Guzman-Vargas v. Calderon, Civil No. 01-1202 (FAB).
| Decision Date | 09 December 2009 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 01-1202 (FAB). |
| Citation | 672 F.Supp.2d 273 |
| Parties | Arturo J. GUZMAN-VARGAS, Plaintiff, v. Sila Maria CALDERON, Cesar R. Miranda-Rodriguez, John Doe, Richard Roe, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Fernando L. Gallardo, Woods and Woods, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiff.
Christian E. Pagan-Cordoliani, Puerto Rico Department of Justice, Gerardo A. De-Jesus-Annoni, Quinones, Sanchez & Guzman, PSC, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.
This case is a long-standing civil rights action brought by Arturo Guzman-Vargas ("Guzman" or "plaintiff") pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 19831 against the Honorable Sila Maria Calderon-Serra, the former Governor of Puerto Rico ("Governor"), and Cesar R. Miranda-Rodriguez ("Miranda"), the Governor's Chief of Staff during the relevant time period, hereinafter collectively referred to as "defendants." Defendants are sued in both their personal and official capacities.2 Plaintiff alleges that defendants unjustly dismissed him from his position as the President and non-ex officio member of the Board of Directors ("Board") for the Puerto Rico Corporation for Public Broadcasting ("PRCPB") in violation of rights guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States. Plaintiff also raises pendant claims under Article II, sections 4, 6, and 7 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and under 1 L.P.R.A. §§ 11-13 (2005), protecting freedom of speech, political affiliation and civil rights. The district court's jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343(a)(3), and 1337. Plaintiff seeks a judgment declaring that his discharge constitutes a violation of his constitutional and civil rights, an injunction vacating his discharge and prohibiting defendants from interference with his appointment, and compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00), plus costs and attorneys' fees.
Pending before the court are defendants' "Motion to Dismiss Under R. 12(b)(6) and/or for Summary Judgment" (defendants' motion) (Docket No. 59), which plaintiff opposes (Docket No. 62), and plaintiff's cross-motion for partial summary judgment (plaintiff's cross-motion) (Docket No. 68), which defendants oppose (Docket No. 69).
The following facts are deemed uncontested because they are asserted in the parties' pleadings,3 properly supported by the record,4 and not genuinely opposed,5 or are public law for which judicial notice is properly taken pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 201.6
The PRCPB is a creature of statute, created as an independent instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico pursuant to Law No. 216 of September 12, 1996, also known as the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation Act ("Act"). See Laws of P.R. Ann., tit. 27 §§ 501-513 (West 2009). The PRCPB operates on public funds, the provision of which is subject to approval by the Legislature and the Governor. The Board exercises the powers, facilities, and duties of the PRCPB and determines its operational and administrative policies. See id. § 503. The Board is composed of eleven members: three ex officio members7 and eight citizen members who are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Id. Citizen members of the Board serve staggered, six-year terms. Id. The Board elects the Board's President and Vice-president, and designates a Corporate President, who serves at the will of the Board. The members of the Board are not compensated, with the exception of those members who are not public sector employees, who are entitled to a per diem allowance of fifty dollars ($50) for each attended meeting. Id. Under the Act, non-ex officio citizen members of the Board shall only be removed for "just cause." Id.
The Act provides that the PRCPB "shall have true operational and functional autonomy" and declares autonomy to be "a necessary element to develop its [the PRCPB's] facilities and offer broadcasting pursuant to established legal provisions and limitations and thus render an optimum public service." Laws of P.R. Ann., tit. 27 § 502. The Act expressly prohibits any person from exercising "pressure or undue influence" on PRCPB representatives, and charges the Board to "protect the credibility" of the PRCPB and "prevent inappropriate interventions". Id. § 507. The PRCPB is granted all powers under the Act that are necessary for it to carry out its purpose and function, including the power to "make and execute agreements, leases, contracts and other instruments that are necessary or pertinent." Id. § 504.
