GonzÁlez-Droz v. GonzÁlez-ColÓn
| Decision Date | 15 June 2010 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 06-2263 (SEC) |
| Parties | Dr. Efraín GONZÁLEZ-DROZ, et al., Plaintiffs v. Dr. Luis R. GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Roberto A. Fernandez-Quiles, Gonzalez Castaner & Morales Cordero Law Office, Juan R. Gonzalez-Munoz, Gonzalez Munoz Law Office, Nelson Robles-Diaz, San Juan, PR, Rolando Emmanuelli-Jimenez, Emmanuelli Law Office, CSP, Ponce, PR, for Plaintiffs.
Christian E. Pagan-Cordoliani, Puerto Rico Department of Justice, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.
Pending before the Court are Plaintiffs Dr. Efrain González-Droz ("González-Droz"), Yessenia Candelaria, and the Conjugal Partnership González-Candelaria's motion for summary judgment (Dockets 124 & 138), Defendants Dr. Luis R. González-Colon et al's ("Defendants") opposition thereto (Docket # 147), and Plaintiffs' reply (Docket # 151). Defendants also moved for summary judgment (Dockets 126 & 129), and Plaintiffs filed their opposition (Docket # 146). After carefully considering the filings, the evidence on the record, and the applicable law, Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED, and Defendants' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
On December 18, 2006, Plaintiffs filed suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 1331, 1 setting forth due process and equal protection violations under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Const. amend. V & XIV. They also allege unlawful restraint of trade, pursuant to the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 & 3. See Dockets 2, 36 & 104. According to Plaintiffs, the Public Notice ("Public Notice") of the Board of Medical Examiners of Puerto Rico's ("Board") 2 dated October 19, 2005, regarding mesotherapy, aesthetic medicine, complementary and alternative medicine is unconstitutional insofar as it bars all physicians, except dermatologists and plastic surgeons, from practicing cosmetic medicine in Puerto Rico. Accordingly, they move to set aside the Public Notice and for injunctive relief allowing González-Droz to resume his cosmetic medical practice in Puerto Rico.
Prior to filing the present suit, Plaintiffs moved to California. See Plaintiffs' Statement of Uncontested Facts ("Plaintiffs' SUF") ¶ 5 at Docket # 138. Shortly thereafter, on December 12, 2006, the Board members held a meeting after which González-Droz's medical license was summarily suspended. Defendants' Statement of Uncontested Facts ("Defendants' SUF") ¶¶ 7-9 at Docket # 129; Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 10. On April 17, 2007, the Board issued Resolution 2007-10 (Docket # 11, Ex. 2), in the administrative proceeding captioned " . and summarily suspended González-Droz's Puerto Rico medical license. Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 9. According to Resolution 2007-10, González-Droz practiced the specialty of plastic surgery without being certified as a plastic surgeon by the Board. Defendants' SUF ¶ 11. Therein, the Board found that since González-Droz is not certified as a plastic surgeon, his practice of that branch of medicine and his advertisements related to it were in breach of state law and the Professional Code of Ethics, and constituted an illegal practice of medicine. Docket # 11, Ex. 2. González-Droz was admonished, and ordered to refrain from the practice of medicine until an administrative hearing was held. Defendants' SUF at ¶ 12. Through said Resolution, the Board summarily suspended González-Droz's medical license and scheduled a formal administrative hearing. Id.
In the section of the Resolution titled "holding of hearing," the Board stated that the suspension would become effective the date that González-Droz received the Resolution; that a hearing would be held 15 days after such notification; and that if he did not appear at that hearing, the Board could issue an entry of default and hold the hearing in his absence. Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 12; Docket # 11, Ex. 2. On May 1 or 2, 2007,3 González-Droz and his counsel were personally served in Puerto Rico with Resolution 2007-10. See González-Droz's sworn statement, Docket # , 11-2, p. 7;Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 9.4 On May 10, 2007, the summons for the hearing to be held on May 15, 2007, was sent via mail to González-Droz's residence in California, and via fax to his attorney Rolando Emmanuelli-Jiménez. Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 13; Defendants' SUF ¶ 14; Docket # 11-2, pp. 7-8.
