Santos v. Am. Cruise Ferries, Inc.
| Decision Date | 17 March 2015 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 13–1537 JAG. |
| Citation | 100 F.Supp.3d 96 |
| Parties | Esperanza SANTOS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. AMERICA CRUISE FERRIES, INC., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Francisco M. Troncoso–Cortes, Troncoso & Schell, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiffs.
Jorge F. Blasini–Gonzalez, Jimenez, Graffam & Lausell, San Juan, PR, Carlos E. Bayron–Velez, Bayron Law Office, Mayaguez, PR, for Defendants.
Pending before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by America Cruise Ferries, Inc. (“Defendant”) on July 30, 2014. Docket No. 26. Plaintiffs Esperanza Santos, on her own behalf and on behalf of the conjugal partnership composed by her and Jose Santos, and with Sonia Santos as heirs of Jose Santos (collectively “Plaintiffs”) duly opposed Defendant's Motion. Docket No. 29. Defendant and Plaintiffs, in turn, filed a Reply and a Surreply, respectively. Docket Nos. 32 and 34. Upon careful examination of the relevant facts, the applicable law, and the parties' arguments, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is hereby DENIED in part and GRANTED in part.
On April 8, 2012, Plaintiff Esperanza Santos and her husband, Jose Santos, made a reservation with Defendant for a round trip from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. Docket No. 24. at 3. After boarding one of Defendant's vessels on August 9, 2012, Esperanza and Jose Santos arrived in Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic. Id. On August 24, Esperanza and Jose Santos boarded Defendant's M/V Caribbean Fantasy, which was scheduled to depart Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and arrive the next morning in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Id. at 2–3. Defendant allowed the passengers to board the vessel despite dangerous climatologic conditions as a result of Tropical Storm Isaac. Id. at 3. Due to the storm, the vessel failed to arrive in Santo Domingo by 7:00AM on August 25, as scheduled. Id.
On or around 11:30AM, Esperanza and Jose Santos were returning to their cabin after having breakfast. Id. at 4. As a result of the inclement weather, Jose Santos was thrown around and hit the back of his head. Id. According to the official deck log of the vessel, Jose Santos's injury occurred when the vessel was far outside Puerto Rico's territorial waters. Docket No. 26, Ex. 1.2 The injury resulted in profuse bleeding and a severe cranium-cerebral trauma. Docket No. 24 at 4. Jose Santos was then taken to the nurses' station aboard the vessel, where he was cleaned and bandaged up. Id. The bandaging, however, was done so poorly that a pediatrician, who was a passenger on the ship, had to rebandage the wound
. Id. Since Defendant failed to request assistance for Jose Santos once the vessel arrived in Santo Domingo, Esperanza and Jose Santos had to drive to the neurological division of a clinic called El Centro de Obstetricia y Ginecologia. Id. at 5.3 Jose Santos was admitted at the clinic and remained hospitalized until September 7, 2012.Id. A CT Scan taken at the clinic showed general brain atrophy and a frontal hematoma with light mass effect. Id. Moreover, during his hospitalization at the clinic, Jose Santos suffered from an asthma attack, dizziness, and periodic unconsciousness which, in turn, worsened his neurological condition. Id.
When discharged from the clinic, Jose Santos remained in a poor state of health and was unable to walk. Id. On September 16, 2012, Jose Santos and his wife traveled to New Jersey to continue the medical treatment. Id. He was quickly hospitalized in Saint Joseph's Hospital and remained there until September 21. Id. at 6. Upon discharge, he commenced his rehabilitation therapy at the Kessler Rehabilitation Center, where he remained until October 17. Id. He was then transferred to the Barnert Subacute Rehabilitation Center and remained there until November 17. Id.
On June 9, 2013, Jose Santos, Esperanza Santos, and their conjugal partnership filed the instant personal injury action against Defendant alleging negligence. Docket No. 1. Jose Santos asked for the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) claiming that he was bedridden and that he was forced to undergo outpatient therapy three times per week. Docket No. 1 at 5; Docket No. 24 at 6. Esperanza Santos also asked for damages in the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the suffering that she endured by seeing her husband bedridden and for all her time and efforts in assisting Jose Santos. Docket No. 1 at 5; Docket No. 24 at 7.
