San Geronimo Caribe Project, Inc. v. Vila

Decision Date30 September 2009
Docket NumberCivil No. 08-2217(DRD).
Citation663 F.Supp.2d 54
PartiesSAN GERÓNIMO CARIBE PROJECT, INC., Plaintiff, v. Anibal Acevedo VILA, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

John M. Garcia-Nokonechna, Orlando Fernandez, Garcia & Fernandez, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiff.

Jose J. Gueits-Ortiz, Wandymar Burgos-Vargas, Department of Justice of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

DANIEL R. DOMINGUEZ, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and 12(b)(1) (Docket No. 13), and Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 24). On April 22, 2009, the Court referred the pending motions to Magistrate Judge Bruce McGiverin (Docket No. 38), for a report and recommendation. Consequently, on August 3, 2009 Magistrate Judge McGiverin entered a Report and Recommendation (Docket No. 43), recommending the Court to grant Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. Hence, on August 10, 2009, Plaintiff filed its Objections to Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendations (Docket No. 44).

After carefully reviewing the pending matter, the Court hereby adopts in toto the Magistrate's Report and Recommendation (Docket No. 43), although the Court adds that Plaintiff's claims are also subject to dismissal under the doctrine of qualified immunity. Consequently, for the reasons stated below, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and 12(b)(1) (Docket No. 13) is hereby GRANTED.

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW
A.

The District Court may refer dispositive motions to a United States Magistrate Judge for a Report and Recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) (1993); FED. R.CIV.P. 72(b); Rule 72(a), Local Rules, District of Puerto Rico. See Mathews v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261, 96 S.Ct. 549, 46 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976). An adversely affected party may contest the Magistrate's report and recommendation by filing its objections within ten (10) days after being served a copy thereof. See Local Rule 72(d); FED.R.CIV.P. 72(b). Moreover, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) (1993), in pertinent part, provides that:

Within ten days of being served with a copy, any party may serve and file written objections to such proposed findings and recommendations as provided by rules of court. A judge of the court shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made. A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate.

(Emphasis ours).

If no objections are filed against a Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, the Court, in order to accept the unopposed R & R, needs only satisfy itself by ascertaining that there is no "plain error" on the face of the record. See Douglass v. United Servs. Auto, Ass'n, 79 F.3d 1415, 1419 (5th Cir., 1996) (en banc) (extending the deferential "plain error" standard of review to the unobjected legal conclusions of a magistrate judge); Nettles v. Wainwright, 677 F.2d 404, 410 (5th Cir., 1982) (en banc) (appeal from district court's acceptance of unobjected findings of magistrate judge reviewed for "plain error"); Nogueras-Cartagena v. United States, 172 F.Supp.2d 296, 305 (D.P.R., 2001)("Court reviews [unopposed] Magistrate's Report and Recommendation to ascertain whether or not the Magistrate's recommendation was clearly erroneous") (adopting the Advisory Committee note regarding FED.R.CIV.P. 72(b)); Garcia v. I.N.S., 733 F.Supp. 1554, 1555 (M.D.Pa., 1990) ("when no objections are filed, the district court need only review the record for plain error").

"Absent objection, ... [a] district court ha[s] a right to assume that [the affected party] agree[s] to the magistrate's recommendation." Templeman v. Chris Craft Corp., 770 F.2d 245, 247 (1st Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1021, 106 S.Ct. 571, 88 L.Ed.2d 556 (1985)(emphasis ours). Moreover, "failure to raise objections to the Report and Recommendation waives that party's right to review in the district court and those claims not preserved by such objections are precluded on appeal." Davet v. Maccarone, 973 F.2d 22, 30-31 (1st Cir., 1992). See also Sands v. Ridefilm Corp., 212 F.3d 657, 663 (1st Cir.2000); Henley Drilling Co. v. McGee, 36 F.3d 143, 150-151 (1st Cir.1994) (holding that objections are required when challenging findings actually set out in magistrate's recommendation, as well as magistrate's failure to make additional findings); Lewry v. Town of Standish, 984 F.2d 25, 27 (1st Cir.1993) (stating that "[o]bjection to a magistrate's report preserves only those objections that are specified"); Keating v. Secretary of H.H.S., 848 F.2d 271, 275 (1st Cir.1988); Borden v. Secretary of H.H.S., 836 F.2d 4, 6 (1st Cir.1987) (holding that appellant was entitled to a de novo review, "however he was not entitled to a de novo review of an argument never raised"). See also United States v. Valencia-Copete, 792 F.2d 4, 6 (1st Cir.1986); Park Motor Mart, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 616 F.2d 603, 605 (1st Cir.1980).

