Garcia–Rubiera v. Fortuño
| Citation | 873 F.Supp.2d 421 |
| Decision Date | 05 July 2012 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 02–1179 (GAG). |
| Parties | Gladys GARCIA–RUBIERA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Hon. Luis G. FORTUÑO, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Antonio J. Amadeo–Murga, A.J. Amadeo Murga Law Office, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiffs.
Angel E. Rotger–Sabat, Miguel A. Rangel–Rosas, Maymi, Rivera & Rotger–Sabat, Vanessa D. Bonano–Rodriguez, Yadhira Ramirez–Toro, Department of Justice, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.
On January 9, 2012, this court declared that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's motor vehicle insurance premium reimbursement scheme, as embodied in Law 230 of September 11, 2002 and its companion amendments and regulations (“Law 230”), violates the notice requirements of the Due Process Clause. The plaintiff class—all motor vehicle owners in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico who during the years 1997 to 2007 have paid the compulsory motor vehicle insurance premiums and have also acquired traditional insurance and have not been reimbursed for the compulsory insurance premiums—is also entitled to an injunction providing adequate public and individualized notice of reimbursement procedures to insureds owed reimbursement. The Governor of Puerto Rico, the Honorable Luis G. Fortuño, and the Secretary of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Honorable Jesús F. Méndez Rodríguez (collectively, “defendants”), are therefore ORDERED AND ENJOINED as follows, effective immediately:
At least 150 days before any premiums held by JUA are transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, defendants shall compile the names and addresses of all motor vehicle owners who have paid the compulsory motor vehicle insurance premiums and have also acquired traditional insurance and have not been reimbursed for the compulsory insurance premiums, and whose premiums are pending transfer to the Secretary of the Treasury. If the names or addresses of such owners are unknown, defendants shall obtain that information from the Joint Underwriters Association (“JUA”) and from traditional insurers in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As to such owners whose premiums were transferred before the date of this order, or will be transferred less than 150 days after the date of this order, defendants shall compile this information about them no later than October 1, 2012.
At least 120 days before any premiums held by JUA are transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, defendants shall: (1) publish a notice in at least one English-language newspaper of general circulation and one Spanish-language newspaper of general circulation; (2) publish a notice online until the later of (a) January 29, 2013 or (b) the date on which the Secretary of the Treasury has held such premiums for five years; and (3) mail individualized notices to those owners whose addresses are known. As to such owners whose premiums were transferred before the date of this order, or will be transferred less than 120 days after the date of this order, defendants shall provide notice to them no later than November 1, 2012.
In publishing or mailing notice, defendants shall state (1) the owner's entitlement to a refund, (2) the date of the transfer of the premium to the Secretary of the Treasury, (3) the text of Treasury Procedure 96, and (4) the portions of Law 230, as amended, under which the premiums escheat to the Commonwealth. As to those owners whose premiums were transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury on or before November 29, 2007, defendants shall further notify them that notwithstanding Law 230, a grace period to claim reimbursement will be extended until January 29, 2013.
No later than October 1, 2012, defendants shall publish the text of Treasury Procedure 96 online, in full, and make free copies available at any Commonwealth office that collects JUA premiums.
Until January 30, 2013, defendants shall not deny a reimbursement on grounds that the Secretary of the Treasury has held the premium for five or more years.
The court shall retain jurisdiction of this matter until further order of the court, with power to enforce provisions of this Permanent Injunction by all means, writs, and remedies available to it, including, but not limited to, the exercise of its power of contempt for violation of the terms thereof.
SO ORDERED.
A class of motor vehicle owners 1 (“plaintiffs”) sued the Governor and Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico, currently the Honorable Luis G. Fortuño and Juan Carlos Puig–Morales, respectively, (collectively, “defendants”) over the mechanism for reimbursing duplicate insurance premiums paid to the Joint Underwriters Association (“JUA”) and subsequently transferred to the Puerto Rico treasury. This court's judgment dismissing all claims was partially reversed by the Court of Appeals, and the case was remanded for the entry of declaratory and injunctive relief in favor of plaintiffs on their procedural due process claims. García–Rubiera v. Fortuño ( García Appeal II ), 665 F.3d 261, 269–70 (1st Cir.2011). The declaratory judgment entered on January 9, 2012. (Docket No. 260).
