Jose R. Riguera

Partner

Jose Riguera Florida Attorney Photo

Jose R. Riguera is a partner with the firm and concentrates his practice on commercial litigation, legal malpractice defense, and insurance matters. Prior to joining Keller Landsberg PA, Mr. Riguera was Of Counsel with Blank Rome LLP and was also formerly a Partner with the law firm of Berman, Kean & Riguera PA in Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Riguera was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1990, and for over 25 years has represented clients in state and federal court proceedings, appeals, arbitrations, and mediations in matters involving:

  • business disputes, including breach of contract, fraud, and other business torts
  • corporate, shareholder and partnership disputes
  • real estate litigation, including commercial landlord-tenant disputes
  • intellectual property disputes, including trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and violation of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements
  • condominium and homeowner association collection litigation
  • creditor representation in bankruptcy proceedings

Mr. Riguera is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Civil Mediator.

Mr. Riguera earned his J.D. from The University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, where he was a member of University of Miami Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He also holds a B.S. degree in computer science, cum laude, from Florida International University. Mr. Riguera was born in Havana, Cuba, and is fluent in Spanish. He has resided in South Florida since 1970.

 

Bar Admissions
  • Florida Bar
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court of Appeals, First Circuit
Community Involvement and Affiliations
  • Florida Bar’s Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee “I” (former Chair)
  • Broward County Bar Association
  • Broward County Hispanic Bar Association (former Treasurer)
  • Florida Bar Justice Teaching Program
  • Pro Bono: Legal Aid Service of Broward County
  • Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic School Dad’s Club (former President)
Recognitions and Publications
  • Rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell® (since 2004)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation (for 2022)
  • Recognized multiple times by Florida Trend Legal Elite, Super Lawyers, and the South Florida Legal Guide, and Revista Abogados Destacados del Sur de la Florida
  • Author: “NCAA v. Tarkanian: The State Action Doctrine Faces a Half-Court Press,” 44 Univ. Of Miami Law Rev. 197 (1989)

      REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

      RECENT SUCCESSES
      • Mr. Riguera successfully represented a prominent local law firm and one of its partners in a case filed by a disappointed would-be beneficiary husband who challenged the provisions of a Special Needs Trust the law firm drafted for his disabled wife’s benefit. The plaintiff asserted claims for malpractice/professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract, alleging the attorney (who represented the wife’s guardian) failed to adequately protect the wife and him from self-dealing and misappropriation of assets by the trustees appointed to administer the Special Needs Trust. Keller Landsberg prevailed on summary judgment, convincing the court that the plaintiff lacked standing to maintain a legal malpractice action against the law firm and further that the plaintiff failed to establish that the law firm fell below the standard of care in drafting the Special Needs Trust.

      • Mr. Riguera obtained the dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit asserting claims for defamation and tortious interference against an AmLaw 100 law firm and one of its former partners. The claims against the former partner were dismissed on personal jurisdiction grounds, and the court also granted the law firm’s motion (headquartered in Florida) motion to dismiss and transfer the case to another jurisdiction based on forum non conveniens. Mr. Riguera successfully handled the appeal, which resulted in an affirmance of the order of dismissal by the Third District Court of Appeal.

      • Mr. Riguera obtained the dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit filed by the deceased client’s wife asserting claims for legal malpractice, professional negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, vicarious liability, and breach of contract. The plaintiff alleged that the law firm and one of its partners failed to prepare an estate plan in a timely manner before the decedent passed away. The trial court dismissed the wife’s claims with prejudice, finding she lacked standing to bring those claims against the law firm because she was not the client and could not demonstrate that the decedent’s testamentary, as expressed in a will or other testamentary instrument, was frustrated. The order of dismissal is currently under appeal before the Third District Court of Appeal.

      • Mr. Riguera successfully defended a claim for malicious prosecution filed by a public adjuster against a property insurance company (represented by co-counsel) and several of its employees (including Keller Landsberg’s client) who reported the plaintiff to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud in connection with his handling of a fire damage claim. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants, finding that the public adjuster failed to prove the defendants acted with malice in causing the underlying criminal charges to be filed against him (although the prosecutor later dropped the charges) and further holding that the defendants were immune from civil liability under § 626.989, Fla. Stat. because they were under a statutory duty to report suspected insurance fraud. The Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the order of dismissal.