De Vane v. United States

• Decision Date: 06 October 1966
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 280-66.
• Citation: 259 F. Supp. 18
• Parties: Richard W. DE VANE, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Jerguson Gage & Valve Co., Jackson & Moreland, Inc., Maxon Construction Co., P. R. Avery Company (formerly Avery Saul Co., Inc.), Burns & Roe Western Hemisphere Corp., Grinell Company, Inc., Corning Glass Works and the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority, Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

259 F. Supp. 18

Richard W. DE VANE, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Jerguson Gage & Valve Co., Jackson & Moreland, Inc., Maxon Construction Co., P. R. Avery Company (formerly Avery Saul Co., Inc.), Burns & Roe Western Hemisphere Corp., Grinell Company, Inc., Corning Glass Works and the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority, Inc., Defendants.

Civ. No. 280-66.

United States District Court D. Puerto Rico.

October 6, 1966.

Nachman & Feldstein, San Juan, P. R., for plaintiff.

Pieras & Martin, Gonzalez Jr., Gonzalez, Oliver & Novak, Rieckehoff, Calderon, Vargas & Arroyo, Hartzel, Fernandez & Novas, San Juan, P. R., for defendants.

ORDER

CANCIO, District Judge.

This case is now before the Court on a motion by defendant, Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority, requesting the dismissal of plaintiff's complaint on the ground that, on its face, the cause of action pursued is barred by the provisions of Article 1868¹ of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, 31 L.P.R.A. § 5298, since the facts of the accident alleged and set forth occurred on July 5, 1964, and the complaint was filed on May 26, 1966, that is, almost two years later, the statute of limitations being for one year.

Plaintiff has also requested from this Court the opportunity to file a new complaint setting forth the basis for the tolling of the statute of limitation of Puerto Rico.

Plaintiff submitted to this Court that the basis for the tolling of the statute of limitation in Puerto Rico consisted in the assumption that the plaintiff's employer, although uninsured with the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund, was insured pursuant to the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Florida, and that medical treatment has been afforded under that act to the plaintiff although no final award has been made as to plaintiff's physical condition. It was also submitted by plaintiff that even assuming that the employer were uninsured under either statute the prescription period has not expired since plaintiff could have received medical treatment under the local Workmen's Compensation Act.

Plaintiff submitted to this Court that pursuant to Florida Workmen's Compensation Statute, plaintiff has four years from the date of the accident within which his suit, as the one of the case at bar, may be brought.

At the time of the alleged accident, plaintiff was a domiciliary of the State of Florida and an employee of General Nuclear Engineering Corporation, incorporated and doing business within the State of Florida. Plaintiff was insured by this corporation in accordance with the laws of Florida. He was assigned to the Bonus plant in Puerto Rico, and was in the pursuance of his duties when the accident allegedly occurred. The Florida Corporation had not insured its employees in accordance with the Workmen's Compensation Act of Puerto Rico.

Plaintiff contends that, in this case, it is the law of Florida that must be applied and not the Puerto Rican law. This is a crucial point for, if he is correct, then this Court must apply the Florida statute of limitations which runs for four years—7 Florida Statutes Annotated § 95.11(a)—and not the Statute of Puerto Rico which runs for one year —31 L.P.R.A. § 5298.

As noted above, the alleged accident occurred in Puerto Rico. The Rule of Conflicts regarding actions in torts in this jurisdiction is that the law of the place of the tort (lex loci delicti) is to apply. Therefore, the law of the forum (lex fori) to be applied is the substantive and procedural law of Puerto Rico, the fact that plaintiff is a domiciliary of the State of Florida notwithstanding.

On this question, there is no rule of renvoi in tort actions brought within this jurisdiction. However, even if we assume for the sake of argument that the law of Florida is to be applied, we would still end up by applying the law of Puerto Rico on the question of the statute of limitations. On this point, the law of the State of Florida is explicit:

When the cause of action has arisen in another state or territory of the United States, or in a foreign country, and by the laws thereof an action thereon cannot be maintained against a person by reason of the lapse of time, no action thereon shall be maintained against him in this state. 8 F.S.A. § 95.10.

If the action can not be maintained in the State of Florida due to the reason that the law applicable in the jurisdiction of Florida would be the law from the jurisdiction where the cause of action has arisen (in this case the law of Puerto Rico) the statute of limitation in Florida allowing four years to bring action within the date of the accident, when the accident occurs in Florida —7 F.S.A. § 95.11(a)—cannot be applied in this case, when the action is brought in court within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico. Whether the Statute of Florida has or not extra-territorial effect on this case has no bearing since the cause of action in this case is barred either under the law of Puerto Rico—31 L.P.R.A. § 5298 — or the law of the State of Florida, adopting and specifically making applicable the statute of limitation from the jurisdiction where the cause of action arises — 8 F.S.A. § 95.10.

Under the laws of Puerto Rico, every employer has the obligation to insure his employees with the State Insurance Fund. 11 L.P.R.A. § 32. In this case, General Nuclear Engineering Corporation had failed to do so; but it had insured plaintiff under the Workmen's Compensation Act of Florida. This, by itself, does not mean that the laws of Florida governing workmen's compensation must be applied here. On the contrary, the law to be applied is the law of Puerto Rico.

This is not the case where a tort has been committed in one jurisdiction and the suit to enforce rights arising from that tort is brought in another. Here, both the place of the tort and the forum are one and the same. Neither is this the case where the plaintiff is suing on rights contracted in another...