Dominguez v. Sancha
| Decision Date | 30 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 12–1707 PG. |
| Citation | 50 F.Supp.3d 117 |
| Parties | Danny DOMINGUEZ, Eloinai Fernandez and Angel Diaz, Plaintiff, v. Jose Figueroa SANCHA, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Heriberto Guivas–Lorenzo, Guivas & Quinones Law Offices, Aguada, PR, for Plaintiff.
Yadhira Ramirez–Toro, Department of Justice, Joseph G. Feldstein–Del Valle, Department of Justice, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.
Danny Dominguez and Elionai Fernandez are licensed bounty hunters who work for Speedy Bailbonds, a bail bond company located in New Jersey. They were required by their employer to locate and bring defendant Ricardo Rodriguez Tirado from Puerto Rico back to New Jersey after he failed to appear at a hearing and fled the jurisdiction.
After apprehending Rodriguez Tirado with the help of local police officer Angel Diaz, they were unexpectedly arrested and charged with kidnapping, aggravated illegal trespassing and illegal possession and use of a firearm. Meanwhile, Diaz was subject to administrative charges.
The plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 claiming an elaborate plan to deprive them of their constitutional rights. The ploy allegedly involves the zealous mother of the fleeing convict (Angelica Tirado Velazquez); a prosecutor who exerted undue influence (Minerva Ramos); two police officers who overstepped the proverbial line of their professional duties (Dennis Morales and Carlos Peña) and a slew of supervisors.
The defendants moved to Dismiss (Docket No. 12). For the reasons stated herein, we GRANT in part and DENY in part their request.
We draw the following facts from the Complaint.
Plaintiffs Danny Dominguez and Elionai Fernandez are licensed bounty hunters employed by Speedy Bailbonds, with offices in New Jersey. See Docket No. 1 at ¶ 26. Speedy Bailbonds posted bail for Ricardo Rodriguez–Tirado after he was charged in a criminal case related to the manufacturing and distribution of narcotics. Id. at ¶¶ 27–28. Pursuant to the agreement between Rodriguez Tirado and Speedy Bailbonds, the parties signed a Bail and Recognizance Agreement stating the terms and conditions of the bail. Id. at ¶ 29.
After Rodriguez–Tirado failed to appear at a hearing and fled the jurisdiction without permission, the Court issued a Warrant and Arrest Order against him. Id. at ¶¶ 30–32. Speedy Bailbonds then made arrangements to locate Rodriguez Tirado and was able to pinpoint his location in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. Id. at ¶ 35. Dominguez and Fernandez were dispatched to locate him, apprehend him and take him back to New Jersey. Id. at ¶ 34.
On May 4, 2011 Dominguez and Fernandez arrived in Aguadilla and registered their firearms at the Rafael Hernandez Marin Airport.Id. at ¶ 40. Shortly after their arrival, the bounty hunters contacted plaintiff Angel Diaz who was a relative of another employee of Speedy. Id. at ¶ 36. They asked Diaz to guide them to the location where Rodriguez Tirado was supposedly hiding. Id. at ¶¶ 37, 43.
On May 5, 2011 plaintiffs drove by the property where they believed Rodriguez Tirado was hiding. Id. at ¶ 45. They spotted an individual who fit Rodriguez Tirado's description and approached him. Id. at ¶ 46. Much to their dismay, the individual denied that he was Rodriguez Tirado. Id. at ¶¶ 47–49. It wasn't until plaintiffs saw that the man had a tattoo identical to one that Rodriguez Tirado allegedly exhibited that they realized they had found him. Id. at ¶ 50.
Plaintiffs took Rodriguez Tirado into custody and told him that a Warrant and Arrest Order had been issued against him. Id. at ¶ 52. Since Rodriguez Tirado's mother, Ms. Angelica Tirado, was present during the rendezvous, plaintiffs gave her their contact information in case she had any questions regarding her son's whereabouts. Id. at ¶ 53.
Fernandez and Dominguez took Rodriguez Tirado to a hotel in Aguadilla until it was time to board their flight back to New Jersey later that night. Id. at ¶ 56.
Unbeknownst to plaintiffs, Ms. Tirado had called her son's attorney in Puerto Rico to tell him what had happened. Id. at ¶ 57. The attorney, in turn, contacted his friend Minerva Ramos, who worked as a prosecutor in San Juan. Id. Plaintiffs do not name the attorney as a defendant.
