Huertas Morales v. Agosto Alicea, No. CIV. 02-1793(JP).

• Decision Date: 01 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. CIV. 02-1793(JP).
• Citation: 278 F.Supp.2d 164
• Parties: Nadya HUERTAS MORALES, Plaintiff v. Juan AGOSTO ALICEA, et al., Defendants
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

278 F.Supp.2d 164

Nadya HUERTAS MORALES, Plaintiff v. Juan AGOSTO ALICEA, et al., Defendants

No. CIV. 02-1793(JP).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

August 1, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Andrés Guillemard-Noble, Nachman, Guillemard & Rebollo, San Juan, PR, For Plaintiff.

Zuleika Llovet-Zurinaga, Mariana Negrón-Vargas, Commonwealth Department of Justice, Federal Litigation Division, Pedro Santiago-Rivera, Reichard & Escalera, San Juan, PR, for Defendant.

AMENDED OPINION AND ORDER

PIERAS, Senior District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Court has before it Defendants Juan Agosto Alicea, in his personal capacity as former president of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico, the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico ("GDB"), and the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority's ("PRHFA") Motion for Summary Judgment (docket No. 30) and Plaintiff Nadya Huertas Morales's opposition thereto (docket No. 40).

Plaintiff brings this claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, pursuant to the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, alleging that Defendants discriminated against her based on her political affiliation when they relocated her from the GDB to an allegedly inferior career position at the PRHFA. Plaintiff, a member of the New Progressive Party ("NPP"), has been a career employee of the Government Development Bank, working as the Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations, since 1995. This position had previously been considered a trust position but was changed to a career position in 1995 during the administration of former NPP Governor Pedro Rosselló. In 2000, the Popular Democratic Party ("PDP") won the gubernatorial election in Puerto Rico and the administration of both the GDB and PRHFA became associated with the PDP. In 2001, Co-Defendant GDB changed Plaintiff's position from a career position to a trust position. Plaintiff was removed from her position and relocated to a career position with PRHFA.

Defendants now move for summary judgment, alleging that 1) Plaintiff has failed to establish a prima facie case of political discrimination; 2) Plaintiff's First Amendment claim should be dismissed because she was properly relocated to a career position; 3) Plaintiff's First Amendment claim should be dismissed because her position was a trust position; 4) Plaintiff was afforded a hearing, therefore there was no violation of her substantive procedural due process rights; 5) Co-Defendant Juan Agosto Alicea is immune from suit based on the qualified immunity doctrine; 6) Plaintiff's supplemental claims under the law of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should be dismissed because she has no actionable claims under federal law.

II. STATEMENTS OF FACTS

These uncontested facts are taken from the uncontested facts agreed to by the parties during the Initial Scheduling Conference.

1. On June 29, 1995, Plaintiff was notified that she was designated as Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations of the Government Development Bank ("GDB"), effective July 3, 1995.

2. On January 3, 1996, Plaintiff passed her probationary period for the position of Human Resources Director.

3. On May 30, 2001, Juan Agosto Alicea, as President of the GDB, sent a letter to Plaintiff, informing her that her position of Human Resources Director, which had been a career position, would revert to a trust position, and that she would be relocated to a career position with Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority ("PRHFA").

4. Plaintiff's salary was not changed.

5. An administrative hearing was conducted regarding Plaintiff's relocation, during which Plaintiff was given the opportunity to be heard and to bring forth evidence to sustain her position.

6. On March 13, 2002, the examiner issued a resolution in Plaintiff's case.

III. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for the entry of summary judgment where "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." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Pagano v. Frank, 983 F.2d 343, 347 (1st Cir.1993); Lipsett v. University of Puerto Rico, 864 F.2d 881, 894 (1st Cir.1988). Summary judgment is appropriate where, after drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue of material fact for trial. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is material if, based on the substantive law at issue, it might affect the outcome of the case. Id. at 248; Mack v. Great Atl. & Pac. Tea Co., Inc., 871 F.2d 179, 181 (1st Cir.1989). A material issue is "genuine" if there is sufficient evidence to permit a reasonable trier of fact to resolve the issue in the non-moving party's favor. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Boston Athletic Ass'n v. Sullivan, 867 F.2d 22, 24 (1st Cir.1989).

The party filing a motion for summary judgment bears the initial burden of proof to show "that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The burden then shifts to the non-movant to show that "sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual dispute [exists] to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of truth at trial." See First Nat'l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1592-93, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968). The party opposing summary judgment may not rest upon mere allegations or denials of the pleadings, but must affirmatively show, through filing of supporting affidavits or otherwise, that there is a genuine issue for trial. See id.; see also Goldman v. First Nat'l Bank of Boston, 985 F.2d 1113, 1116 (1st Cir.1993). On issues where the non-movant bears the ultimate burden of proof, he must present definite, competent evidence to rebut the motion. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256-57, 106 S.Ct. at 2514-15.

IV. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

A. Trust Employees do not Have a Cause of Action for Political Discrimination or Property Interest in Employment

Defendants allege that political affiliation is a proper requirement for Plaintiff's position with the Human Resources Department because her position, "Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations", is considered a policymaking trust position. According to Defendants, the position entails access to confidential information and involves formulating public policy. The current job description of the position includes, among other things: "developing or recommending rules and norms to establish the policy of the administration of human resources" and "directing and participating in the implementation of public policy."

To support their position, Defendants offer as evidence a report by Consultant Alba Nydia Caballero Fuentes, an attorney, of March 31, 2001, where Ms. Caballero Fuentes determined that the position was a trust position and that the 1995 reclassification from trust to career by the past administration was illegal. In her report, Attorney Caballero disagreed with the previous report of the Secura Group commissioned by the NPP administration in 1993, noting that 1) dissatisfaction with the Human Resources program at the agency did not justify changing the status of the position, because there is dissatisfaction in most agencies; 2) having a Human Resources Director for a long period of time does not guarantee good performance; 3) the turnovers in the Agency can be attributed to the turnovers in the position of GDB President; 4) the public policy in Puerto Rico is to designate employees as trust employees where they intervene or collaborate substantially in the formation of public policy, and the position of Human Resources Director is without a doubt one which intervenes and collaborates substantially in the formation of the policy as to Human Resources at the agency; 5) according to Human Resources scholars, Human Resources Management recognizes that Human Resources planning must be integrated closely with strategic organizational planning.

Plaintiffs respond that in January 1993, the GDB commissioned the Secura Group of Boston, Massachusetts, to perform an independent analysis of the bank's structural organization and an audit. The report, titled "Organization Study and Strategy Audit", recommended that the position "Vice President of Human Resources and Labor Relations" be converted from a trust position to a career position in order to reduce turnover in the position. According to the report, high turnover was reducing the effectiveness of the Human Resources Department. The report noted that the position was critical to the continuity and stability of an agency and therefore should be reserved for career professionals, as it is in the U.S. Federal Government. The GDB relied upon this report in deciding to change the classification of the position from trust to career.

In addition, Plaintiff states that the position that Plaintiff occupied was a career position by nature but that Defendants changed the job description of the position when they converted it to a trust position. According to Plaintiff, Defendants moved the Department of Human Resources from a third-tier level to a second-tier level, with the Director reporting directly to the President of the GDB. Defendants changed and expanded the functions of the position and expressly included the duty of "directing and participating in the implementation of public policy." According to Plaintiff, this language was previously absent from the career position profile. Thus, Plaintiff states that Plaintiff's position could be considered a career position or a trust position, depending on the job description of the position.

In general, a public employee may...