Since Plaintiff timely filed objections to the Magistrate's report and recommendation, the Court shall review de novo, the portions to which the Plaintiff has expressed objections. See Borden, 836 F.2d at 6.

B. MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD 12(b)(6)

Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may, in response to an initial pleading, file a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. It is well-settled, however, that "a complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); see also Miranda v. Ponce Fed. Bank, 948 F.2d 41 (1st Cir.1991). The Court must accept as true "all well-pleaded factual averments and indulg[e] all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor." See Aulson v. Blanchard, 83 F.3d 1, 3 (1st Cir.1996); see also Berrios v. Bristol Myers Squibb Puerto Rico, Inc., 51 F.Supp.2d 61 (D.P.R. 1999). A complaint, in order to survive a motion to dismiss, must set forth "factual allegations, either direct or inferential, regarding each material element necessary to sustain recovery under some actionable theory." See Romero-Barceló v. Hernández-Agosto, 75 F.3d 23, 28 n. 2 (1st Cir. 1996) (quoting Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corp., 851 F.2d 513, 514 (1st Cir.1988)).

In other words, in order for a Plaintiff to sustain recovery under some actionable theory, the Plaintiff must plead, pursuant to the

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), only "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief," in order to "give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests," Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, ibid.; Sanjuan v. American Bd. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., 40 F.3d 247, 251 (7th Cir. 1994), a plaintiff's obligation to provide the "grounds" of his "entitle[ment] to relief" requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do, see Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986) (on a motion to dismiss, courts "are not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation").

....

While, for most types of cases, the Federal Rules eliminated the cumbersome requirement that a claimant "set out in detail the facts upon which he bases his claim," Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) (emphasis added), Rule 8(a)(2) still requires a "showing," rather than a blanket assertion, of entitlement to relief. Without some factual allegation in the complaint, it is hard to see how a claimant could satisfy the requirement of providing not only "fair notice" of the nature of the claim, but also "grounds" on which the claim rests. See 5 Wright & Miller § 1202, at 94, 95 (Rule 8(a) "contemplate[s] the statement of circumstances, occurrences, and events in support of the claim presented" and does not authorize a pleader's "bare averment that he wants relief and is entitled to it").

Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 545-555 and FN. 3, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007).

Furthermore, in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) the United States Supreme Court, held that pursuant to Twombly

[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. The plausibility standard is not akin to a "probability requirement," but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully. Where a complaint pleads facts that are "merely consistent with" a defendant's liability, it "stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of `entitlement to relief.'"

(Quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556-557, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929) (internal citations omitted).

However, the Court is not obligated to accept plaintiffs "bald assertions, unsupportable conclusions, periphrastic circumlocutions, and the like." See Aulson v. Blanchard, 83 F.3d at 3. The Court must only accept those facts that are "well pleaded," limiting its inquiry into the allegations of the complaint. See Litton Indus., Inc. v. Colon, 587 F.2d 70, 74 (1st Cir....

To continue reading

Request your trial
5 cases
  • San Gerónimo Caribe Project, Inc. v. Acevedo–Vil
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)
    • 24 Julio 2012
    ...to dismiss stage, holding that no predeprivation process was required under the Parratt–Hudson doctrine. San Gerónimo Caribe Project, Inc. v. Vila, 663 F.Supp.2d 54, 65 (D.P.R.2009). A panel of this court held that there was a due process violation but still affirmed the judgment of the dis......
  • San GerÓnimo Caribe Project Inc. v. Acevedo–vilÁ
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)
    • 17 Junio 2011
  • Hall v. FV-1, Inc.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • 26 Junio 2015
    ...bald assertions, unsupportable conclusions, periphrastic circumlocutions, and the like" (San Geronimo Caribe Project, Inc. v. Vila, 663 F. Supp. 2d 54 (D.P.R. 2009). For a defendant to be held liable in tort, it must have owed the injured party a duty of care ( see Palka v Servicemaster Mgt......
  • Comissioners of the State v. Perfect Courier, Ltd.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • 25 Abril 2016
    ...bald assertions, unsupportable conclusions, periphrastic circumlocutions, and the like" (San Geronimo Caribe Project, Inc. v. Vila, 663 F. Supp. 2d 54 (D.P.R. 2009). On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action pursuant to CPLR §3211[a] [7] where the parties have submitted ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT