Lopez Hernandez v. Municipality of San Juan

• Decision Date: 14 May 2002
• Docket Number: Civil. No. 00-2441(JAG).
• Citation: 206 F.Supp.2d 243
• Parties: Rafael LOPEZ HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff, v. The MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

206 F.Supp.2d 243

Rafael LOPEZ HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff, v. The MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN, et al., Defendants.

Civil. No. 00-2441(JAG).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

May 14, 2002.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Marcos A. Rivera-Ortiz, Carolina, PR, for Plaintiff.

Magali B. Arrivi-Cos, Municipality of San Juan Office of Legal Affairs, Grisselle Gonzalez-Negron, Gloria Robison-Guarch, Department of Justice of Federal Litigation Division, Juan B. Soto-Balbas, Mercado & Soto, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

GARCIA-GREGORY, District Judge.¹

Plaintiff Rafael López Hernández ("López") brought suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983(for violation of his First Amendment rights), the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq., Titles VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The named defendants are: the Municipality of San Juan, Hon. Sila Maria Calderón² ("the Mayor"), Dr. Ibrahim Perez ("Perez"), Jane Vega de Diaz("Vega"), Mirtha Ayala("Ayala"), Yolanda Cordero ("Cordero"), Carmen Graulau ("Graulau"), Aracelis Santiago ("Santiago"), all in their official and personal capacities.

Defendants Graulau, Ayala, Vega, Perez and Santiago filed a Motion to Dismiss (Docket Nos. 15, 19) alleging they could not be held individually liable under Title VII or ADA, that they could not be sued for monetary damages in their official capacity, that the plaintiff has no redress under § 1981, that the complaint is time barred, and that plaintiffs claim under State Law should be dismissed. Defendants the Municipality of San Juan, the Mayor, Vega, Ayala, Cordero, Graulau, and Santiago, only in their official capacity, filed another Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) (Docket Nos. 16, 20) alleging inter alia, that the Complaint lacked the necessary facts to establish a cause of action under Title VII or ADA. Upon review of both motions, the Court GRANTS the motions to dismiss on the grounds that the defendants cannot be sued in their official capacity under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, there is no individual liability under Title VII or ADA, and plaintiff failed to state claims under Title VII, ADA, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

López is over forty eight years old and works as a Cashier at the Municipal Hospital of the Municipality of San Juan since 1982³. (Docket 1, Complaint. p. 3-4,7). López has a diagnosed physiological condition, which is not identified in the Complaint. (Id.) All throughout his tenure at the Municipality, he has been an active member of the Puerto Rican Independence Party("PIP"). López alleges that, beginning in early 1984, and up to this date, defendants maliciously engaged in discriminatory practices against him due to his political beliefs and physical condition. (Id. at 4,5,7). López claims that he is qualified to perform the duties of his position and of other positions in the Municipality. (Id. at 7). López has sought promotion pursuant to the defendant's guidelines and policies but has been rejected on account of his disability in favor of other non-disabled applicants. (Id. at 7,8).

As a result of these discriminatory acts, López alleges he has suffered emotional and mental damages and that he has been deprived of income, prospective retirement benefits and other fringe benefits. (Id. at 6).

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss (Docket Nos. 15, 19) alleging that there is no individual liability under ADA, that they could not be sued for monetary damages in their official capacity, that the plaintiff has no redress under § 1981, that the complaint is time barred, and that plaintiff's claim pursuant to State Law should be dismissed. Furthermore, in another motion to dismiss (Docket Nos. 16, 20) the defendants alleged, inter alia, that the Complaint lacked the necessary facts to establish a cause of action under § 1983, Title VII, § 1981, and ADA.

Plaintiff opposed⁴ the motions to dismiss pointing to additional facts which allegedly prove the discrimination. He also claimed that "[i]t is premature for the Court to render a judgment without giving the opportunity to plaintiff to present his case." (Docket 22, Opposition to Motion to Dismiss ¶ 3). Furthermore, he argued that the complaint had "the particulars necessary to established [sic] a bona-fide cause of action", and requested the Court continue with the proceedings and enter into the discovery phase. (Id.) Among the facts he proffers in his Opposition, López states that he placed a picture of his political idol, PIP militant Juan Antonio Corretjer, in his working area and was told to remove it immediately from the facilities. (Docket 22 at ¶ 1). This, he claims, was the starting point of the political discrimination against him. (Id.) Plaintiff further avers that this discrimination has rendered his life miserable to the point of developing a work-related organic condition, according to the State Insurance Fund ("SIF"). The SIF prescribed him, among other things, a specific chair for his condition. (Id. at 2). López claims that after numerous requests, and after filing this Complaint, he received the special chair. (Id. at 2-3). The SIF had also indicated that because of his medication, he could not be switching shifts. (Id.) López alleges defendants Perez, Vega, Ayala, Cordero, Graulau and Santiago were always trying to have him change his shift to cover other employees' absenteeism. (Id. at ¶ 2). He further claims that defendants persecuted him by "auditing his time and attendance" which was not done to the rest of the personnel. (Id. at ¶ 3). Finally, he claims defendants made him visit a psychiatrist who later refused to give him copy of the file, alleging that it was the property of the Municipality of San Juan. (Id. at ¶ 3).

