Pineiro-Ruiz v. Puerto Rico Ports Authority

• Decision Date: 31 March 2008
• Docket Number: Civil No. 04-2376(FAB).
• Citation: 557 F.Supp.2d 248
• Parties: Augusto PIÑEIRO-RUIZ, Plaintiff, v. PUERTO RICO PORTS AUTHORITY of the Commonwealth OF PUERTO RICO, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

Page 248

557 F.Supp.2d 248

Augusto PIÑEIRO-RUIZ, Plaintiff, v. PUERTO RICO PORTS AUTHORITY of the Commonwealth OF PUERTO RICO, et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 04-2376(FAB).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

March 31, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Robert Millan, Millan Law Office, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiff.

Linda S. Rodriguez-Gardeslen, Landron & Vera LLP, Guaynabo, PR, Jose E. Cespedes-Sabater, Manuel A. Nunez Law Office, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

BESOSA, District Judge.

Mr. Augusto Piñeiro-Ruiz began to work for the Puerto Rico Ports Authority ("PRPA") in August, 1982. During his tenure at the PRPA he worked as a "Maintenance Supervisor for the Electrical System" at the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport. (See, PRPA's Statement of Uncontested Material Facts "SUMF", ¶ 1). As a Supervisor of Electronic Systems, Mr. Piñeiro was responsible for the general maintenance of the electronic systems of the airport. He also supervised other employees in the Electronic Systems Division.

On March 24, 2003, Mr. Piñeiro resigned his position. In his resignation letter, Mr. Piñeiro expressed "[t]he basic reason for this resignation is to participate in the retirement by age and years of service, effective June 30, 2003. The pressures and discredit on my person have forced me to take his decision for the good of my family and my health." (SUMF, ¶ 2, Exh. 9; Plaintiff's Opposing Statement of Material Facts "POSMF", ¶ 2).

On December 15, 2004, Augusto Piñeiro-Ruiz filed suit against the PRPA alleging employment discrimination due to his age and disability, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") and the American with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), as well as supplemental state law claims (Docket No. 2). Although he tendered his own resignation, he claims that he was "prompted to early retirement due to the working conditions that he was subjected to and because of defendant's discriminatory actions". (Docket No. 2, ¶ 5.9) According to Mr. Piñeiro, when he reached the age of fifty nine (59), he started to receive constant personal attacks by PRPA's personnel, which later he identified as a pattern of discriminatory conduct against him, because of his age and his mental condition. For instance, he alleges that his supervisors and co-workers referred to him as "the old man" (el viejo), the "grumpy old man" (el viejo cascarrabias) and told him that he "could not give the extra mile or that he was no longer needed". Id., ¶ 5.4 He named, among other co-workers and supervisors, Engineer Victor M. Andino, Engineer Segarra (deceased) and William Rodriguez as the ones responsible for the alleged discriminatory actions. He further claims that his duties and responsibilities were taken away and given to Mr. William Rodriguez and that he was deprived of the equipment he needed to perform his job. Finally, he asserts was denied salary raises and merit step increases (pasos por merito).

During his deposition, Mr. Pineiro admitted that Engineer Segarra did not make comments regarding his age.¹ (SUMF, ¶ 4, Plaintiffs deposition, p. 104, lines 18-89). He also testified that Mr. Rodriguez did not recommend him for a salary raise because "he did not go the extra mile." (SUMF, ¶ 5, Exh. 2 and POSMF, ¶ 5).

On September 20, 2000, Mr. Rodriguez submitted to the Chief of Aviation Bureau, Eng. Cesar Cintron, a recommendation in order for plaintiff to be considered for one merit step increase or an increase in salary. (SUMF, ¶ 5) Based on Mr. Rodriguez's recommendation, Mr. Cintron recommended plaintiff for a salary increase on October 23, 2000. Id.

For the years 1999 and 2002, Mr. Piñeiro was not the only managerial employee who was not recommended for a salary increase. (SUMF, ¶ 7, Exhibit 6, Complaint filed by managerial employees in 2001²).