The attorney asked for Ms. Ramos' assistance in helping his client. Id. at ¶ 58. According to the Complaint, Ms. Ramos obliged. Id. She called the police station in San Sebastian and informed the officers that someone would visit the station to file a criminal complaint for kidnapping. Id. at ¶ 59. Ms. Ramos also asked officer Jesus A. Morales to prepare a criminal complaint charging kidnapping and gave him direct instructions to hinder plaintiffs' efforts to take Rodriguez–Tirado back to New Jersey. Id. at ¶ 60.
As expected and arguably following Ms. Ramos's advice, Ms. Tirado filed a criminal complaint against plaintiffs. Id. at ¶ 63. The officer assigned to the investigation, Dennis Morales, was also instructed to do everything in his power to prevent the removal of Rodriguez Tirado from Puerto Rico. Id. at ¶ 64.
It was officer Morales who called Dominguez and Fernandez and asked them to stop by the police station to clarify some matters regarding the arrest of Rodriguez Tirado. Id. at ¶ 65. While at the station, Morales arrested Dominguez and Fernandez and charged them with kidnapping, aggravated illegal trespassing, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal use of a firearm. Id. at ¶¶ 73–74. Dominguez and Fernandez spent the night in prison and were taken before a Judge for a Rule 6 hearing the following day. Id. After the Judge made a finding of probable cause, Dominguez and Fernandez were put under house confinement and ordered to stay in Puerto Rico until conclusion of the proceedings against them. Id. at ¶ 79.
The preliminary hearing took place on June 20, 2011. Id. at ¶ 80. The Court dismissed all pending charges and even questioned why the case had been brought in the first place. Id. Nevertheless, the Government requested a preliminary hearing on appeal which also resulted in plaintiffs' favor. Id. at ¶¶ 81–83. The Court notified its judgment to all parties on September 27, 2011. Id. at ¶ 83.
Simultaneously, plaintiff Angel Diaz was summoned to the Aguadilla Police Headquarters by Lt. Carlos Peña of the Homicide Division.Id. at ¶ 86. When he arrived, he was greeted by officer Morales who explained that he was investigating a case where Diaz was a suspect. Id. Morales proceeded to talk about Rodriguez Tirado and said that Dominguez and Fernandez had “talked badly about him [Diaz] and that he was ‘screwed,’ ”. Id. Mr. Morales continued interrogating Diaz and told him that “he was going to charge him with between 6 to 9 felony charges” unless he provided evidence and testified in another case they were investigating. Id. at ¶ 91.
Lt. Carlos Peña then intervened and told Diaz that if he was willing to testify in a case dating back to 2004, they would provide him immunity in the Rodriguez Tirado case. Id. at ¶ 92. Nevertheless, Diaz denied having any information on the 2004 case. Id. at ¶ 95.
On May 17, 2011 Peña contacted Diaz to tell him that he was going to be charged and to disarm him. Id. at ¶ 96. Even though criminal charges were never brought against Diaz, he was the subject of administrative proceedings. Id. at ¶ 99. As of the date of filing of the Complaint, no final determination had been issued. Id. at ¶ 100.
Plaintiffs brought suit on August 27, 2012. See Docket No. 1. On February 22, 2013 defendants filed the Motion to Dismiss that is now before the Court. See Docket No. 12. Plaintiffs' Opposition was filed on June 28, 2013. See Docket No. 25. Defendants tendered their Reply on August 8, 2013. See Docket No. 28–1. For reasons unknown, on September 18, 2013 defendants filed a nearly identical reply. See Docket No. 38.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) authorizes the dismissal of a complaint that fails to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. “To avoid dismissal, a complaint must provide ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ” Garcia–Catalan v. U.S., 734 F.3d 100, 102 (1st Cir.2013) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) ). When ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a district court must “ask whether the complaint states a claim to relief that is plausible on its face, accepting the plaintiff's factual allegations and drawing all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor.” Cooper v. Charter Communications Entertainments I, LLC, 760 F.3d 103 (1st Cir.2014) (citing Maloy v. Ballori–Lage, 744 F.3d 250, 252 (1st Cir.2014) ) (internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, courts “may augment these facts and inferences with data points gleaned from documents incorporated by reference into the complaint, matters of public record, and facts susceptible to judicial notice.” A.G. ex rel. Maddox v. v. Elsevier, Inc., 732 F.3d 77, 80 (1st Cir.2013) (citing Haley v. City of Boston, 657 F.3d 39, 46 (1st Cir.2011) ).
“To cross the plausibility threshold [sic], the plaintiff must ‘plead [ ] factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ ” Cooper, 760 F.3d at 106 (citing Maloy, 744 F.3d at 252 ). See also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). That is, “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, ..., on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)....” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).
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