The defendants aver that López failed to set forth legal arguments in opposition to their motion to dismiss and that he did not effectively address the statute of limitations arguments inasmuch as he did not furnish the dates in which the discriminatory acts took place. (Docket 29, Reply to Plaintiff's Opposition to Motion to Dismiss, p. 2)⁵.

DISCUSSION

I. Motion to Dismiss

Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court accepts all well-pled factual allegation as true and draws all reasonable inferences in plaintiff's favor. Tompkins v. United Healthcare of New England, Inc., 203 F.3d 90, 93 (1st Cir.2000); Carparts Distribution Ctr., Inc. v. Automotive Wholesaler's Ass'n of New England Inc., 37 F.3d 12, 14 (1st Cir.1994); Roth v. United States, 952 F.2d 611, 613 (1st Cir.1991). To survive a motion to dismiss the plaintiff must "set forth factual allegations, either direct or inferential, regarding each material element necessary to sustain recovery under some actionable theory." Tompkins, 203 F.3d at 93. Even when all inferences must be made in plaintiffs' favor, the Court need not credit "bald assertions, unsupportable conclusions, periphrastic circumlocutions, and the like." Aulson v. Blanchard, 83 F.3d 1, 3 (1st Cir.1996). The Complaint will be dismissed if under the facts alleged, the Court finds that the plaintiff will not "prevail on any possible theory." Berezin v. Regency Sav. Bank, 234 F.3d 68, 70 (1st Cir.2000); Tompkins, 203 F.3d at 93.

II. The 42 U.S.C. § 1983 political discrimination claim against defendants in their official capacity.

With respect to López' 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against defendants Municipality of San Juan, the Mayor, Graulau, Cordero, Ayala, Vega, Perez, and Santiago in their official capacity, it is well established that the Eleventh Amendment bars a section 1983 action against a State, State Agency, or any State Official in his official capacity for monetary damages that would have to be paid from the state treasury. See Wang v. New Hampshire Board of Registration in Medicine, 55 F.3d 698, 700 (1st Cir.1995); Vega Castro v. Puerto Rico, 43 F.Supp.2d 186, 189 (D.P.R.1999). The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico enjoys the full benefits of the Eleventh Amendment. See Ursulich v. Puerto Rico Nat. Guard, 384 F.Supp. 736, 737 (D.P.R.1974). Accordingly, López' 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against all defendants in their official capacity must be dismissed.

III. The Political Discrimination claim against defendants in their individual capacity.

Political discrimination restrains freedom of belief and association, core activities protected by the First Amendment. See Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 354, 96 S.Ct. 2673, 49 L.Ed.2d 547 (1976). To prevail on a political discrimination claim against defendants in their personal capacity, López must establish that: 1) he engaged in a constitutionally protected conduct; and 2) that this conduct was a substantial or motivating factor in an adverse employment decision affecting him. See Mt. Healthy City School District Board v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287, 97 S.Ct. 568, 50 L.Ed.2d 471(1977); Padilla-Garcia v. Guillermo Rodriguez, 212 F.3d 69, 74 (1st Cir.2000). To meet this burden, López must show that there is a causal connection linking defendants' conduct to López's political beliefs. See LaRou v. Ridlon, 98 F.3d 659, 662 (1st Cir.1996).

Here, López has failed to establish a causal connection between defendants' conduct and López' political beliefs inasmuch as the Complaint does not meet the heightened pleading requirement established by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in civil rights cases. See Judge v. City of Lowell, 160 F.3d 67(1st Cir.1998)(A bare conclusory allegation of an intent to discriminate is insufficient; specific non-conclusory facts from which such an intent may reasonably be inferred is required.); The Dartmouth Review v. Dartmouth College, 889 F.2d 13, 19 (1st Cir.1989)("[M]erely juxtaposing the fact of one's [political affiliation] with an instance of discrimination is insufficient to state a claim.") Hence, to survive a motion to dismiss, López must set forth specific factual allegations supporting a causal link...