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Representative Work Highlights
Pellerano & Herrera remains the undisputed leader of the Dominican legal market, and continues to be involved in virtually all major transactions and projects in the country, and to provide advice for most major international players.
Real Estate and Tourism
Given the importance of tourism and real estate in the country’s economy, the firm has been involved in several of the largest deals in this sector.
- Assisted global Spanish hotel chain in the acquisition of 6 major hotels in the eastern and northern portions of the island, comprising over 1900 hotel rooms, an investment in excess of US$ 450 million. The firm’s role included establishing local branches for the purchase of assets, transferring / obtaining applicable permits and providing continued legal assistance in day to day operation of the properties. Lawyers: partners Marielle Garrigó and Ricardo A. Pellerano.
- Assisted renowned Spanish hotel chain in their sale of a real estate property for US$ 10 million. Lawyer: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano, senior associate Juana Barceló.
- Assisted Amhsa Marina Hotels, the largest local hotelier group, in the acquisition of 56% of the shares of three star hotel in Puerto Plata. Lawyers: partner Ricardo A. Pellerano and senior associate Juana Barceló.
- Advised and assisted holding company in their acquisition of a property for several tourist developments.
- Provided legal assistance to real estate purchasers/ investors in the acquisition of luxury second homes in the Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Roco Ki and Casa de Campo resorts. Lawyers: partners Ricardo A. Pellerano.
- Managed all the collections for the country’s largest savings and loans institution (and the biggest mortgage lender) in the Dominican Republic. Lawyer: partner Ricardo A. Pellerano.
- Provided tax and labour advice to a US high-end tourism development company in Macao, Dominican Republic. Lawyers: senior associate Isabel Andrickson.
- Acted as lead counsel for tourism and real estate developer in the execution and registration of the purchase and sale agreements executed with their clients, for more than US$60 million, and assisted clients of the project to register their contracts through the issue of title certificates. Lawyers: partners Luis Rafael Pellerano.
- Advised Spanish tourism group in the acquisition of 50% of the shares of a four star hotel in Punta Cana. Lawyers: partner Marielle Garrigó and senior associate Juana Barceló.
- Advised three US major league baseball teams in the purchase and construction of real estate properties, to be used for their training camps in the Dominican Republic. Lawyers: senior associate Isabel Andrickson.
- Provided estate planning advice in connection with several real estate properties valued in excess of US$ 50 million.
- Advised a major US real estate developer on the sale of its shares of one of its touristic developments in Punta Cana, for a total of US$33 million. The purchase and sale entailed the execution of a security package that shall be in place until full payment of the purchase price. Lawyers: senior associate Isabel Andrickson.
- Represented the government of a northern European country in the foreclosure of real estate assets held locally by a foreign citizen involved in a money laundering transaction. Lawyer: partner Ricardo A. Pellerano.
- Advised US real estate developers, construction and design group in structuring a strategic alliance with the biggest tourism group of Spain.
- Advised UK global provider of spa services and operations in the execution of a joint venture agreement for the installation of a wellness centre and spa tourism project in the Punta Cana area. Lawyer: partner Marielle Garrigo and senior associate Juana Barceló.
Intellectual Property
- Pellerano & Herrera services one of the country’s largest portfolios of trademarks and other intellectual property, and counts among its IP clients renowned international companies.
- Pellerano & Herrera was the first firm in the Dominican Republic to seek judicial relief by means of litigation in connection with the protection of intellectual property rights.
- Helped fast food operator Wendy’s International to re-enter the Dominican market. The project involved assisting Wendy’s in the negotiation of the franchise contract until its final completion. Lawyer: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano.
- Structured with the client a strategy to identify the forgery of Mexican bakery company’s products in the Dominican Republic and subsequently filed the corresponding legal actions. Lawyers: partners Hipólito Herrera.
- Structured with Panamanian free zone automobile parts client a strategy to identify the forgery of their products in the Dominican Republic and subsequently filed the corresponding legal actions. Lawyer: partner Hipólito Herrera.
- Successfully represented largest Latin American beer company an intellectual property rights lawsuit against an industry competitor regarding the use of the design features of one of its beer bottles.
