Gustavo A. Chico-Barris

Gustavo A. Chico-Barris is a Senior Member with the firm’s Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Group, the Dispute Resolution Group/Commercial Litigation Division and the Insurance Practice Group.  Before joining Ferraiuoli, he served as law clerk for Chief Judge Hon. Enrique S. Lamoutte at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico.  He was also a partner in a boutique law firm in Puerto Rico doing corporate counseling, real estate transactions, commercial litigation and insurance practice.

Gustavo focuses his legal practice in advising and representing creditors in all aspects of Bankruptcy, including judicial proceedings in Chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13 cases, and out-of-court financial transactions and restructuring.  He has gained considerable negotiation skills and ample litigation experience before federal and state trial and appellate courts, agencies and arbitration forums, on creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, commercial litigation, insurance regulation, claims under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, real estate transactions, bond claims, insurance claim and fraud claims.

Gustavo currently serves an Adjunct Professor of Bankruptcy Law with the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. As a bankruptcy practitioner, Gustavo excels at finding quick and practical solutions. His experience as a professor also allows him to be thorough and intricate in complex bankruptcy disputes and contested matters.

 

Representative Cases or Transactions

  • In re Peña, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 824, 2016 WL 1043736 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (dismissal of Chapter 11 case for substantial or continuing loss and diminution of the estate).
  • In re Acevedo Hernandez, 549 B.R. 551 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (allowing for direct payments to secured creditors through a Chapter 12 Plan of Reorganization saving the expense of the trustee’s fees).
  • In re Oritz Colon, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2344, 2016 WL 3548821 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (first case in the First Circuit declaring the impossibility of conversion from Chapter 12 to Chapter 11 under Section 1208(e) of the Bankruptcy Code and granting motion to dismiss).
  • In re Martinez Santiago, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 3438, 2015 WL 5919926 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2015) (conversion of a Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 for substantial or continuing loss and diminution of the estate).
  • In re Meléndez-Quiñones, Meléndez-Quiñones v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 4374, 2015 WL 9590283 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2015) (granting a motion for joinder to declare an ex-spouse an indispensable party in a lien stripping adversary proceeding when the ex-spouse signed the loan documents and mortgage deed).
  • LM Waste Service Corp. v. Municipio De Juana Diaz, ARB, Inc. (In re LM Waste Service Corp.), 562 B.R. 845 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (dismissal of complaint based on permissive abstention upon finding that non-core issues predominated).
  • Wicovitch v. Punta del Mar Beach Village (In re Compañía El Mueble, Inc.), Decision and Order, Adv. Proc. No. 11-00063 (SEK) Docket No. 17 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2011) (allowing a creditor to setoff a debt against the trustee via counterclaim in an adversary proceeding under the doctrine of recoupment).

 

Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, Bankruptcy Symposium sponsored by the Fideicomiso para la Escuela de Derecho de la Universidad de Puerto Rico 2021, Puerto Rico.
  • Speaker, Segundo Congreso de Seguros: Riesgos Catastróficos, Huracanes y Terremotos for the Continuing Legal Education Program of the School of Law at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) 2021, Puerto Rico.
  • Speaker, Bankruptcy Considerations for Non-Bankruptcy Practitioners and Notaries for the Federal Bar Association (FBA) 2021, Puerto Rico Chapter.
  • Speaker, Subchapter V in the COVID-19 Era for the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) 2021 Caribbean Virtual Insolvency Symposium.
  • Adjunct Professor, Bankruptcy Law, University of Puerto Rico School of Law.
  • Speaker, Chapter 13 Panel  for the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) 2016 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • Keynote Speaker, The Future of Puerto Rico for the 15th Annual Association of Insolvency & Plan of Reorganization Advisors (AIRA) 2016, New York.

Publications

  • “International Comparative Legal Guide to Corporate Recovery & Insolvency 2016 (Puerto Rico),” published by Global Legal Group Ltd., London.

Practice Areas

Representative Cases or Transactions

  • In re Peña, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 824, 2016 WL 1043736 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (dismissal of Chapter 11 case for substantial or continuing loss and diminution of the estate).
  • In re Acevedo Hernandez, 549 B.R. 551 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (allowing for direct payments to secured creditors through a Chapter 12 Plan of Reorganization saving the expense of the trustee’s fees).
  • In re Oritz Colon, 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 2344, 2016 WL 3548821 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (first case in the First Circuit declaring the impossibility of conversion from Chapter 12 to Chapter 11 under Section 1208(e) of the Bankruptcy Code and granting motion to dismiss).
  • In re Martinez Santiago, 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 3438, 2015 WL 5919926 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2015) (conversion of a Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 for substantial or continuing loss and diminution of the estate).
  • In re Meléndez-Quiñones, Meléndez-Quiñones v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 2015 Bankr. LEXIS 4374, 2015 WL 9590283 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2015) (granting a motion for joinder to declare an ex-spouse an indispensable party in a lien stripping adversary proceeding when the ex-spouse signed the loan documents and mortgage deed).
  • LM Waste Service Corp. v. Municipio De Juana Diaz, ARB, Inc. (In re LM Waste Service Corp.), 562 B.R. 845 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2016) (dismissal of complaint based on permissive abstention upon finding that non-core issues predominated).
  • Wicovitch v. Punta del Mar Beach Village (In re Compañía El Mueble, Inc.), Decision and Order, Adv. Proc. No. 11-00063 (SEK) Docket No. 17 (Bankr. D.P.R. 2011) (allowing a creditor to setoff a debt against the trustee via counterclaim in an adversary proceeding under the doctrine of recoupment).

 

Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, Bankruptcy Symposium sponsored by the Fideicomiso para la Escuela de Derecho de la Universidad de Puerto Rico 2021, Puerto Rico.
  • Speaker, Segundo Congreso de Seguros: Riesgos Catastróficos, Huracanes y Terremotos for the Continuing Legal Education Program of the School of Law at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) 2021, Puerto Rico.
  • Speaker, Bankruptcy Considerations for Non-Bankruptcy Practitioners and Notaries for the Federal Bar Association (FBA) 2021, Puerto Rico Chapter.
  • Speaker, Subchapter V in the COVID-19 Era for the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) 2021 Caribbean Virtual Insolvency Symposium.
  • Adjunct Professor, Bankruptcy Law, University of Puerto Rico School of Law.
  • Speaker, Chapter 13 Panel  for the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) 2016 Caribbean Insolvency Symposium, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • Keynote Speaker, The Future of Puerto Rico for the 15th Annual Association of Insolvency & Plan of Reorganization Advisors (AIRA) 2016, New York.

Publications

  • “International Comparative Legal Guide to Corporate Recovery & Insolvency 2016 (Puerto Rico),” published by Global Legal Group Ltd., London.