On June 2, 2014, Jose Santos passed away in New Jersey. Docket Nos. 17; Docket No. 29, Ex. 1. In light of Jose Santos's unfortunate passing, the complaint was amended and Jose Santos was substituted by both his wife, Esperanza Santos, and his daughter, Sonia Santos. Docket Nos. 20 & 24. The Amended Complaint filed by Plaintiffs—Esperanza Santos, on her own behalf and on behalf of the conjugal partnership composed by her and Jose Santos, and with Sonia Santos as heirs of Jose Santos—restated the negligence allegations of the first complaint, while adding that Jose Santos's damages are to be received by his heirs, Esperanza and Sonia Santos. Docket No. 24 at 4–6.4
Plaintiffs are citizens of the State of New Jersey and Defendant is a corporation incorporated and with its principal place of business in Puerto Rico. Id. at 1. The Amended Complaint, thus, avers diversity jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' negligence claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Id. at 2. Moreover, Plaintiffs assert that this personal injury action arises under Article 1802 of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, 31 L.P.R.A. § 5141. Docket No. 27 at 16.5 It follows that Plaintiffs rely exclusively on this court's diversity jurisdiction and do not designate their negligence claim as an admiralty or maritime one under Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(h).
On July 30, 2014, Defendant filed its Motion for Summary Judgment against Plaintiffs. Docket No. 26. In the Motion, Defendant argues, inter alia, that the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C. § 30302 (“DOHSA”), applies to Plaintiffs' claims. Id. at 10. According to Defendant, DOHSA's applicability entails that the Complaint at bar must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and lack of standing. Id. at 17–20. In the alternative, Defendant argues that either DOHSA or general maritime law requires the dismissal of Plaintiffs' claim for Jose Santos's damages, as well as Esperanza Santos's claim for damages concerning her own pain and suffering. Id. at 23; Docket No. 32 at 12. Plaintiffs, on the other hand, argue that DOHSA does not apply and that they are entitled to both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages because this is a personal injury action arising under Puerto Rico state law. Docket No. 29 at 6–7, 18–19. Plaintiffs also contend that, in the event that general maritime law applies, Esperanza Santos is entitled to damages for Defendant's alleged negligent infliction of emotional distress. Docket No. 34 at 10–11.
Summary judgment is appropriate when “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 a judgment as matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; see Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). “An issue is genuine if it may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party at trial, and material if it possess[es] the capacity to sway the outcome of the litigation under the applicable law.” Iverson v. City of Boston, 452 F.3d 94, 98 (1st Cir.2006) (alteration in original) (internal citations omitted).
The moving party bears the initial burden of demonstrating the lack of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Maldonado–Denis v. Castillo–Rodriguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994). The non-movant may establish that a fact is genuinely in dispute by citing particular evidence in the record or showing that either the materials cited by the movant “do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B). If the court finds that some genuine factual issue remains, the resolution of which could affect the outcome of the case, then the court must deny summary judgment. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and give that party the benefit of any and all reasonable inferences. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Moreover, at the summary judgment stage, the court does not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence. Id. Summary judgment may be appropriate, however, if the non-moving party's case rests merely upon “conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation.” Forestier Fradera v. Mun. of Mayaguez, 440 F.3d 17, 21 (1st Cir.2006) (quoting Benoit v. Technical Mfg. Corp., 331 F.3d 166, 173 (1st Cir.2003) ).
While Plaintiffs rely exclusively on this Court's diversity jurisdiction to bring forth their tort claims, this Court must still determine whether the tort alleged is “maritime” in nature and, thus, within this Court's admiralty jurisdiction. This determination is important for two reasons. First, “[w]ith admiralty jurisdiction comes the application of substantive admiralty law.” E. River S.S. Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval Inc., 476 U.S. 858, 864, 106 S.Ct. 2295, 90 L.Ed.2d 865 (1986) (citing Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of...
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