Mathew D. Gutierrez

Education

• J.D., With Honors, Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, Georgia, 2011
• B.A., English Literature, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, 2008

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 2011
• District of Columbia, 2014
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 2013
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 2014
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, 2014
• United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 2014

Professional Associations

• Dade County Bar Association, Appellate Court Committee
• Transportation Lawyers Association

Awards

• Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2021

Case Results

Appeals

• Prevailed in a landmark appeal before the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, securing reversal of an order dismissing a multi-billion-dollar false claim action alleging that, for decades, some of the nation’s largest life insurers fraudulently retained hundreds of millions of dollars of their insureds’ abandoned life insurance proceeds rather than surrender them to the state of New York, as required by New York’s Abandoned Property Law. Total Asset Recovery Services LLC v. MetLife, Inc., 189 A.D.3d 519 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t 2020).
• Prevailed in a high-profile appeal before the Florida Supreme Court resulting in the Court striking down the Daubert statute as unconstitutional, reaffirming the state’s adherence to the Frye standard for the admission of expert testimony, and reinstating an $8 million jury verdict secured by the firm. DeLisle v. Crane Co., 258 So. 3d 1219 (Fla. 2018).
• Prevailed in a high-profile appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, securing reversal of an order dismissing a First Amendment lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its discrimination against conservative organizations seeking tax exempt status on the eve the 2012 elections. See True the Vote, Inc. v. IRS, 831 F.3d 551 (D.C. Cir. 2016).
• Prevailed in an appeal before the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, securing partial reversal of an order granting summary judgment against the firm’s client based on the trial court’s conclusion that the “marriage-before-injury” rule precluded all of a decedent’s survivors from recovering loss-of-consortium damages under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. Ripple v. CBS Corp., 337 So. 3d 45 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022).
• Prevailed in an appeal before the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, securing reversal of the trial court’s entry of summary judgment against the firm’s client in a real property damage case by persuading the Court that the plaintiff’s expert evidence was sufficient to create a dispute of material fact regarding causation. Ferraro v. McGovern, 193 A.D.3d 571 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t 2021).
• Prevailed in an appeal before the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, where the Court agreed with Mr. Gutierrez’s argument that the plaintiff proffered sufficient evidence to establish specific jurisdiction under Florida’s long-arm statute, and that the trial court’s exercise of specific jurisdiction was constitutional. Continental Motors, Inc. v. Losner, 300 So. 3d 1299 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020).
• Prevailed in a case before the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, securing reversal of a judgment entered following a bench trial against a Florida-based trucking conglomerate alleged to have defaulted on a multi-million-dollar loan. See Summitbridge Credit Investments III, LLC v. Carlyle Beach, LLC, 218 So. 3d 486 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).
• Prevailed in certiorari proceedings before the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, where the Court rejected Florida Power & Light’s request for a writ quashing two orders denying its motions for protective orders as to critical discovery sought by the plaintiff in an asbestos case. Fla. Power & Light v. Cook, 277 So. 3d 263 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019).
• Prevailed in certiorari proceedings before the Florida Third District Court of Appeal on behalf of developers in litigation involving the sale of commercial property in Miami Beach, Florida valued at approximately $60 million. 940 Lincoln Road Associates LLC v. 940 Lincoln Road Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 3D16-0751 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016).
• Prevailed in an administrative appeal before the United States Department of Agriculture, securing reversal of an order disqualifying a Florida-based supermarket from the federal food stamp program (SNAP) for three years, which jeopardized over $20 million in revenue.
• Successfully represented a national insurance brokerage in an appeal before the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal relating to the brokerage’s alleged raid of a competitor’s employees and their multi-million-dollar books of business. After briefing was concluded, the lawsuit was resolved by a favorable out-of-court settlement. AssuredPartners, Inc. v. Brown & Brown, Inc., Case No. 5D16-3811 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017).
• Successfully represented a Florida-based supermarket in an appeal before the Florida First District Court of Appeal relating to the Florida Department of Health’s disqualification of the supermarket from Florida’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food subsidy program, which could have triggered a reciprocal disqualification from the federal food stamp program (SNAP). After briefing was concluded, the appeal was resolved by a favorable out-of-court agreement which avoided a reciprocal SNAP disqualification. Omar & Manuel Corp. v. Fla. Dep’t of Health, Case No. 1D13-0248 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).

Litigation

• Successfully represented a former executive of a Florida-based, publicly traded corporation in separate lawsuits brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the corporation, and its shareholders involving an alleged securities fraud that caused a $2 billion loss in the company’s market capitalization.

• Obtained dismissal of numerous putative class action lawsuits filed by stockholders of a Florida-based, publicly traded company accused of engaging in securities fraud during a proposed acquisition.

• Successfully represented a defense corporation in a lawsuit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) alleging that the corporation leaked toxic sludge from its industrial property, causing over $200 million in natural resource damage.

• Obtained dismissal of a lawsuit filed against a publicly-traded health insurance company alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

• Successfully represented a corporate conglomerate in a first-of-its-kind “double derivative” action brought by shareholders of the conglomerate’s subsidiaries alleging that the conglomerate’s principals unlawfully diverted over $100 million in assets.

*Certain of these representations occurred prior to joining The Ferraro Law Firm.