Martinez-Gonzalez v. Catholic Schools of the Archdioceses of San Juan Pension Plan

235 F. Supp. 3d 334, 2017 WL 382711, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11903
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJanuary 27, 2017
DocketCIVIL NO. 16-2077 (GAG)
StatusPublished

This text of 235 F. Supp. 3d 334 (Martinez-Gonzalez v. Catholic Schools of the Archdioceses of San Juan Pension Plan) 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
Martinez-Gonzalez v. Catholic Schools of the Archdioceses of San Juan Pension Plan, 235 F. Supp. 3d 334, 2017 WL 382711, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11903 (prd 2017).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

GUSTAVO A. GELPI, United States District Judge

Magistrate Judge Bruce McGiverin’s Report and Recommendation (Docket No. 77) on Defendants’ motion to dismiss is hereby ADOPTED in its entirety. Accordingly, Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint (Docket No. 27) is DENIED.

The undersigned has received and reviewed the objection to the Report and Recommendation filed by Defendants Superintendence of Catholic Schools of the Archdioceses of San Juan (the “Superintendence”) and the Trust of the Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of San Juan Pension Plan (“Plan’s Trust”). (Docket No. 79.) The Court also notes that co-Defendants Juan Santa and Rosa Figueroa have joined in Defendants’ objection. (Docket No. 80.)

Applying a de novo standard of review, I hereby accept and adopt as my own Judge McGiverin’s legal conclusions based on the allegations set forth in the Amended Complaint. The Court agrees that the factual record must be developed before the Court can consider a summary judgment motion. The case is hereby referred again to Judge Bruce McGiverin for an Initial Scheduling Conference, in which he will order and set a fast-track discovery schedule on the threshold issues at bar. A deadline for summary judgment filings will be set accordingly.

The fact that Defendants’ motion to dismiss has been denied does not necessarily entail that the same result will follow at summary judgment. The Court is aware of the litigation pending before the Supreme Court that relates to’ this threshold issue. The factual record must be developed. The parties will have the opportunity to address any new Supreme Court precedent at summary judgment. Once the Court rules on the summary judgment matter, if favorable to Plaintiffs, the matter of in-junctive relief will be addressed at that time.

SO ORDERED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

BRUCE J. MCGIVERIN, United States Magistrate Judge

This case presents an important threshold issue that has been the subject of much recent litigation and that is presently before the U.S. Supreme Court:1 whether the church-plan exemption under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA” or “Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., applies so long as a pension plan is maintained by an otherwise qualifying church-affiliated organization, or whether the exemption applies only if, in addition, a church initially established the plgn. Ivette Martinez-Gonzalez and other alleged beneficiaries (collectively, “Martinez”) of the Catholic Schools of the Archdioceses of San Juan Pension Plan (the “Plan”) brought this ERISA action against the Plan, the Plan’s administrators, and the Plan’s sponsor—the Superintendence of Catholic Schools of the Archdioceses of [337]*337San Juan (the “Superintendence”).2 The Superintendence, joined by the Plan’s Trust and the Plan’s administrators, moved to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim and lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, Docket Nos. 27, 37, 48-1, 75, and Martinez opposed. Docket Nos. 41, 45, 61-1, 73. This matter was referred to me for a report and recommendation. Docket Nos. 54, 74.

For the reasons set forth below, the motion to dismiss should be DENIED.

MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) governs motions to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). The “party invoking the jurisdiction of a federal court carries the burden of proving its existence.” P.R. Tel. Co. v. Telecomm’s Reg. Bd. of P.R., 189 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 1999). When deciding whether subject-matter jurisdiction exists, the court follows two general rubrics: (1) when a defendant challenges the legal sufficiency of the facts alleged, the court credits the plaintiffs’ factual allegations and draws reasonable inferences in his or her favor; and (2) when the defendant challenges the truth of facts alleged by the plaintiff and offers contrary evidence, the court weighs the evidence. Valentin v. Hosp. Bella Vista, 254 F.3d 358, 363 (1st Cir. 2001).

To survive a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), on the other hand, “an adequate complaint must provide fair notice to the defendants and state a facially plausible legal claim.” Ocasio-Hernández v. Fortuño-Burset, 640 F.3d 1, 12 (1st Cir. 2011). To do so, the complaint must set forth “factual allegations, either direct or inferential, regarding each material element necessary” for the action. Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corp., 851 F.2d 513, 514 (1st Cir. 1988). When evaluating the complaint, the court first discards any “‘legal conclusions couched as fact’ or ‘threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action.’ ” Ocasio-Hernández, 640 F.3d at 12 (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). The remaining “[n]on-conclusory factual allegations” are fully credited, “even if seemingly incredible.” Ocasio-Hernández, 640 F.3d at 12. The court engages in no fact-finding when considering the motion, and does not “forecast a plaintiffs likelihood of success on the merits.” Id. at 13. Rather, the court presumes that the facts are as properly alleged by the plaintiff, and draws all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55 (1st Cir. 2012). Taken together, the facts pleaded must “state a plausible, not a merely conceivable, case for relief.” Ocasio-Hernández, 640 F.3d at 12.

BACKGROUND3

Around 40 years ago, the Superintendence “established” a multiple-employer, defined-benefit pension plan (the “Plan”) for employees of Catholic schools in Puerto Rico that elected to participate in the Plan. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 5, 19. These schools are allegedly controlled by an independent board of directors rather than the Roman Catholic Church of Puerto Rico. Id. A trust was established for the Plan, and several fiduciaries were designated to ad[338]*338minister the Plan. Id. ¶¶..5, 7-14. Martinez and all other plaintiffs named in the complaint reside in Puerto Rico and are vested participants or beneficiaries of the Plan, Id. ¶¶ 4, 59. .

The Plan

The Plan was established in 1979, and the Superintendence was identified as the Plan’s “settlor or sponsor.” Id. ¶¶ 6, 19.-Several fiduciaries, along with the Superintendence, were designated at that time to establish a trust that would administer the Plan. Id. ¶ 19. The Deed of Trust; which was approved by the Plan, required the trustees to pay a bond pursuant to a statutory provision of ERISA. Id. ¶¶ 21, 22; Article' 2 of the Plan provides that it shall be “interpreted and administered in a consistent manner with the provisions” of ERISA and the income tax law of Puerto Rico, “or any future provision of any applicable law.” Id. ¶ 22.

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Bluebook (online)
235 F. Supp. 3d 334, 2017 WL 382711, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11903, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-gonzalez-v-catholic-schools-of-the-archdioceses-of-san-juan-prd-2017.