de Martinez v. Gardner

291 F. Supp. 132, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12454
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 11, 1968
DocketCiv. No. 627-67
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 291 F. Supp. 132 (de Martinez v. Gardner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
de Martinez v. Gardner, 291 F. Supp. 132, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12454 (prd 1968).

Opinion

OPINION

CANCIO, Chief Judge.

This is an action brought before this Court pursuant to Section 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.A., Section 405(g) to review a final decision of the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare set forth in the decision reached by the Hearing Examiner on December 19, 1966 (Tr. 5) and which became a final decision of the Secretary on July 17, 1967, when the Appeals Council denied plaintiff’s request for review (Tr. 1). The final decision holds that the plaintiff is not entitled to old-age social security benefits on the basis of her application filed on July 16,1965.

The Hearing Examiner rested his decision on his finding that the evidence adduced in this case does not support the conclusion that the claimant was employed by Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico from January 1, 1963, through June 1965, and that the amount allegedly paid to her by Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico was actually paid and constituted “wages” under the Social Security Act.

Based upon the ground that the pleadings on file, together with the transcript of the administrative record attached to the answer show that there is no genuine issue as to the material facts of the case, the defendant has moved for a summary judgment in his favor, pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This the plaintiff has opposed.

The question presented and submitted with supporting briefs from each side is whether under the Social Security Act there existed an employer-employee relationship between the Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico and plaintiff during the period from January 1, 1963 through June 1965.

On this question the Court is empowered to enter upon the pleadings and transcript of the. record, a judgment [135]*135affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Secretary, with or without remanding the cause for a rehearing. 42 U.S.C.A. Section 405(g).

Whether plaintiff is entitled to social security benefits as an “employee” presents an “issue of law” rather than of fact, involving construction of Section 210(j) of Title II of the Social Security Act and, hence, the rule that reviewing court must accept finding of Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare if supported by substantial evidence is inapplicable here. Carroll v. Social Security Board, (C.C.A.7, 1942) 128 F.2d 876; Celebrezze v. Wifstad, (C.C.8) 314 F.2d 208 (1968).

In Universal Camera Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board (1951) 340 U.S. 474, 490, 71 S.Ct. 456, 95 L.Ed. 456, the Supreme Court of the United States directed and cautioned that

“Courts must now assume more responsibility for the reasonableness and fairness of Labor Board decisions than some courts have shown in the past. Reviewing courts must be influenced by a feeling that they are not to abdicate the conventional judicial function.”

In Scott v. Celebrezze, 241 F.Supp. 733, 736 (S.D.N.Y.), Judge Feinberg emphasized how searching must be the review of the courts of the action of the Secretary, and mentioned that in the cases reported in volumes 227-236 of Federal Supplement, the Secretary’s decision was upheld only 27 times, but reversed or remanded 47 times.

In the exercise of its power to affirm, modify or reverse the decision in this case, with or without remanding the cause for a rehearing, this Court does not take the administrative decision as conclusive in view of the fact that the ruling of the Hearing Examiner excludes from the ambit of the Social Security Act payments that, we think, were included by Congress. Social Security Board v. Nierotko, 327 U.S. 358, 66 S.Ct. 637, 90 L.Ed. 718 (1946).

FACTS

So far as they are important to the legal issues here, the facts are simple and taken from the record may be synthesized as follows:

1. Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico is a bonding surety company organized on May 15, 1961 under the Insurance Code of Puerto Rico. It was approved and chartered by the Insurance Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico on August 8, 1961. By virtue of Sec. 29.050(1) of said Code it acquired juridical personality in its own name for the duration of its existence.

2. Edelmiro Martinez Rivera is the husband of the claimant and the President and majority stockholder of the named Corporation, which is a family corporation. The Company was organized by Edelmiro Martinez Rivera, his wife Rita V. de Martínez, his son Edelmiro Martinez, Jr., his brother-in-law Oscar Vere, and his daughter-in-law Ann Damiano Martínez. (Tr. page 45). All of them constituted the initial Board of Directors. (Tr. page 203).

3. Plaintiff was elected, qualified and served as officer of the Corporation and as its Secretary from August 1961 through 1965. (Tr. pages 205-221).

4. At a meeting of the stockholders held on January 10, 1963, the Assembly voted the salaries of the officers of the Corporation, effective from January 1, 1963 at $3,000 monthly for the President; $300 monthly for the Treasurer, and $300 monthly for the Secretary. (Tr. page 214).

5. The monthly salaries of the officers of the Corporation, approved and assigned as stated, were entered in the accounting books of the Company and credited monthly in their individual names. The entries show the $300 [136]*136monthly salary credited and paid to the claimant. (Tr. pages 109-117).

6. A Field Representative of the Social Security Administration investigated at the offices of the Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico and determined that the checks listed in the Examiner’s decision had been issued to the plaintiff, and verified that the accounting books of the Corporation indicated that $300.00 monthly “had been paid as salary to the claimant.” (See Examiner’s decision, Tr. page 8).

7. The employer’s and the employee’s social security tax on the wages paid to plaintiff were reported and paid to the U. S. Internal Revenue Service as required by the Social Security Act.

8. Plaintiff’s application for old age insurance benefits rests on the total amount of wages paid to her in her employment with Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico from January 1, 1963 to June 30, 1965.

The study of the case by the Hearing Examiner resulted in his denial of plaintiff’s application on his conclusion that “the services rendered by the plaintiff were not in pursuit of a valid employer-employee relationship with Compañía de Fianzas de Puerto Rico but were rendered as a friendly gesture to a family corporation and that the amounts paid to her do not constitute ‘wages’ under the Social Security Act.” (Emphasis supplied).

1. We take a different view.

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291 F. Supp. 132, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12454, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-martinez-v-gardner-prd-1968.