Acosta v. Harbor Holdings & Operations, Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 December 2009
• Docket Number: Civil No. 07-1109 (RLA).
• Citation: 674 F.Supp.2d 351
• Parties: Moridia Camacho ACOSTA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. HARBOR HOLDINGS & OPERATIONS, INC., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

674 F.Supp.2d 351

Moridia Camacho ACOSTA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. HARBOR HOLDINGS & OPERATIONS, INC., et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 07-1109 (RLA).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

December 21, 2009.

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Judith Torres-De Jesus, Landron & Vera, LLP, Guaynabo, PR, for Plaintiffs.

Frances R. Colon-Rivera, Saldana & Carvajal, P.S.C., San Juan, PR, for Defendants.

ORDER IN THE MATTER OF DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

RAYMOND L. ACOSTA, District Judge.

Defendants have moved the court to enter summary judgment on their behalf and to dismiss the instant complaint. The court having reviewed the arguments presented by the parties in their respective memoranda as well as the extensive documentation submitted therewith hereby disposes of defendants' request as follows.

Plaintiff MORIDIA CAMACHO ACOSTA¹ instituted these proceedings claiming sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation pursuant to the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e(3) and § 2000e(5) as well as various local discrimination provisions.²

Relief was also petitioned under the provisions of Act No. 139 of June 26, 1968, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 11, §§ 201 et seq. (2007) ("Temporary Disability Benefit Act").

Plaintiff further claims unjust termination pursuant to Act 80 of May 30, 1976, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 29, §§ 185a-185k (2002) ("Law 80") and breach of contract. The complaint also asserts tort claims under arts. 1802 and 1803 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 31, §§ 5141-5142 (2002).

Named defendants are: HARBOR HOLDINGS & OPERATIONS, INC. ("HH & O"), SAN JUAN BAY PILOTS ("SJBP"), STEPHEN RIVERA, CESAR A. MONTES, JOSEPH ESTRELLA, DANIEL MURPHY, EMIL DIAZ, ROBERTO CANDELARIO and FULGENCIO ANAVITATE.

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Rule 56(c) Fed. R. Civ. P., which sets forth the standard for ruling on summary judgment motions, in pertinent part provides that they shall be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Sands v. Ridefilm Corp., 212 F.3d 657, 660-61 (1st Cir.2000); Barreto-Rivera v. Medina-Vargas, 168 F.3d 42, 45 (1st Cir.1999). The party seeking summary judgment must first demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact in the record. DeNovellis v. Shalala, 124 F.3d 298, 306 (1st Cir.1997). A genuine issue exists if there is sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual disputes to require a trial. Morris v. Gov't Dev. Bank of Puerto Rico, 27 F.3d 746, 748 (1st Cir.1994); LeBlanc v. Great Am. Ins. Co., 6 F.3d 836, 841 (1st Cir.1993), cert. denied, 511 U.S. 1018, 114 S.Ct. 1398, 128 L.Ed.2d 72 (1994). A fact is material if it might affect the outcome of a lawsuit under the governing law. Morrissey v. Boston Five Cents Sav. Bank, 54 F.3d 27, 31 (1st Cir.1995).

"In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must view `the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, drawing all reasonable inferences in that party's favor.'" Poulis-Minott v. Smith, 388 F.3d 354, 361 (1st Cir.2004) (citing Barbour v. Dynamics Research Corp., 63 F.3d 32, 36 (1st Cir.1995)). "In marshaling the facts for this purpose we must draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. That does not mean, however, that we ought to draw unreasonable inferences or credit bald assertions, empty conclusions, rank conjecture, or vitriolic invective." Caban Hernandez v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., 486 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir.2007) (internal citation omitted, italics in original).

Credibility issues fall outside the scope of summary judgment. "`Credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge.'" Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). See also, Dominguez-Cruz v. Suttle Caribe, Inc., 202 F.3d 424, 432 (1st Cir.2000) ("court should not engage in credibility assessments"); Simas v. First Citizens' Fed. Credit Union, 170 F.3d 37, 49 (1st Cir.1999) ("credibility determinations are for the factfinder at trial, not for the court at summary judgment"); Perez-Trujillo v. Volvo Car Corp., 137 F.3d 50, 54 (1st Cir.1998) (credibility issues not proper on summary judgment); Molina Quintero v. Caribe G.E. Power Breakers, Inc., 234 F.Supp.2d 108, 113 (D.P.R.2002). "There is no room for credibility determinations, no room for the measured weighing of conflicting evidence such as the trial process entails, and no room for the judge to superimpose his own ideas of probability and likelihood. In fact, only if the record, viewed in this manner and without regard to credibility determinations, reveals no genuine issue as to any material fact may the court enter summary judgment." Cruz-Baez v. Negron-Irizarry, 360 F.Supp.2d 326, 332 (D.P.R.2005) (internal citations, brackets and quotation marks omitted).

