Pedro Hernandez focuses his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, construction litigation, coverage litigation and health care litigation. In addition, Mr. Hernandez represents insurers in commercial class actions in multidistrict litigation courts throughout the country. He has defended various carriers in MDL 2047 pertaining to Chinese drywall products liability litigation. Mr. Hernandez has tried several cases through verdict.

Mr. Hernandez also litigates complex commercial matters, including contract disputes involving Fortune 500 companies. He represents owners, general contractors, construction managers and design professionals in all aspects of the construction process. Mr. Hernandez also handles health care litigation, with particular emphasis on fraud defense, and employment litigation for hospitals and medical centers. Mr. Hernandez practices throughout the United States, but focuses particularly in the Southeastern region. A sample of his cases/decisions includes:

• Vintage Properties, Inc. et al., v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. Case No. 10-CV-80836-PAS (summary judgment on behalf of the carrier based on the pollution exclusion barring coverage for Chinese drywall damages).
• Hermitage Ins. Co. v. Jack L. Hamilton Constr., Inc., Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Lee County, Florida, Case No. 08-CA-023245 (motion to dismiss, with prejudice, in favor of the carrier based on designated work exclusion).
• Mark Scherer, D.C., P.A., a/a/o Adrienne Gadson v. Bristol West, Palm Beach County Case No. 50-2006-SC-008811. (summary judgment on behalf of the carrier holding it properly exercised its right to cancel the policy for late payment despite the carrier’s history of prior reinstatements).

Mr. Hernandez joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in August 2007.

While in law school, Mr. Hernandez was a legal summer associate at Avaya, Inc., in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where he was selected to supervise Sarbanes-Oxley compliance measures. He was also a summer judicial clerk to the Honorable Jose Linares, U.S. District Judge. Prior to his legal career, he was a financial analyst at McNeil Nutritionals, a Johnson & Johnson company.

Mr. Hernandez speaks Spanish fluently. His professional memberships include the Cuban-American Bar Association, Dade County Defense Bar Association, and the Dade County Bar Association, where he is a member of the Young Lawyers Division.

In addition to his practice, Mr. Hernandez serves as a member of the firm’s Mentoring Committee and Hinshaw’s Hispanic Network. Mr. Hernandez has researched and edited a number of publications, including “Case Note: Rights and Accountability in Development (Raid) v. Das Air, Global Witness v. Afrimex: Small Steps Toward an Autonomous Transnational Legal System for the Regulation of Multinational Corporations,” by Larry Catá Backer, Melbourne Journal of International Law, March 28, 2009; and “Multinational Corporations as Objects and Sources of Transnational Regulation,” 14 ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law.

He is the author of "Florida Courts Rejecting Prejudice as a Matter of Law in Certain Late Notice Cases," Hinshaw Insurance Coverage Alert, July 26, 2011. Mr. Hernandez performs a substantial amount of pro bono work for the South Florida community. Spanish
Pedro was born in Havana, Cuba and came to the United States with his mother at the age of 11. Today, he and his wife, Maria, reside in Miami, Florida.