During all times relevant to Guzman's complaint, he was a businessman,8 a journalist, and an active member of the New Progressive Party ("NPP") and the National Republican Committee of the Republican Party.9 At the time of his dismissal Guzman wrote a column for the San Juan Star. On September 27, 2000, then Governor Pedro Rossello (a member of the NPP), nominated Guzman for a second term as non-ex officio member of the Board, due to expire on September 12, 2005.10 The Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico confirmed the nomination. With one abstention, the Board unanimously elected Guzman to the position of Board President on December 7, 2000.
Prior to, but mainly during, the 2000 gubernatorial election and during the first months of 2001 after the election, the San Juan Star published eleven articles authored by Guzman in its "Viewpoint" section. In the articles, Guzman criticized, politically and ideologically, the Popular Democratic Party, Puerto Rico's status as a Commonwealth (rather than a state) of the United States of America, the acts and omissions of the Governor, who was at the time the Mayor of San Juan and the gubernatorial candidate for the Popular Democratic Party, and other current events.
On January 3, 2001, one day after taking office, the Governor issued Executive Order No. OE-2001-03 ("the Order") and copied the PRCPB. The Order required, in pertinent part, that no contract be entered into or amended by agencies11 of the Commonwealth without the prior written authorization of defendant Miranda. (See Docket No. 59, Exhibit 2 ("No agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may execute professional consultant service agreements during the effective term of this Order, whether new contracts or amendments to existing contracts without the written authorization of the Chief of Staff.")). The Order refers to the Government of Puerto Rico's "substantial budgetary deficit" and a need to "control . . . governmental resources."12 Id.
After consulting with PRCPB counsel and the PRCPB Corporate President,13 Guzman adopted the position that the Order did not apply to the PRCPB by virtue of the PRCPB's enabling statute and an opinion from Puerto Rico Department of Justice.14 By letter to the Governor, dated January 24, 2001 (Docket No. 59, Exhibit No. 3), Guzman presented a legal argument in support of the Order's inapplicability to the PRCPB. By letter dated February 1, 2001, however, defendant Miranda requested strict compliance with the Governor's Order, asserting that the PRCPB's limited operational autonomy "cannot be interpreted as a provision of fiscal autonomy." (See Docket No. 59, Exhibit 4) In closing, Miranda opined that an adequate remedy for the situation was for the Governor to select a new Board.
(Id.)
By letter dated February 2, 2001, Guzman requested that defendant Miranda clarify the Governor's position regarding the Order's intended effect on PRCPB contracts. (Docket No. 59, Exhibit 5) Guzman also inquired as to whether the February 1, 2001 letter constituted a request for the Board's resignation because the Board refused to submit to the Order. (Id.) By letter dated February 5, 2001, defendant Miranda suggested that all debate on the meaning of the Order be discontinued and reminded Guzman that executive orders in Puerto Rico "entail a force and legal mandate applicable to executive agencies . . . not exempted from the same." (Docket No. 59, Exhibit 6) After receiving Miranda's letter, Guzman called an emergency meeting of the Board's executive committee. The meeting convened in the evening on February 5, 2001.15
At a news conference on February 6, 2001, Guzman announced that the position of the PRCPB was that the Order did not apply to it and that the Board intended to continue executing its contracts. Approximately fifteen to twenty minutes after the conclusion of the press conference, Guzman received a letter from Governor Calderon, dated the same day, dismissing him from his position as a non-ex officio member and President of the Board for "insubordination."16 (Docket No. 59, Exhibit 7) In her letter, the Governor states that in his capacity as a member of the Board, Guzman "participates in the direction and operation of the radio and television stations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" and performs functions that are "purely executive" in nature." (Id.) A few days later, the Governor designated another person to plaintiff's position on the Board.
Plaintiff filed his original complaint (Docket No. 1) on February 16, 2001 and a Verified Amended Complaint (Docket No. 41) on March 7, 2002.17 On August 2, 2002, defendants filed their "Motion to Dismiss under R. 12(b)(6) and/or for Summary Judgment" (Docket No. 59) and on November 5, 2002, plaintiff filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment (see Docket No. 68). B...
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