Event 14 Oct. 2022
Curtis Provides Capacity Training to the Government of Uganda
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Event 21 Sep. 2022
Kalidou Gadio Speaks at AIEN 2022 International Energy Summit
Event 06 Jun. 2023
Partner Borzu Sabahi Speaks on Panel in Tashkent Law Spring International Legal Forum in the Republic of Uzbekistan
News 15 May. 2023
Curtis represents e-commerce retailer in its fight to recover monies withheld by PayPal, the global payment giant
Event 08 May. 2023
Partner Irene Petrelli to Participate in ICC YAAF Event
News 02 May. 2023
Curtis Italy with DeA Capital in the Acquisition of Magic S.r.l
Event 07 Jun. 2023
Elisa Botero Speaks on Latin America’s H2 Potential at AIEN’s International Energy Summit
Event 23 May. 2023
Partners Luciana Ricart and Fernando Tupa Will Teach a Workshop on Hearings in Investment Arbitration for Arbanza School of Arbitration’s Online Program
Event 03 May. 2023
Dr. Borzu Sabahi to Speak at ICSID-ADGM Joint Conference: Investment Protection and Armed Conflict
Event 19 Mar. 2023
Sebastiano Nessi speaks at Bahrain Business and Legal Landscape Conference
Event 01 Jun. 2023
Curtis Environmental Chair Charles Howland to Moderate Panel Discussion on Latest Developments in Environmental Due Diligence at ABA Masterclass on Environmental Transactions
News 25 May. 2023
Curtis Files SCOTUS Amicus Brief for Distinguished Law Professors in First Amendment Retaliatory Arrest Case
News 06 Mar. 2023
Russia Sanctions at the First Anniversary: An Overview of Current Sanctions in the US, UK, and EU and How Global Companies Can Navigate Evolving and Conflicting Sanctions Regimes
Client Alert 30 Aug. 2022
The EU Adopts the “Maintenance and Alignment” Sanctions Package
Client Alert 24 Jun. 2021
Update on Virtual Notarization (Executive Order 202.7) During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
Update on Virtual Witnessing (New York Executive Order 202.14) During The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
About Us
The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico issued a decision in March 2019 in favor of Curtis pro bono client and Puerto Rico resident Jose Luis Vaello Madero.
The case arose from a suit brought by the United States against our client to recover SSI benefits he received after he moved from New York State to Puerto Rico.
Curtis successfully invoked the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution to attack the exclusion of Puerto Rico from the SSI program under the Social Security Act, arguing that such exclusion impermissibly discriminates against a historically disadvantaged and politically powerless “discrete and insular minority.”
This statutory exclusion of Puerto Rico residents had survived previous challenges due to the continuing validity of the racially motivated Supreme Court decisions from the early 1900s known as the “Insular Cases.” Curtis challenged the continuing validity of the Insular Cases, noting that the Supreme Court’s equal protection jurisprudence had evolved to the extent that such cases were no longer good law.
Judge Gustavo Gelpí agreed that Puerto Ricans – who are U.S. citizens by birthright – cannot be subjected to disparate treatment outside the ordinary bounds of the Fifth Amendment simply because they reside in a territory rather than one of the constituent States. The decision is a significant step towards granting Puerto Rico residents full constitutional protections.
In April 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the earlier District Court Decision in favor of Curtis client and Puerto Rico Resident Mr. Madero. More on that decision here.
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