Alfonso has extensive experience in all aspects of complex cross-border litigation and dispute resolution. His practice comprises of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes, such as arbitration, mediation and collaborative law.
He has great experience in handling disputes in a broad range of areas, such as product liability, product recalls, forum non conveniens (FNC), the taking of evidence abroad, the recognition and enforcement of international arbitration awards, court orders, and voluntary agreements; as well as the handling of a wide variety of proceedings based in different Hague Conventions.
Representative recent cases
- In year 2019 acted as a jointly appointed expert on Mexican Law in a Hague Family Law related matter before the Family Court at Derby-Combined Court Centre, England.
- During years 2018 and 2019 acted as a jointly instructed expert on Mexican Law before the High Court Family Division, of England and Wales. In his relevant judgment, H. Justice Sir Edward James Holman, described Mr. Sepulveda García´s participation in the case in the following terms:
“I do record in this judgment that I was impressed by Mr. Garcia as a witness. He practices in Mexico but gave evidence by videolink from Spain, where he happened to be. He speaks very good English. He was a very good and clear witness who demonstrated obvious expertise both in relevant Mexican law and procedure and also in the law and procedure of the Hague Convention. In my view, his evidence was appropriately objective and not in the least partisan to either parent”.
- As the lead Mexican attorney for the case, assisted in the representation of a U.S. steel processing company in a U.S. lawsuit concerning fraud and theft by the company´s former U.S. finance officer who was head of its Mexican plant. After a three week trial in the U.S., a judgment of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty with damages in excess of $1 million was obtained.
- As the Mexican attorney for the case, assisted in the successful representation of a major international chemical company in a U.S. lawsuit brought by Petroleos Mexicanos (“Pemex”) against several U.S. energy and chemical companies related to claims of conversion of millions of dollars of alleged stolen hydrocarbons.
- As the Mexican attorney for the case, assisted in obtaining a dismissal from a U.S. litigation, of one of the largest independent midstream energy companies in North America, from several suits brought by Pemex seeking to recover $300 million in damages related to gas condensate allegedly stolen from the Cuenca de Burgos gas fields in Northern Mexico and smuggled into Texas.
- As the lead Mexican trial attorney for the case, assisted in U.S. Federal Court’s finding of fraud by plaintiffs’ U.S. and Mexican attorneys in connection with proceedings in Mexico. Plaintiffs had been dismissed by the U.S. trial court based on forum non conveniens (FNC) grounds. In trying to benefit from the return jurisdiction clause of the FNC doctrine, the plaintiffs then filed ex parte proceedings in Mexico and obtained a sham order from a Mexican court rejecting the case brought by Mexican citizens concerning events in Mexico. The U.S. and Mexican plaintiffs’ attorneys attempted to use this Mexican order to reopen their U.S. case. The Multiple District Litigation US Court overseeing the case permitted an investigation concerning the circumstances surrounding the Mexican order, and based on the evidence discovered by defendants, found that the Mexican order was obtained by fraudulent means. The U.S. Federal Court dismissed the case and sanctioned the plaintiffs’ U.S. and Mexican attorneys, including their Mexican law expert, with $150,000.00.
- As the lead Mexican trial attorney for the case, assisted in exposing before the U.S. Courts, a different scheme to obtain about twenty other such sham judgments from a number of Mexican state courts.
- As the lead Mexican trial attorney for the case, assisted in exposing before the U.S. Courts a scheme to create a sham Mexican court judgment involving a Mexican judicial official, who was disciplined by the Judicial Council of the State of Morelos, and whose arrest was also ordered by the Courts for Criminal Matters in said Mexican state.
- Alfonso also filed and argued for two years on his own right, a relevant and novel disbarment case before the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission of the Mexican Bar Association (BMA), which first resulted in the modification of different statutory provisions and the creation of others by said BMA. The Bar proceeding concluded imposing the sought disciplinary sanctions to a Mexican attorney who had been acting as an expert on Mexican law in a number of cross-border cases before the US courts.
When the disciplinary proceeding and imposed sanctions were challenged by the Mexican attorney before the Mexican Court System, the case was ultimately comended by the First Chamber of the Nation’s Supreme Court of Justice.
The case was further commneded for its “exceptional interest” and “utmost legal significance” by the Plenary of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice who, after three days of public delivery, decided the case against the disciplined Mexican law expert affirming the sanctions imposed by the BMA.
- Successfully assisted one of the world´s largest companies in the animal healthcare sector in defending a claim of $9 million in damages brought by poultry producers and exporters who had been affected by an alleged defect of a lot of vaccines exported from the US into Mexico, which were to prevent the livestock from the Marek´s disease. The claim stemmed from the death of more than 300,000 chicks that had been inoculated with the alleged defective lot of vaccines.