PUERTO RICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Mónica Ramos-Benítez and Roberto A. Cámara-Fuertes, Ferraiuoli LLC
testimony for the prevailing party’s theory. The deter - mining factor is that the costs were necessary for the litigation. The general rule is that each party shall bear their own attorney’s fees. However, the prevailing party can recover reasonable attorney’s fees only if the court, in its discretion, finds that the adverse party or its attorney(s) incurred in frivolous or obstinate conduct during the litigation. 2.15 Available Funding in Product Liability Claims Contingency fees are allowed, though with certain lim - itations. Contingency fees must be agreed to in writ - ing, and in tort actions, the attorney cannot charge a contingency fee that exceeds 33% of the final award, or 25% if the client is a minor or mentally incapaci - tated. Courts can authorise a contingency fee of up to 33% of the final award when the client is a minor or mentally incapacitated only if the attorney presents sufficient justification. Third-party litigation funding is uncommon. While there is no specific law barring this practice, ethical considerations, such as ensuring that the attorney is not improperly influenced in his or her decision-mak - ing and professional judgement, must be complied with. 2.16 Existence of Class Actions, Representative Proceedings or Co-Ordinated Proceedings in Product Liability Claims Class action proceedings are available if the require - ments established in PR Rule 20 of Civil Procedure are met. These requirements include numerosity, commonality, typicality of claims, adequacy of rep - resentation, and the need to avoid the risks created by separate proceedings of inconsistent adjudica - tions or individual adjudications that ultimately affect class interests. See PR Rules 20.1 and 20.2 of Civil Procedure. Class action proceedings are rare in our jurisdiction. Alternatively, PR Rule 38.1 of Civil Procedure provides for the consolidation of pending actions with common issues of facts or law. The determination is within the court’s discretion, guided by factors such as whether
consolidation would promote judicial efficiency and economy, avoid duplicative proceedings and incon - sistent adjudications, and the identity of the claims and parties. Finally, Puerto Rico’s Rules for Complex Civil Litigation Cases (P.R. Stat. Ann, Tit. 4 Ap. XXVII) functions as the local equivalent to the federal multi-district litigation (MDL) procedures. The rules define a complex civil litigation case as one whose circumstances require specialised judicial management – declared as such in accordance with Rules 4 and 5 – with the objective of avoiding unnecessary burdens on the litigants or the court and enabling the efficient judicial administration of the proceedings. In determining whether a case qualifies as complex litigation, Rule 5 requires the courts to consider mul - tiple factors, such as: • multiplicity of the parties, claims or defences; • extensive volume of evidence; • whether there are intricate factual or legal contro - versies requiring extensive or unusual documentary and testimonial evidence;
• nature of the remedy(ies) sought; • complexity at the appellate stage; • if the case is certified as a class action; • if it involves product liability cases; and • intensity of pre-trial activity.
A certified class action suit can qualify as a complex civil litigation case, but it does not need to be a class action to qualify as such. 2.17 Summary of Significant Recent Product Liability Claims There have not been any significant PR Supreme Court decisions on product liability in nearly ten years. The last two significant decisions were Rodríguez Mendez v Laser Eye , 195 DPR 769 (2016) and González - Caban v JR Seafood ,199 DPR 234 (2017), both decided well before the adoption of the new Civil Code of 2020. In Rodríguez - Mendez , the plaintiff developed an eye condition after receiving laser eye surgery, and brought a medical malpractice and product liability suit against the doctor and the distributor of the equipment used
236 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook