Hull v. Municipality of San Juan, 356 F.3d 98 (1st Cir. 2005).
• Behavioral Healthcare Partners v. González Rivera, 392 F.Supp.2d 191 (D. Puerto Rico 2005).
• Freightliner LLC v. P.R. Truck Sales, 399 F.Supp.2d 57 (D. Puerto Rico 2005)
• Astoria Jewelry v. N. Barquet, Inc., 291 F.Supp.2d 16 (D. Puerto Rico 2003).
• Arias v. American Airlines, 163 F.Supp.2d 111 (D. Puerto Rico 2001).
• Arias-Rosado v. Tirado, 111 F.Supp.2d 96 (D. Puerto Rico 2000).

Mr. Abesada was assigned the firm's first ever pro bono litigation, following a special request by the Puerto Rico Bar Association. This litigation entailed representing a high profile case of a single mother facing extradition to Texas as well as a legal custody battle from her former husband and the Family Department. Today, she is free and together with her daughters. The firm received a Special Recognition Award from the President of the Puerto Rico Bar Association as a result of this representation.

Publications

• Problemas de Nivelación de las aseguradoras con la Asociación de Garantía y Seguros Misceláneos de Puerto Rico, 64 Rev. Co. Abog. 87 (2003).
• Judicial Fiasco in the Preemptive Scope of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, 34 Rev. Jur. U.I.A.P.R. 131 (1999).
• Puerto Rico: A Mixed Legal System, 32 Rev. Jur. U.I.AP.R. 288 (1998) (Co-author)
• Farewell!!! Conley v. Gibson: U.S. Supreme Court Heightens Pleadings Standard in all Civil Cases, From the Bar (Federal Bar Association) Issue 43 p. 8 (Summer 2009)

Mr. Abesada has been also a guest speaker on several occasions in seminars sponsored by the Puerto Rico Bar Association, specifically regarding pretrial litigation strategies in personal injury lawsuits. He also contributes with articles and the "Noteworthy Decisions" section of the Puerto Rico Federal Bar Association magazine From the Bar and Juris Doctor a local magazine sponsored by the Inter American University, School of Law.