On May 11, 2007, Plaintiffs filed an Emergency Motion for injunctive relief in the present case, to order the Board and its members to reinstate González-Droz's medical license, and to enjoin the Board from holding further administrative procedures related to González-Droz's suspension from the practice of medicine in Puerto Rico. See Docket # 11. Ultimately, said Motion sought to leave Resolution 2007-10 without effect. In the interim, the hearing before the Board was held on May 15, 2007, and Plaintiffs and their counsel did not attend. Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 15. Based upon the evidence presented at the May 15, 2007 hearing, the Board issued an Order, dated April 4, 2008, and sent by certified mail to González-Droz on April 22, 2008, decreeing a five-year suspension of his medical license and imposing a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). Plaintiffs' SUF ¶ 16; See Docket # 69 pp. 2-3. Plaintiffs moved this Court to set aside the five-year suspension and fine, but said request was denied. See Dockets 69, 72 & 76.
After a preliminary injunction hearing held before this Court on July 18, 2007 ( see Docket # 44), Plaintiffs' motion for injunctive relief was denied. See Docket # 58. Plaintiffs then filed a Notice of Interlocutory Appeal on March 6, 2008. See Docket # 64. On July 23, 2009, 573 F.3d 75 (1st Cir.2009), the First Circuit affirmed this Court's denial of Plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief at Docket # 11. See Docket # 85. Accordingly, the case's proceedings continued before this Court. On March 1, 2010, the parties filed their respective motions for summary judgment, and oppositions thereto.
In their motion for summary judgment, Defendants contend that they are entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity in their official capacities, and quasi-judicial immunity in their personal capacities for the acts they performed as members of the Board. In the alternative, they argue that Plaintiffs failed to state claims under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Lastly, Defendants claim that the Sherman Act does not apply to state action and state actors.
Plaintiffs countered with their own motion for summary judgment, arguing that Defendants summarily suspended González-Droz's medical license in violation of his constitutional rights to a due process and equal protection. Specifically, they posit that Defendants failed to hold a pre-deprivation hearing, and properly notify Plaintiffs about the hearing held on May 15, 2007. Moreover, according to Plaintiffs, the Board's "Public Notice" dated October 19, 2005 ("Public Notice") regarding mesotherapy, aesthetic medicine, complementary and alternative medicine improperly bars all physicians, except dermatologists and plastic surgeons, from practicing cosmetic medicine in Puerto Rico.
The Court may grant a motion for summary judgment when "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 judgment as a matter of law." Rule 56(c); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Ramírez Rodríguez v. Boehringer Ingelheim, 425 F.3d 67, 77 (1st Cir.2005). In reaching such a determination, the Court may not weigh the evidence. Casas Office Machs., Inc. v. Mita Copystar Am., Inc., 42 F.3d 668 (1st Cir.1994). At this stage, the court examines the record in the "light most favorable to the nonmovant," and indulges all "reasonable inferences in that party's favor." Maldonado-Denis v. Castillo-Rodríguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994).
Once the movant has averred that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to establish the existence of at least one fact in issue that is both genuine and material. Garside v. Osco Drug, Inc., 895 F.2d 46, 48 (1st Cir.1990) (citations omitted). "A factual issue is 'genuine' if 'it may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party and, therefore, requires the finder of fact to make 'a choice between the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial.' " DePoutot v. Raffaelly, 424 F.3d 112, 116 (1st Cir.2005) (citing Garside, 895 F.2d at 48 (1st Cir.1990)); see also SEC v. Ficken, 546 F.3d 45, 51 (1st Cir.2008).
In order to defeat summary judgment, the opposing party may not rest on conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation. See Hadfield v. McDonough, 407 F.3d 11, 15 (1st Cir.2005) (citing Medina-Muñoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990)). Nor will "effusive rhetoric" and "optimistic surmise" suffice to establish a genuine issue of material fact. Cadle Co. v. Hayes, 116 F.3d 957, 960 (1st Cir.1997). Once the party moving for summary judgment has established an absence of material facts in dispute, and that he or she is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, the "party opposing summary judgment must present definite, competent evidence to rebut the motion." Méndez-Laboy v. Abbott Lab., 424 F.3d 35, 37 (1st Cir.2005) (citing Maldonado-Denis v. Castillo-Rodríguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994)). ...
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