Jesús E. Cuza is a partner in Holland & Knight's Miami office practicing in the areas of domestic and international litigation. Mr. Cuza concentrates in handling commercial and civil litigation matters filed in Spanish- and English-speaking jurisdictions. He drafts letters, motions and briefs; takes and defends depositions; attends and addresses court appearances; and tries and arbitrates cases in Spanish and English.
Over the last 22 years, Mr. Cuza has represented numerous prestigious and well-known individuals and private and public companies as lead counsel in civil actions filed in Florida, Puerto Rico, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Nevada, Connecticut and California. Mr. Cuza has also been in charge of matters being handled in the United Kingdom, Canada and Spanish-speaking jurisdictions such as Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Costa Rica.
Mr. Cuza's prior representative engagements include:
- represented a life settlement broker in a civil action filed against a life insurance company before the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- represented a famous singer in a litigation filed against the performer in South Florida
- represented two of the world's foremost integrated aluminum companies as lead counsel in a trademark infringement case filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
- represented a foreign car dealership as lead counsel in defense of preliminary injunctive relief sought by automobile wholesaler in Puerto Rico
- defended the CEO of a bank holding company as lead counsel against all RICO and fraud claims raised against him in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
- represented worldwide distributor of motor vehicles in military bases in request for injunction to prevent all warranty litigation against distributor in Puerto Rico's administrative agencies under federal enclave doctrine
- represented a specialty finance company as lead counsel in action to move to quash subpoena issued by an arbitration panel
- defended former director and former officer of a diversified financial services company in 24 related securities fraud actions, including 18 class actions, brought for purported violation of securities laws by Puerto Rican financial institutions and its officers and directors
- defended a major medical device company as lead counsel against injunctive relief sought under Puerto Rico's Law 75 through district court and appeal
- represented a nonprofit organization that works to address the needs and interests of middle-aged and elderly people in the U.S. as lead amicus curiae counsel in a litigation addressing the constitutionality of a local law that was being applied to prohibit mail order pharmacy sales in the jurisdiction
- represented a national fragrance company as lead trial counsel in a trademark infringement case that the client filed
- assisted in the representation of a wholly owned subsidiary of a pharmaceutical company as lead trial counsel in a sexual harassment case
- represented one of the prior owners of a hotel property as lead trial counsel in a defamation case filed by the owner against a person that was trying to defame the client's good name and reputation
- represented a wholly owned subsidiary of a multinational conglomerate corporation as lead trial counsel in the defense of a breach of contract case filed against said subsidiary
- represented the owner of a Class A building as lead trial counsel in a breach of contract case filed against the client by one of the major banks of Spain
- represented a professional baseball player as lead trial counsel in a breach of contract case filed against a client
- represented minority stockholder of a number of construction companies as lead trial counsel against the companies' majority stockholder
- represented a healthcare public company as lead trial counsel in the prosecution of a breach of contract filed against its distributor
- represented former officers and board members of companies that have been investigated by the federal government
While attending law school, Mr. Cuza was the associate production editor for the Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Journal. He also worked as an intern for The Honorable Judge George Pratt in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and The Honorable Judge Harold A. Ackerman in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