In cases where the non-movant party bears the ultimate burden of proof, he must present definite and competent evidence to rebut a motion for summary judgment, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 256-257, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (1986); Navarro v. Pfizer Corp., 261 F.3d 90, 94 (1st Cir.2001); Grant's Dairy v. Comm'r of Maine Dep't of Agric., 232 F.3d 8, 14 (1st Cir.2000), and cannot rely upon "conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation". Lopez-Carrasquillo v. Rubianes, 230 F.3d 409, 412 (1st Cir.2000); Maldonado-Denis v. Castillo-Rodriguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994); Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990).

Any testimony used in support of discriminatory motive in a motion for summary judgment setting must be admissible in evidence, i.e., based on personal knowledge and otherwise not contravening evidentiary principles. Rule 56(e) specifically mandates that affidavits submitted in conjunction with the summary judgment mechanism must "be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein." Hoffman v. Applicators Sales and Serv., Inc., 439 F.3d 9, 16 (1st Cir. 2006); Nieves-Luciano v. Hernandez-Torres, 397 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.2005); Carmona v. Toledo, 215 F.3d 124, 131 (1st Cir.2000). See also, Quiñones v. Houser Buick, 436 F.3d 284, 290 (1st Cir.2006) (affidavit inadmissible given plaintiff's failure to cite "supporting evidence to which he could testify in court"). Additionally, the document "must concern facts as opposed to conclusions, assumptions, or surmise", Perez v. Volvo Car Corp., 247 F.3d 303, 316 (1st Cir.2001), not conclusory allegations Lopez-Carrasquillo v. Rubianes, 230 F.3d at 414.

"To the extent that affidavits submitted in opposition to a motion for summary judgment merely reiterate allegations made in the complaint, without providing specific factual information made on the basis of personal knowledge, they are insufficient. However, a party's own affidavit, containing relevant information of which he has firsthand knowledge, may be self-serving, but it is nonetheless competent to support or defeat summary judgment." Santiago-Ramos v. Centennial, 217 F.3d 46, 53 (1st Cir.2000) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).

"A court is not obliged to accept as true or to deem as a disputed material fact each and every unsupported, subjective, conclusory, or imaginative statement made to the Court by a party." Garcia v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., 535 F.3d 23, 31 n. 5 (1st Cir.2008) (internal citation, brackets and quotation marks omitted).

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was hired by codefendant HH & O on May 3, 2001, as an accountant at the rate of $12.00 per hour. This was the rate that plaintiff requested at the time she was initially hired.

Throughout her tenure, plaintiff was the only female employee working at HH & O.

The elected President of the Board of Directors acts as Chief of Personnel of all HH & O's employees.

Codefendant STEPHEN RIVERA, then President of the Board of Directors of HH & O, interviewed and hired plaintiff.

Codefendant HH & O is a corporation created to operate, manage, develop and administer the facilities, services and any other matters related to the services rendered by the harbor pilots in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Codefendant SJBP is a duly organized corporation that groups the harbor pilots serving the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico as the only pilots' association recognized by the Pilotage Commission for the San Juan Harbor.

The individual harbor pilots are independent contractors who provide their services to SJBP. The SJBP does not have any employees on its payroll.

The harbor pilots are the individuals responsible for bringing in ships into the San Juan bay. They divide their work shifts in two-week periods. They work for two weeks and are off duty the following two weeks. Thus, their period of service within a year is approximately 26 weeks, excluding vacation time. The harbor pilots are not required to be present at the offices of HH & O when on duty.

During her deposition, plaintiff described her duties as an accountant for HH & O as follows: in charge of completing the entire accounting cycle (i.e., income tax returns, bank reconciliations, general ledger, budget), accounts payable, debt collection and payment to the harbor pilots for services rendered.

Plaintiff further noted that codefendant EMIL DIAZ was in charge of accounts receivable, accounts payable, billing agencies, collection agencies, employee payroll...