Kenneth C. Suria-Rivera > Estrella LLC > San Juan, Puerto Rico > Lawyer Profile

Kenneth C. Suria-Rivera

787-977-5050 kcsuria@estrellallc.com View profile View profile

Work Department

Federal Practice & Dispute Resolution

Position

Member, and Federal Practice Leader

Career

In 1985, Kenneth Suria commenced his legal career with Hartford Fire & Indemnity Insurance Company representing the carrier’s assureds in general liability and automobile insurance claims in cases from their inception through trial. Two years later he became staff counsel for CIGNA Property & Casualty Company where he represented the company’s assureds in a vast array of areas of civil litigation, including premises liability, automobile accidents, general liability, insurance law, products liability, copyrights, and federal litigation.

Subsequently, Mr. Suria became a Senior Trial/Litigation Associate with the firm of Bower & Gardner, where he represented the firm’s corporate self-insured clients in general liability cases involving product liability, commercial litigation, insurance law, and premises liability defense, among other areas, from their inception through jury trial and verdict. Finally, Mr. Suria went into the private practice of the law for a period of two years before returning to Puerto Rico.

Upon his arrival in Puerto Rico, Mr. Suria briefly worked for the well-known tort law firm of Martinez-Texidor & Fuster in Ponce before moving to his native San Juan and taking up his place as a Senior Litigator with the Castellanos Law Firm. At Castellanos, Mr. Suria successfully litigated the case of New Shows, S.A. v. Don King Productions, Inc., in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, providing Mr. King with his first legal defeat ever. The lower court verdict was subsequently affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (210 F.3d 355 (2nd Cir. 2000)). Mr. Suria headed the Federal Litigation Department, where he became involved in the litigation of cases in the areas of product liability, copyright, collections, medical malpractice, appeals, and other areas of civil practice.   Mr. Suria joined Estrella, LLC in March 2000, and is actively engaged in general civil litigation, including labor and employment matters, tort defense, federal appeals, federal litigation and contract cases.

Bar Admissions

• New York State/1985
• New Jersey/1985
• Puerto Rico/2000

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York/1985
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York/1985
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey/1985
• U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico/1998
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit/1991
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit/1999

Languages

English, Spanish

Memberships

• American Bar Association
• Puerto Rico Bar Association
• Hispanic National Bar Association

Education

• New York Law School/J.D./1983
• Spring Hill College/B.S./1979