The matter of injunctive relief was referred to me for a conference with the parties, and in the absence of any agreement, for a report and recommendation. (Docket No. 261). Following a status conference on January 15, 2012 at which no agreement was reached, I ordered them to simultaneously brief and propose injunctions. (Docket No. 267). Plaintiffs (Docket No. 272) and defendants (Docket No. 275) complied, but I ordered additional briefing on what relief, if any, should be provided to insureds whose duplicate premiums have been held by the Secretary of the Treasury for longer than five years. (Docket No. 280). Both sides complied (Docket Nos. 281, 282) and plaintiffs replied (Docket Nos. 283). Defendants were granted leave to reply (Docket No. 287) but only moved to strike plaintiffs' reply (Docket No. 288). I denied the motion to strike. (Docket No. 289). For the reasons that follow, I recommend that the court enjoin defendants as set forth at the end of this opinion.
As the travel of this litigation has already been recounted many times before, I only summarize those facts relevant to injunctive relief on plaintiffs' procedural due process claims. For a fuller history of the legislation at issue and its purposes, see García Appeal II, 665 F.3d at 264–70;see also García–Rubiera v. Flores–Galarza ( García Dismissal ), 516 F.Supp.2d 180 (D.P.R.2007), García–Rubiera v. Calderón ( García Appeal I ), 570 F.3d 443 (1st Cir.2009), and García–Rubiera v. Fortuño ( García Summary Judgment ), 752 F.Supp.2d 180 (D.P.R.2010).
Motor vehicle owners in Puerto Rico must purchase liability insurance. The JUA offers an insurance plan providing the required minimum coverage. García Appeal II, 665 F.3d at 264. A vehicle owner wishing to renew a Puerto Rico vehicle registration has the choice of either presenting proof of owning adequate private insurance (which is, under some circumstances, impossible to obtain), or paying a flat premium to the JUA. Id. at 264–65. Owners who hold private insurance but were nonetheless required to pay the JUA premium are entitled to reimbursement of this “duplicate” payment. Id. at 265.
Under Law 230 of September 11, 2002 and its amendments, the JUA must transfer unclaimed duplicate premiums that are more than two years old to the Secretary of the Treasury once every two years. Id. at 266. Owners may claim these premiums from the Secretary by following the steps outlined in Treasury Department Procedure No. 96 (“Procedure 96”). Id. at 266–67. However, neither JUA nor Treasury inform owners of the transfer, or of the right to seek reimbursement from Treasury directly. Id. at 266. Moreover, the only way to obtain a copy of the procedure is to request it from the Secretary of State in person. Id. at 267. After five years in the custody of the Secretary, any unclaimed premiums escheat and become property of the Commonwealth. Id. at 266.
This arrangement violates the Due Process Clause because it does not provide insureds with adequate notice of what has happened to the money they are entitled to reclaim.
This notice must include notice of the transfer of funds from JUA to the Commonwealth, of Procedure 96, and of Law 230's escheat provisions, and must be provided either individually or via publication, to those insureds whose duplicate premiums are currently or will be in the possession of the Commonwealth. In addition, the Commonwealth must publish Procedure 96, in full, online and in other places readily accessible by the public.
This court has been directed to enter injunctive relief in favor of the plaintiffs. “Every order granting an injunction and every restraining order must: (A) state the reasons why it issued; (B) state its terms specifically; and (C) describe in reasonable detail—and not by referring to the complaint or other document—the act or acts restrained or required.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 65(d)(1). These requirements “have been treated as mandatory, and even emergency conditions have not warranted a departure from them.” Francisco Sánchez v. Esso Std. Oil Co. (P.R.), 572 F.3d 1, 15 (1st Cir.2009) (). But “as the detail, precision, and specificity of an order increases, the possibility of technical infractions by those enjoined and the opportunity for harassment by those benefitting from the order become greater.” 11A Federal Practice and Procedure § 2955.
Both parties have submitted proposed orders, neither of which strikes the correct balance between precision and hyper-technicality. Moreover, both proposals stray from the relief that the Court of Appeals held to be required. Therefore, rather than recommending the wholesale adoption...
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García-Rubiera v. Fortuño
...a magistrate judge, whose report and recommendation the court ultimately adopted with only minor modifications. See García–Rubiera v. Fortuño, 873 F.Supp.2d 421 (D.P.R.2012). The district court's permanent injunction required the Commonwealth to compile the names and addresses of all motor ......