Email: sruiz@rlattorneys.com
Phone: (786) 706-6388
Sergio I. Ruiz is an Associate in the Orlando office of Resnick & Louis, P.C. and is an experienced litigator, focusing his practice in construction law. Sergio represents general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, design professionals, sureties, commercial general liability carriers, and developers in all types of disputes, including breach of contract claims, construction defect and delay claims, construction lien foreclosures, fraudulent liens, contract drafting and disputes involving AIA Contract documents, payment and performance bond claims, design professional liability claims, insurance coverage disputes, property insurance claims, pre-suit notifications required by Chapter 558 of the Florida Statutes, settlement agreements, building permit issues, claims involving the Florida Building Code, construction warranty claims, and unlicensed contractor/architect claims. Prior to joining Resnick & Louis, Sergio worked as an Associate Attorney for a Miami-Dade County construction law firm.
Sergio works closely with his clients during every step of a project, from contract drafting and negotiation prior to commencing work, through negotiating disputes mid-project and, when necessary, litigating to judgement after the job is complete. He understands how frustrating it can be for business owners and home owners, after another party fails to keep legally binding promises and has a superb ability to collect all the necessary data to properly asses each situation and give his clients a pragmatic analysis of all the options available in order to come up with a winning strategy.
Sergio received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Central Florida and his Juris Doctor from Florida A&M University, College of Law. He continued his education and received his Master of Law in International Arbitration and Inter-American Law from the University of Miami, School of Law. Sergio grew up in Orlando, Florida, where prior to attending law school, he worked in the real estate finance industry, assisting buyers and builders of residential properties.
Sergio is licensed to practice law in the state of Florida.
Representative Matters/Successful Results:
• Arbitration - AAA Construction: Obtained favorable settlement in in the representation of an owner of a luxury townhome with claims against its general contractor for breach of contract, building code violations, and fraudulent lien, as well as defended counter claims for breach of contract and lien foreclosure, pursuant to the American Arbitration Association’s Construction Industry Arbitration Rules. See Mkenzie Construction, LLC v. Tomas Strulovic, AAA Case No. 01-19-0002-4849.
• Arbitration – Ad Hoc against Insurance Carrier: Represented owner of a commercial property in a multi-million value claim against its general liability insurance carrier, for coverage of property damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Pursuant to the Policy, the dispute was resolved by ad hoc arbitration in New York through JAMS. Obtained a favorable settlement with the help of NY-based co-counsel. See Redland Market Village, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London, et al. JAMS Ref. No. 1425031251.
• Claim against Material Supplier: Represented contractor in claims against its material supplier and obtained favorable settlement after pursuing claims including breach of common law warranty, breach of express warranty pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 672.313, breach of implied warranty of merchantability pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 672.314, and breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 672.315. See Fine Line Construction Contractors, Inc. v. Excellence Tile & Stone Corp., Broward County Circuit Court, Case No. 20-006564 CACE 25.
• Complex Business Litigation Discovery: Experience with voluminous discovery projects, such as Brickell City Centre Retail LLC v. Arquitectonica International Corp. et al., Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, Case No. 2021-001706-CA. Here, we represent 19 subcontractors in their defense against multi-million construction defect claims from owner entities and involving hundreds of gigabytes of electronically stored information.
• Defense of Owner from General Contractor. Represented owner of a commercial property from general contractor claims including wrongful termination and breach of contract for failure to pay. Successfully staying case, compelling mediation, and reaching favorable settlement of all claims. See Burke Construction Group, Inc. v. Harvest International Investments, LLC, Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Case No. 2020-021281-CA-01.
• Depositions. Lead attorney in dozens of depositions, defending our clients and client’s fact/expert witnesses, as well as cross-examining opposing parties’ fact/expert witnesses, including corporate representatives for contractors, developers, home-owner associations, material suppliers, manufacturers, damage experts, cost experts, engineers, architects, building department officials, and other fact witnesses. See Portofino Meadows HOA, Inc. v. Prime Home Builders Inc., et al, Orange County Circuit Court Case No. 2020-CA-009679-O.
• Dispositive Motions. Experience drafting of dispositive motions which have attributed to fruitful mediations and settlement. These include motions for summary judgment arguing against defendant subcontractor for failure to defend and indemnify contractor, against HOA for time-barred claims pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3) “statute of repose”, and motions in limine to keep out expert and fact witness testimony from trial. See J.O. Delotto & Sons, Inc. v. G.A. Porter Roofing Contractor Inc., Hillsborough County Circuit Court, Case No. 2017-CA-007785; also Isles of Oviedo Townhome Owners’ Association, Inc. v. Amick Construction, Inc., et al; and Nathan Collins v. Domani Development, LLC, et al, Palm Beach County Circuit Court Case No. 2020-CA-009714.
• Dispositive Motion Hearings. Successful coverage of hearings for our client’s Motion to Dismiss Complaint and Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration. Obtained dismissal of fraudulent misrepresentation count by arguing the Independent Tort Doctrine. Case dismissed after arguing against Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration. See David Beckwith v. AFS General Contracting, LLC, Monroe County Circuit Court, Case No. CAK-22-CA-518-K.
