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José C. Feliciano

José C. Feliciano is an active trial lawyer and has more than 35 years experience in complex commercial and employment litigation. His trial experience has included business litigation, products liability, construction, shareholders’ derivative suits, contracts, eminent domain, and commercial and personal torts.

Mr. Feliciano has considerable experience as a first chair litigator in jury trials, having tried to verdict more than 70 civil and criminal trials in state and federal courts, and he has handled cases in many different jurisdictions and forums, including domestic and international arbitration tribunals and administrative bodies. His class action experience includes the areas of pharmaceuticals, computers and newspapers. Mr. Feliciano’s experience in commercial litigation includes disputes involving steel and automotive supply chains, international business contracts and claims between manufacturers and regulated utilities. Recently, Mr. Feliciano represented one of the country’s largest manufacturers of alloy steel in a dispute before the International Chamber of Commerce involving a supply contract valued at over $200 million. Mr. Feliciano also has experience in the labor area and in litigating strike issues. He has handled wrongful discharge and race, sex and age employment discrimination cases.

Mr. Feliciano has extensive experience in the defense and prosecution of white collar crime matters, which he acquired during his tenure as Chief Prosecuting lawyer for the City of Cleveland and as a Cuyahoga County public defender—ranging from the management of investigations to jury trials and appeals. In 1983 he was recognized as Administrator of the Year by the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.

Mr. Feliciano was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1995 and is a Life Member of the Judicial Conference, Eighth Judicial District, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Mr. Feliciano is listed in Who’s Who in American Law. He served on the Board of Governors and House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, is former Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution and former ABA representative to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, where he participated in drafting the Uniform Mediation Act. Mr. Feliciano is a past President of the Cleveland Bar Association.

Mr. Feliciano was appointed by President Reagan as a White House Fellow in 1984. Prior to the Fellowship, he was appointed by Senator (then Mayor) George Voinovich as the City of Cleveland’s Chief Prosecuting lawyer (1980-84). He previously served as Cuyahoga County public defender (1978-80), defending criminal matters ranging from grand theft to murder.

In 1985, he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in America by the U.S. Jaycees. Mr. Feliciano was honored by the American Bar Association in 2005 with the “Spirit of Excellence” award given by their Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. In 2008 he was named Chair of the Advisory Group for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Mr. Feliciano is the founder and Chairman of the Hispanic Roundtable. He is former Chairman of the Hispanic Leadership Development Program and founder of the Hispanic Community Forum, for which he also served as President. He was also a founder of the Ohio Hispanic Bar Association and served as its Vice President.

In his role as Chairman of the Hispanic Roundtable, Mr. Feliciano is the host of a monthly talk show on El Sol Television, produced by El Sol De Cleveland Hispanic newspaper. Mr. Feliciano and his guests discuss topics relevant to the Hispanic business and professional community of Northeastern Ohio. To view the show, please click here to visit the El Sol Television website.

Mr. Feliciano was selected as Hispanic of the Year by the Nueves Horizontes Newspaper in 2002. He received the Federal Bar Association Boots Fisher Civic Achievement Award, as well as the Hispanic Political Action Committee Civic Award for his dedication to professional development and service to numerous nonprofit charitable organizations. Additionally, Mr. Feliciano was recently recognized by the Hispanic Business Association, receiving the 2008 Legacy Award for service and leadership.

Mr. Feliciano speaks Spanish fluently.

Following are some of the cases in which Mr. Feliciano has served as lead counsel:

El Dia, Inc. Puerto Rican Cement Company, Inc. and Desarrollos Multiples Insulares, Inc. vs. Governor Pedro Rossello, et al., U.S. District Court in the District of Puerto Rico, Civil Case No. 97-2841; Judge José A. Fuste.
Mr. Feliciano represented the Puerto Rican Cement Company in a case filed against the Governor of Puerto Rico, his Chief of Staff, and four cabinet officers by El Dia Newspaper and its sister corporation (the Puerto Rican Cement Company), for violating its First Amendment rights and retaliating against the cement company by terminating more than 16 development permits throughout Puerto Rico.

Merrill Cohen, Trustee v. Douglas Colkitt, M.D., et al, Case No. H-00-1216, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland; Judge Alexander Harvey
Mr. Feliciano represented the Trustee in a suit filed against 70 businesses to set aside fraudulent conveyances to the various businesses.

Lorain NAACO v. The Lorain Board of Education, Federal District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Case. No. 79-1775; Judge David Dowd
As lead trial counsel, Mr. Feliciano represented the Intervenors, the Hispanic community of Lorain, in a desegregation case filed by the NAACP against the Lorain Board of Education and the State of Ohio.

Deegan and McGarry, et al. vs. Med-Cor, Inc., et al., Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Case. No. 274292; Judge James L. Sweeney
In a class action brought by a class of lawyers and their clients, Mr. Feliciano represented Defendants in a claim against the hospitals in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, for charging excessive duplicating costs for medical records in violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.