Fagot Rodriguez v. Republic of Costa Rica, No. CIV. 93-2406(DRD).
| Citation | 139 F.Supp.2d 173 |
| Decision Date | 19 March 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. 93-2406(DRD). |
| Parties | Gabriel FAGOT RODRIGUEZ, et al., Plaintiffs, v. THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Victor J. Casal-Vazquez, Hato Rey, PR, Jose G. Fagot-Diaz, Martinez Odell & Calabria, San Juan, PR, for plaintiffs.
Salvador Antonetti-Zequeira, Heriberto J. Burgos-Perez, Fiddler, Gonzalez & Rodriguez, San Juan, PR, A.J. Bennazar-Zequeira, A.J. Bennazar Law Offices, Hato Rey, PR, Veronica Ferraiuoli-Hornedo, McConnell Valdes, San Juan, PR, for defendants.
In an Opinion and Order dated March 31, 2000, the Court entered summary judgment (Docket No. 127) against defendants that included damages, interest, attorneys' fees and costs. Part of the award was payable by all defendants, jointly and severally, while the remainder was payable solely by Defendant Fourniers' in their individual capacity. In response, prevailing Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Reconsideration of Judgment (Docket No. 128) requesting that the Court extend joint and several liability to Defendants Republic of Costa Rica and its Consulate in Puerto Rico for all damages, regardless of the underlying legal theory. After careful consideration of the jurisdictional basis for Plaintiffs' claim, the Court VACATES its Opinion and Order dated December 29, 1999 (Docket No. 119), its Opinion and Order dated March 31, 2000 (Docket No. 126), and its Judgment entered March 31, 2000 (Docket No. 127). Plaintiffs' Motion for Reconsideration of Judgment (Docket No. 128) is DENIED.
The Court now finds that during the relevant period, there never existed a contractual relationship, based on agency theory or otherwise, between Costa Rica and the Consulate, on one part, and Plaintiffs Fagot, on the other. Therefore, none of the exceptions to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act are applicable to the instant case, and the Court must correspondingly DISMISS the claims against the Republic of Costa Rica and its Consulate in Puerto Rico for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and DISMISS the claims for trespass against Defendant Fourniers.
In June of 1993, a garden variety tenant-landlord dispute over a faulty air conditioner broke out between the Plaintiffs Fagots and the Defendants Fourniers. Today, seven years, four published decisions, and hundreds of attorney-hours later, the Court finally puts to rest the above-captioned international legal saga. On September 25, 1991, the Fagots and the Fourniers executed a lease agreement whereby the Fagots leased a residential property located in the upscale Santa Maria neighborhood in Rio Piedras. The lease term was two years, from October 1, 1991 to September 30, 1993, and required a monthly rent of $2,500.00, due on the fifth day of every month. At the time, Mrs. Hilda Fournier Alpiza and Mr. Angelo Antonio Greco Fournier served as Consul and Vice Counsul, respectively, of the Republic of Costa Rica in Puerto Rico. Notwithstanding, the lease was signed by the Fourniers in their individual capacity, mentioning the Republic of Costa Rica in a single clause which explained that the Fourniers, as consuls, received from the Costa Rican government a monthly residential allowance of $2,000.00, and that any increase in this amount would result in a proportional increase in the monthly rent payable to the Fagots. The lease also required that the property be used exclusively for residential purposes and not be altered or subleased without the owner's written consent. However, without seeking any consent or informing the Fagots, the Fourniers placed the Consulate of Costa Rica in the leased property.
Defendant Fourniers' failed to timely pay the rent due for June of 1993, and to obtain the landlords' consent for the installation of a new air conditioning unit. As a result, the Fagots notified the Fourniers via a letter dated June 16, 1993 (hereafter "June termination notice") (see Exhibit C, Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motions to Dismiss, Docket No. 13) that the lease was terminated and that the Fourniers had to vacate the premises by July 16, 1993. The Fourniers did not vacate the premises by the requested date, but rather tendered to the Fagots a $2,500 check for the June rent, which the latter cashed. However, two months later, on August 19, 1993, the Fagots returned subsequently delivered checks of $2,500 for the months of July and August (see Exhibit C, Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motions to Dismiss, filed March 11, 1994, Docket No. 13) and informed them (hereafter the "August demand letter") that, "inasmuch as there is no lease currently in force fixing the monthly rent, you will hereafter pay for your use and enjoyment of the property a monthly sum of $5,000, retroactive to July 16, 1993, namely the date on which you should have vacated the property" (translation ours, see Exhibit C, Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motions to Dismiss, Docket No. 13). The Fourniers did not vacate the premises or pay the new monthly rent, and on September 30, 1993, the Fagots filed the instant complaint for breach of contract, personal injury, damage or loss of property, eviction, and collection of money.
