Tejada-Batista v. Fuentes-Agostini

• Decision Date: 22 May 2003
• Docket Number: Civil 97-1430(JAG)(JA).
• Parties: Bernabe TEJADA-BATISTA, Plaintiff, v. Jose FUENTES-AGOSTINI, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

263 F.Supp.2d 321

Bernabe TEJADA-BATISTA, Plaintiff, v. Jose FUENTES-AGOSTINI, et al., Defendants.

Civil 97-1430(JAG)(JA).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

May 22, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Irma R. Valldejuli-Perez, San Juan, PR, for plaintiff.

John M. Garcia-Nokonechna, Garcia & Fernandez, San Juan, PR, Miriam Soto-Contreras, Arecibo, PR, Eileen Landron-Guardiola, Isabel Abislaiman-Quilez, San Juan, PR, Arlene De-La-Matta-Melendez, Santurce, PR, Eduardo A. Vera-Ramirez, Landron & Vera, LLP, San Juan, PR, Luis A. Plaza-Mariota, Hato Rey, PR, Ivonne Palerm-Cruz, John F. Nevares, Smith & Nevares, Osvaldo H. Puig-Hernandez, Jo-Ann Estades-Boyer, Salvador J. Antonetti-Stutts, Director, Laura Belendez-Ferrero, Reichard & Escalera, San Juan, PR, for defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

ARENAS, United States Magistrate Judge.

There are several post-trial motions presently before the court. Plaintiff Bernabé Tejada-Batista moves for an order reinstating him to his position as agent of the Special Investigations Bureau at the Puerto Rico Department of Justice. (Docket No. 180.) In the alternative, plaintiff moves for an award of front pay and prejudgment interest in lieu of reinstatement. (Id.) In a separate motion, the plaintiff seeks an award of attorney's fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. (Docket No. 181.)

Co-defendant Jose Fuentes-Agostini moves for an award of attorney's fees under section 1988 claiming that, as the prevailing party (on a Rule 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law), he is entitled to said award because plaintiffs claim against him was frivolous, groundless and vexatious. (Docket No. 188.) After consideration of the arguments advanced by the parties, and for the reasons explained below, plaintiff's motion for reinstatement is GRANTED. Plaintiff's motion for an award of attorney's fees is also GRANTED. Co-defendant Fuentes-Agostini's motion for attorney's fees is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Bernabé Tejada-Batista brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming, inter alia, that he was unlawfully discharged from his employment at the Department of Justice for exercising his First Amendment rights. The case was called for jury trial on February 24, 2003, and at the close of plaintiffs evidence, all the defendants moved for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On a ruling from the bench, I granted co-defendant Fuentes-Agostini's motion and dismissed the case as to him. I similarly dismissed the case against two other co-defendants. An opinion and order was issued on March 11, 2003, explaining the basis for my ruling on the Rule 50 motion. The case proceeded with the remaining four co-defendants and the jury returned a verdict against two of them.

Mr. Tejada-Batista now moves for reinstatement in his position as agent for the Special Investigations Bureau. In the alternative, he requests an award of front pay and prejudgment interest. He invokes the equitable powers of this court under section 1983. In addition, plaintiff filed a motion seeking an award of attorney's fees as the prevailing party in this lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. So did co-defendant Fuentes-Agostini. I address the motions in the order they are presented.

DISCUSSION

I. Motion for Reinstatement

The crux of plaintiffs arguments is that reinstatement is the equitable remedy appropriate to effectuate the purpose of the Civil Rights Act. It is further claimed by plaintiff that reinstatement is an indispensable part of just compensation to an employee discriminated against because of his exercise of First Amendment rights, and that in the exercise of its discretion, the court should grant the equitable relief sought. In the alternative, plaintiff argues that if reinstatement is not feasible, the court should order a front pay award of $52,848. This amount is calculated by plaintiff as the salary he was receiving prior to the discharge, multiplied by the number of years he would have work at the Department of Justice until retirement. Plaintiff also seeks that said award of front pay include pre-judgment interest.