As to the alleged deprivation of the equipment he needed to perform his job, he testified that the equipment had to be requested and submitted to the budget personnel once a year, using forms that were provided directly by the Central Office to the Airport's Personnel Office. Once the forms were received, they were distributed to the heads of divisions for their use in requesting equipment. (SUMF. ¶¶ 11-12) The equipment requests were provided according to the PRPA's budget for the fiscal year and its priorities. (SUMF, ¶ 13)

Plaintiff was assigned vehicles throughout the years of his employment. (SUMF, ¶ 14³)

During his deposition, Mr. Piñeiro-Ruiz could not mention one specific instance where Mr. Rodriguez bypassed his instructions to the electricians on duty from 1999 to 2001.

On May 19, 1997, plaintiff wrote a letter to Dr. Herman Sulsona, Executive Director, where he accused his supervisor, Engineer Segarra, of "vicious persecution". At that moment, however, he asserted that Segarra's "action denote political discrimination". Piñeiro-Ruiz made no reference to any discrimination regarding his age or his alleged disability. In addition, in his letter Mr. Piñeiro made no reference to work related problems with Mr. Segarra. (SUMF, ¶ 18)

On January 10, 2008, PRPA moved for summary judgment on plaintiffs' claims (Docket No. 80). On February 10, 2008, Plaintiff opposed the motion and voluntarily withdrew his AJDA's claim "understanding that the elements necessary to establish a prima facie case are lacking". (Docket No. 90, p. 1) For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS PRPA's motion for summary judgment.

DISCUSSION

A. Summary Judgment Standard

The court's discretion to grant summary judgment is governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 56 states, in pertinent part, that the court may grant summary judgment only if "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); See also Santiago-Ramos v. Centennial P.R. Wireless Corp., 217 F.3d 46, 52. (1st Cir.2000).

Summary judgment is appropriate if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Once a properly supported motion has been presented, the opposing party has the burden of demonstrating that a trial-worthy issue exists that would warrant the court's denial of the motion for summary judgment. For issues where the opposing party bears the ultimate burden of proof, that party cannot merely rely on the absence of competent evidence, but must affirmatively point to specific facts that demonstrate the existence of an authentic dispute. See Suarez v. Pueblo Int'l, Inc., 229 F.3d 49 (1st Cir.2000).

In order for a factual controversy to prevent summary judgment, the contested facts must be "material" and the dispute must be "genuine". "Material" means that a contested fact has the potential to change the outcome of the suit under governing law. The issue is "genuine" when a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party based on the evidence. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). It is well settled that "[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence" is "insufficient to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment." Id. at 252. It is therefore necessary that "a party opposing summary judgment must present definite, competent evidence to rebut the motion." Maldonado-Denis v. Castillo-Rodriguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994).

To assess whether to grant or deny a motion for summary judgment, the court "must view the entire record in the light most hospitable to the party opposing summary judgment, indulging in all reasonable inferences in that party's favor." Griggs-Ryan v. Smith, 904 F.2d 112, 115 (1st Cir.1990). The court may safely ignore "conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation." Medinar-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990).

B. Age Discrimination in Employment Act

ADEA makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any individual with respect to his terms and conditions of employment or to adversely affect his status as an employee because of such individual's age. See 29 U.S.C § 623(a)(1).⁴ For a plaintiff to prove an ADEA cause of action, direct or indirect discriminatory evidence can be brought forth to prove that an adverse employment action occurred as a result of a discriminatory practice based on age. The trial court must evaluate the evidence presented as a whole in order to determine if such evidence, whether direct or indirect, is sufficient for a reasonable fact-finder to infer that the employer's decision was motivated by a discriminatory animus based on age. See Hidalgo v. Overseas Condado, 120 F.3d 328, 335 (1st Cir.1997) (citing LeBlanc v. Great American Ins. Co., 6 F.3d 836, 843 (1st Cir.1993)); Torres-Alman v. Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico, Inc., 522 F.Supp.2d 367, 389 (D.P.R.2007).

As in this case, where a plaintiff lacks direct evidence of discrimination, the courts apply the burden-shifting framework established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under this framework, the plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of age discrimination by demonstrating that (1) he is within the protected class (over the age of forty); (2) that his job performance was satisfactory and met his employer's legitimate expectations; (3) that he suffered an adverse employment action (e.g., an actual or constructive discharge); and (4) that defendant sought a replacement with roughly equivalent job qualifications, thus...