In an Opinion and Order dated December 29, 1999 (Docket No. 119), this Court granted summary judgment against the Republic of Costa Rica and its Consulate in Puerto Rico. The Court found that defendants Fourniers had, by placing the Consulate within Plaintiffs' property, breached the lease agreement entered into on September 25, 1991. Consequently, the Court held that, by remaining in the property after Plaintiffs' August demand letter, defendants Fourniers had acquiesced to a new month-to-month contract for the requested $5,000 monthly rate. Because Puerto Rican law protects undisclosed principals from joint and several liability for their agents' actions, the Court found Costa Rica and the Consulate jointly liable only for the 15-month period following August 1993, the time when evidence shows Plaintiffs discovered the Consulate was located in their property (see Transcript of Trial on Default, Docket No. 143). Further, the Court held that the contractual action against Costa Rica and the Consulate was not barred by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act because the breach of the new month-to-month contract constituted an unprotected commercial activity exception pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2). Finally, the Court held that joint liability for mental distress and property damages against Costa Rica and the Consulate could not proceed under the tortious activity exception to sovereign immunity, 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(5), because the logistics and operations associated with the establishment of a consulate fell within the definition of a protected "discretionary function," 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2)(A).
Plaintiffs have filed, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e), a Motion for Reconsideration of the Judgment (Docket No. 128) issued in the Opinion and Order dated March 31, 2000 (Docket No. 126). Plaintiffs have asked this Court to impose joint and several liability on the Republic of Costa Rica and the Consulate for all damages resulting from the consuls' unauthorized use of the disputed property, for the entirety of their tenancy. In addition, Plaintiffs have challenged the Court's decision that the "discretionary function" safe harbor to the tortious activity exception in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act precluded liability in tort for mental distress and property damage against Costa Rica and the Consulate.
In support of their motion, Plaintiffs reiterate their previously advanced trespass theory of recovery. This theory, they emphatically claim, justified recovery in tort against Costa Rica and the Consulate for the entire period of their agents' tenancy. Although Plaintiffs' aggressive pleading style makes their precise legal contentions difficult to identify, they appear to make three distinct yet related arguments: (i) that upon refusing to leave when Plaintiffs asked them to, the consuls committed trespass, and that Puerto Rico law makes the legal effect of such trespass retroactive (for the purpose of damages) to the initial entry into the property; (ii) that as soon as Defendant Fourniers commenced their illicit commercial use of the property in contravention of the original lease agreement, Defendant Fourniers effectively trespassed during their entire occupation; and (iii) that irrespective of any agency theory, the mere physical presence of the Consulate on the disputed property constituted trespass for the duration of the tenancy. In addition, Plaintiffs challenge the Court's determination that sovereign immunity applied to absolve Costa Rica and the Consulate of liability due to physical damage to the residence.
Motions for reconsideration are entertained if they seek to correct manifest errors of law or fact, present newly discovered evidence, or when there is an intervening change in the law. See Jorge Rivera Surillo & Co. v. Falconer Glass Indus., Inc., 37 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir.1994); (citing F.D.I.C. v. World University, Inc., 978 F.2d 10, 16 (1st Cir.1992)); Cherena v. Coors Brewing Com., 20 F.Supp.2d 282, 286 (D.P.R.1998); see also National Metal Finishing Com. v. BarclaysAmerican/Commercial, Inc., 899 F.2d 119, 124 (1st Cir.1990). The Court has substantial discretion in deciding whether to allow the losing party to argue new material or a new theory. Williams v. Poulos, 11 F.3d 271 (1st Cir.1993); see also Polyplastics, Inc. v. Transconex, Inc., 827 F.2d 859, 864 n. 4 (1st Cir.1987); Willens v. University of Massachusetts, 570 F.2d 403, 406 (1st Cir.1978); Pagan v. American Airlines, Inc., 534 F.2d 990, 992-93 (1st Cir.1976).
The Court now finds, informed by Plaintiffs' continued assertion of a trespass basis for recovery,...
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