- Managed the trademark portfolios in the Dominican Republic for:
- Renowned US cosmetics, clothing, toys, perfume, jewelry, books, and videos company
- World’s largest retail electronic payments network and one of the most recognized global financial services brands
- French company in the skin care, makeup, perfume and body care industry
- World’s most international tobacco group
- Mexican juice and nectar company
- Portuguese pharmaceutical group
- Mexican company in the baked goods industry
- Largest Latin American beer company.
- Provided legal advice on intellectual property rights to:
- One of the largest media and entertainment corporations
- Mexican nutrition supplements company
- Dominican tourism and real estate developer in Punta Cana
- Guatemalan Pesticides and Chemical products and manufacturing company.
Corporate / Commercial/ M&A
- Pellerano & Herrera advised global private equity firm, Advent International, on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Dominican airports manager Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) from the Hazoury Group, Vancouver Airport Services and other local investors. Aerodom is the leading airport group in the Dominican Republic and one of the largest airport operators in Central America and the Caribbean. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but was one of the biggest ever done in the Dominican Republic. Lawyers: partners Luis Pellerano and Marielle Garrigó.
- Advent International has an enterprise value in excess of US$1 billion and will serve as a platform for acquiring additional airport concessions in Latin America.
- Pellerano & Herrera advised a subsidiary of major Colombian contractor in obtaining a US$95 million bridge loan from Citibank whose security package essentially consisted in the granting of a security interest over the concession agreement under the toll regime of the highway that bears the same name and the revenues generated from the tolls; in addition to the personal security granted by the project promoters.
Said funds have been destined for the construction of the road circuit that interconnects with the Santo Domingo-Samana-Rincón de Molinillos Highway, which was also granted as a concession. Lawyers: Marielle Garrigó.
- Assisted global group of oil, gas and petrochemicals companies in the negotiation process of selling its 50% share of Dominican Republic’s Oil Refinery to the Dominican Government, as well as in negotiating the transfer of its marketing and distribution business to private investors. Lawyer: Luis Rafael Pellerano.
- Advised construction Brazilian company regarding the contractual structure, including the financing, for two hydroelectric dams: Monte Grande and Las Placetas. Lawyers: partner Marielle Garrigo.
- Assisted Dominican ethanol production company in the negotiation of several assets in the sugar industry, restructuring of its existing debt involving the company’s mill, and tax planning. Lawyers: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano.
- Assisted a major Brazilian ethanol producer, in the share and asset acquisition of an ethanol company for the the technological restructuring of a sugar mill into a power and ethanol dehydration plant. The transaction involves a share purchase structure for acquiring the assets and a due diligence on the land to be acquired through a concession granted by the Dominican State. Lawyers: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano and associate Adolfo Toca.
- Provided legal counsel to Canadian company in the bus, truck and industrial equipment industries in the acquisition of the distribution rights for Hyundai heavy vehicles and parts in the Dominican Republic. Assisted in establishing a joint venture with a local company for the maintenance of these equipments, which include a large part of the local public transportation service of the country. Lawyers: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano.
- Assisted famous Cuban rum producer company with more than 150 years in the business, in negotiating operation permits for the installation of a rum factory in the Dominican Republic. Lawyer: partner Ricardo A. Pellerano.
- Assisted US airline Jet Blue with the opening of new flights which effectively triple the size of their operations in the Dominican Republic. Lawyer: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano.
- Continued to assist Barrick Gold Corporation with the Pueblo Viejo gold mining project which, at US$ 2.7 billion, is the largest foreign investment in the history of the Dominican Republic, as stated by the Dominican President in his 2007 State of the Union address, last February 27th, 2008. Lawyers: partner Luis Rafael Pellerano and senior associate Juana Barceló.
- Advised global communications solutions provider in a process of corporate restructuring for their merger with a Spanish company, one of the world’s biggest names in telecommunications. Lawyers: senior associate Isabel Andrickson.
- Assisted Mexican bottling company in the transfer assets in excess, in favour of its majority stockholders. Lawyers: senior associate Isabel Andrickson.
- Provided ongoing corporate advice on day to day matters, including responsibility for Board of Directors and annual general shareholders meeting, for:
- Largest Dominican pension fund
- Largest Dominican insurance company
- Largest Latin American beer company
- Renowned US cosmetics, clothing, toys, perfume, jewelry, books, and videos company
- Renowned Spanish hotel chain
- Acts as day to day advisor and special counsel to the Board of Directors for the largest Savings and Loan Association in the Dominican Republic. Partners: Ricardo Pellerano and Marielle Garrigo.
