Elaine M. Maldonado-Matias

Ms. Maldonado is a Capital Partner and Managing Partner at Sepulvado, Maldonado & Couret. In addition, she heads the Labor, Employment, and Benefits practice group of the Firm.

Having been practicing law since 1995, Ms. Maldonado has focused her legal career in the field of federal and state employment, labor, and employee benefits counseling and litigation. Specifically, she has centered her experience in matters arising under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. In addition, Ms. Maldonado has performed successfully in high-stakes multi-district litigation of environmental law and products liability litigation.

Before joining Sepulvado, Maldonado & Couret, Ms. Maldonado was a Capital Partner at Puerto Rico’s largest law firm, McConnell Valdés. While at Mcconnel Valdés, she was the chair of the Welfare and ERISA litigation practice area and a Partner of the Labor and Employment Law practice group of said firm. She also served as a law clerk to Judges Pedro López-Oliver and Wilfredo Alicea-López at the Court of First Instance of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and as a student law clerk to Federal Judge Jaime Pieras, Jr., at the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Ms. Maldonado is regarded as one of the most effective and efficient employment attorneys in Puerto Rico. Her “no-nonsense” character builds her reputation and has allowed her to represent large-scale business and companies with high volume of employment and labor challenges.

In addition to leading the employment, labor, and benefits practice group, Ms. Maldonado oversees the Firm’s human resources management. She is also in charge of the relationship with its clients and its daily operations.

PRACTICE AREAS

Oil & Gas Practice
Employment and Labor Law
Environmental and Land Use
Government Relations

EDUCATION

Boston College, B.S., Major in Finance and Marketing, 1992
University of Puerto Rico, School of Law, J.D., 1995

BAR ADMISSIONS

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
State of New York
U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Puerto Rico
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

MEMBERSHIPS

Puerto Rico Bar Association
American Bar Association
New York State Bar Association

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Puerto Rico Chapter (coauthored with Albéniz Couret Fuentes) in The Product Regulation and Liability Law Review, 3rd Ed.(2016), Law Business Research Ltd. (London).

Ms. Maldonado has also written several articles for local newspapers and the Firm’s publications on employee benefits and employment law issues. She regularly lectures clients, the general public and attorneys on compliance requirements under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) Privacy Rules and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

NOTABLE REPRESENTATIONS

Jessica Asencio Plaza v. Monsanto Caribe, et al., Civil No. PO2018CV00955 (601) (Puerto Rico Court of First Instance, Ponce Part). The court granted summary judgment dismissing all claims of unjustified dismissal, discrimination based on disability, both personally and by association, and age against Monsanto Caribe, LLC after concluding that plaintiff was a temporary employee with no expectation of continued employment and her temporary assignment termination was justified due to tardiness and noncompliance with her work schedule; and not motivated by any discriminatory reason.

Rodriguez v. Manpower, Slip op., Civil. No. 04-2199-CCC (D.P.R. Sept. 22, 2006) available at 2006 WL 2726871.

Defendants obtained judgment granting a Motion for Summary Judgment that resulted in the dismissal of the entire case. In an action pursuant to Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, defendants successfully argued that plaintiff failed to proffer enough evidence to demonstrate that her disability was the reason for the non-renewal of her temporary employment contract. This opinion has been cited in:

Camille Hébert, Employee Privacy Law, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 2 Empl. Privacy Law § 11:15 n.2 (2014).
Employee and Union Member Guide to Labor Law, Proving plaintiff is an individual with a disability—HIV status, 2 Employee and Union Member Guide to Labor Law § 7:44 n.12 (2014).

In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (“MTBE”) Products Liability Litigation, 959 F.Supp.2d 476 (S.D.N.Y. July 16, 2013).

The firm obtained judgment granting a Motion to Dismiss filed on behalf of Total Outre-Mer, S.A., umbrella and parent company of Total Petroleum Puerto Rico, Corp., for want of personal jurisdiction. The firm successfully argued that Total Outre-Mer, S.A. has never operated in Puerto Rico and that its contacts are insufficient to support the exercise of personal jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico long arm statutes. This judgment completely limited the client’s exposure to multimillion-dollar product liability.

In re METHYL TERTIARY BUTYL ETHER (“MTBE”) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION, Slip op., MDL No. 1358 (SAS) (S.D.N.Y. July 12, 2013) available at 2013 WL 3531600.

The firm obtained judgment granting a motion under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to maintain several confidential documents under seal pending the Court’s resolution of a Motion to Dismiss for want of personal jurisdiction. The Firm successfully argued against public disclosure of several documents related to a foreign company in connection with determining its contacts with the forum. This opinion has been cited in:

Wright & Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc., Motions to Dismiss—Lack of Jurisdiction Over the Person, 5B Fed. Prac. & Proc. Civ. § 1351 n.44 (3d ed.) (2014).
Wright & Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc., Involuntary Dismissal—Effect of Dismissal, 9 Fed. Prac. & Proc. Civ. § 2373 n.3 (3d ed.) (2014).