The First Circuit has held that "[o]ne of the remedies available for a political discharge in violation of first amendment rights is reappointment." Santiago-Negrón v. Castro-Dávila, 865 F.2d 431, 437 (1st Cir.1989). However, the fact that reinstatement is available does not mean that it is inevitable. See Rosario-Torres v. Hernández-Colón, 889 F.2d 314, 321 (1st Cir.1989). To say that reinstatement is available but not inevitable is to declare that it is a remedy that lies within the discretion of the trial court. Id. (citing Aggarwal v. Ponce Sch. of Medicine, 745 F.2d 723, 727 (1st Cir.1984)). Reinstatement is an equitable remedy and "the hallmark of equity is the ability to assess all relevant facts and circumstances and tailor appropriate relief on a case by case basis." Rosario-Torres v. Hernández-Colón, 889 F.2d at 321 (citing Burton v. Cascade Sch. Dist. Union High Sch. No. 5, 512 F.2d 850, 853-54 (9th Cir.1975)). In other words, "[o]nce a right and a violation have been shown, the scope of a district court's equitable powers to remedy past wrongs is broad, for breadth and flexibility are inherent in equitable remedies." Rosario-Torres v. Hernández-Colón, 889 F.2d at 321 (quoting Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 402 U.S. 1, 15, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971)).

A district court must apply its discretion to determine whether under the circumstances, reinstatement is appropriate. See Velázquez v. Figueroa-Gómez, 996 F.2d 425, 428 (1st Cir.1993). Some relevant factors that must be considered are:

1) the strength of the evidence proving the first amendment violation; 2) whether the discharged employee has found comparable work; 3) whether there is a property right in the position held by the employee; 4) the eligibility of the employee for the position, and whether or not the employee met established qualifications; 5) whether or not the reinstatement would implicate federalism and comity concerns; 6) the length of time which has elapsed between the dismissals and reinstatement; and 7) whether plaintiffs were given a significant monetary award thereby making denial of reinstatement acceptable.

Rodriguez Vázquez v. López Martinez, No. Civ. 01-1541(JP), 2003 WL 716661, at *1 (D.P.R. Feb.21, 2003); see also Velázquez v. Figueroa-Gómez, 996 F.2d at 429; Acevedo-Díaz v. Aponte, 1 F.3d 62, 74 n. 14 (1st Cir.1993); Hiraldo-Cancel v. Aponte, 925 F.2d 10, 13-14 (1st Cir.1991); Rosario-Torres v. Hernandez-Colón, 889 F.2d at 322-24.

The consideration of these factors is made without the benefit of any argument that the Department of Justice might have advanced against reinstatement. This is so because the co-defendants have failed to file a timely opposition to plaintiffs motion for reinstatement. In any event, after considering the merits of plaintiffs motion and balancing the factors that militate in favor of and against reinstatement, I conclude that plaintiff should be reinstated in the position he held at the Special Investigations Bureau.

First, at least against four of the original seven co-defendants, the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to justify having the jury determine that plaintiffs first amendment rights were violated. See Tejada-Batista v. Fuentes-Agostini, 251 F.Supp.2d 1048, 1054 (D.P.R.2003). Even though the jury found in favor of plaintiff against only two of these defendants, the evidence presented pointed to a possible finding of liability. Reinstatement in this sense is warranted.

Second, it has been established that plaintiff has been unable to find comparable work since the discharge. He worked at a gas station and at the post office according to what the evidence at trial revealed, but as of today, is unemployed. Thus, this factor weighs substantially in favor of reinstatement.

Third, plaintiff had a property right in the position he held at the Department of Justice. He was not an employee at will; rather, he had an expectation of continued employment at the time he was discharged. Therefore, this factor tips the scales in plaintiff's favor as well.

Additionally, there is nothing in the record to suggest that plaintiff is not eligible for the position he previously held as an agent for the Special Investigations Bureau or that a decision in favor of reinstatement would implicate federalism or comity concerns. The only factor that seems to go against plaintiff is the length of time which has elapsed between the dismissal and reinstatement. Here, over six years have passed; however, in light of the fact that all other factors are decided in plaintiffs favor, the length of time weighs lightly against reinstatement. Denial of reinstatement would not be acceptable if one considers an award of damages ($125,000 for loss of income) that barely covered what plaintiff failed to earn in six years. In the balance of these factors, I find that reinstatement is warranted.

Finally, I am mindful that in this context, a court-ordered reunion between employer and employee usually burdens government operations with the hostility and antagonism that as a consequence is revived in the aftermath of litigation. Hiraldo-Cancel v. Aponte, 925 F.2d at 13-14. Nevertheless, "such routinely `incidental' burdens, in their accustomed manifestations, are foreseeable sequelae [sic] of defendant's wrongdoing, and usually insufficient, without more, to tip the scales against reinstatement when first amendment rights are at stake in a section 1983 action." Rosario-Torres v. Hernández-Colón, 889 F.2d at 322. After all, although not a presumptive entitlement under section 1983, reinstatement may offer significant deterrent and curative value in appropriate cases. Hiraldo-Cancel v. Aponte, 925 F.2d at 13. Thus, "`[i]f an employer's best efforts to remove an employee for unconstitutional reasons are presumptively unlikely to...