- Renegotiated the distribution rights in the country for American juice brand, Japanese commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturer company brands, and Japanese marine equipment brand. Lawyer: Luis Rafael Pellerano.
Project Finance
- Acted as legal counsel of finance corporation member of the World Bank that finances and provides advice for private sector ventures and projects in developing countries, in the drafting and perfection of security packages collateralizing loans for the development of port facilities and windmill projects. Lawyers: partner Marielle Garrigo and senior associate Juana Barceló.
- Assisted BNP Paribas in granting a revolving credit facility in favor of the largest construction materials manufacturer and distributor in the Dominican Republic. Lawyer: partner Marielle Garrigó.
- Acted as local counsel for the preparation of a feasibility study for the operation of the first securitization company in the Dominican Republic. Lawyers: partners Ricardo Pellerano and Marielle Garrigó.
- Acted as legal counsel to the lenders in the registering before the Public Credit Department sovereign debt, completing all required formalities for the enforceability of the agreement vis-à-vis the State. Lawyers: partners Luis Rafael Pellerano and Marielle Garrigó.
- Acted as legal counsel to the borrower in the review and execution of a security package for a syndicated loan granted by several foreign banks and financial institutions for several tourism and real estate projects. Lawyers: partners Marielle Garrigó and senior associate María E. Batista.
Litigation / Conflict Resolution
- Successfully represented the largest insurance company in the country in the defense of three major claims, which led to a significant shift in the traditional interpretation of the pertaining civil liability legislation by the lower courts. Lawyers: partners Juan Manuel Pellerano and Hipólito Herrera.
- Represented Dell Worldtrade in a litigation concerning the termination of its former distributor in the Dominican Republic. The litigation involved a challenge of the agreement, as well as the request for protection of fundamental rights under the Constitution of the Dominican Republic. Lawyer:
- Assisted global group of oil, gas and petrochemicals companies on several high profile litigation matters regarding the Dominican government. Lawyers: partners Juan Manuel Pellerano and Hipólito Herrera.
- Represented largest American beverage and confectionery company in a lawsuit filed by a Dominican juice bottling company, for alleged damages caused by the termination of a distribution agreement for one of their juice brands in the Dominican Republic.
- Successfully represented the Asociación de Empleados Universitarios (the Union of University Employees) in the filing of an amparo relief against an administrative section of the country’s Social Security System. Lawyers: partners Juan Manuel Pellerano.
- Represented Stream International in several lawsuits regarding high tech (computer) crimes. These have been the first actions of this kind since computer crime laws were enacted in the Dominican Republic, and they have helped to establish a standard on prosecution of crimes involving technology and IT performed by hackers operating in the DR and abroad. Lawyers: partner Hipólito Herrera.
- Defended Otis Elevators in a damages lawsuit involving manufacturer’s liability in a case of injuries inflicted to a person due to the sudden closing of an elevator car designed and manufactured by Otis around 20 years ago. Lawyers: partners Juan Manuel Pellerano and Hipólito Herrera.
- Represented AAA Dominicana, which provided collection and management services to Corporación de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de La Romana (COAROM), the quasi-governmental water utilities company in La Romana, in the following actions:
- Defence in a lawsuit filed by COAROM, on grounds of an alleged “breach of economic equilibrium of the existing contract”.
- A countersuit against COAROM, for damages and breach of contract.
Lawyers: partners Hipólito Herrera.
- Succesfully acted as counsel for global Spanish hotel chain in an arbitration process initiated by the minority shareholders of Dominican SPV. Lawyers: partners Juan Manuel Pellerano, Hipólito Herrera and senior associate María E. Batista.
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• Banking, Finance and Securities
• Corporate Law
• Energy Law
• Environmental Law
• Family Law
• Free Zones
• Government Contracts
• Immigration Law
• Insurance Law
• Intellectual Property Rights Law
• International Business and Trade Law
• Labor Law
• Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Mining
• Real Estate Law
• Sports
• Tax Law
• Telecommunications Law
• Tourism
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