Navarro v. United States

104 F. Supp. 2d 96, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10087
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 14, 2000
DocketNo. Civ. 96-1653(HL)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 104 F. Supp. 2d 96 (Navarro v. United States) 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
Navarro v. United States, 104 F. Supp. 2d 96, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10087 (prd 2000).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

LAFFITTE, Chief Judge.

This litigation arises out of Plaintiff Je-sús Marti Navarro’s (“Marti”) termination from his job as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). Marti alleges that his termination was in violation of several provisions of federal law. Although Martfs complaint attempts to set forth seven separate causes of action, Marti in fact sets forth only four distinct claims.

First, Marti asserts that his firing constitutes a deprivation of property without due process of law. See U.S. Const. Amend. V. Second, Marti argues that Defendants deprived him of liberty without due process of law. See Id. Third, Marti claims that Defendants abridged his right to equal protection of the laws under the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. See Id.; Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497, 74 S.Ct. 693, 98 L.Ed. 884 (1954) (holding that “the concepts of equal protection and due process ... are not mutually exclusive.... [Discrimination may be so unjustifiable as to be violative of due process.”); 3 Ronald D. Rotunda & John E. Nowak, Treatise on Constitutional Law § 18.1 (3rd ed.1999) (stating that “classifications established by federal law are reviewed under the implied equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment due process clause”). The Court treats these claims for constitutional violations as claims under Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotic Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971). Fourth, Marti brings a claim of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e et seq. (West 1994).

Before the Court are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. No. 9, Plaintiffs Opposition, Dkt. No. 14, Defendant’s Reply, Dkt. No. 27, and Plaintiffs Sur-reply, Dkt. No. 30. Further, Defendant has filed a separate Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint, Dkt. No. 20, and Plaintiff has submitted an Opposition, Dkt. No. 23.

For reasons to follow, the Court hereby grants Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Martfs claim of deprivation of property without due process of law, his claim of deprivation of liberty without due process of law, his equal protection claim, and his Title VII claim. Accordingly, all of Martfs claims are hereby dismissed with prejudice.

[99]*99Statement of Facts

The pertinent facts of this case are as follows. On July 28, 1986, Marti became a Special Agent with the FBI. In October of 1989, Marti was transferred from Newark, New Jersey to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The events that give rise to this case occurred while Marti was assigned as a Special Agent on an investigation to which the FBI referred as “Broomstick.” As part of this investigation, in 1991, Marti on behalf of the FBI gave a $2,500.00 security deposit for electricity to the owner of a property that the FBI was leasing for use in its covert operations.

Skipping past events that have no bearing on this case, in 1993, after the FBI no longer needed to use the leased property, Marti returned to the owner of the property to collect the FBI’s $2,500.00 security deposit. The owner of the property made out a check to Marti himself for $2,500.00. Upon receipt of this check, Marti substituted $2500.00 in cash of his own money for the check, and went to the FBI office to give the cash to the FBI. Marti deposited the check into his personal checking account.

When Marti attempted to give the money to Special Agent Allan Gómez (“SA Gómez”) at the FBI office, Marti was told to hold onto the money for a while. Marti did this, eventually storing the money in a briefcase in a closet in his home. After suffering a severe head injury in a hit-and-run collision, Marti was approached by SA Gómez regarding the funds on October 12, 1993. Marti, at that time, was confused and stated that he had turned the money into the FBI office. The next day, Marti told SA Gómez that the money was in his home. The day after that, Marti returned the money to the FBI.

Eventually, an investigation by the FBI of the events surrounding the handling of the security deposit funds resulted in Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Opfer (“SAC Opfer”) issuing to Marti a formal letter of censure on April 22, 1994. In April of 1994, SAC Opfer also named Mar-tí acting Principal Legal Advisor of the FBI’s San Juan division, a position that he occupied until his dismissal. On November 16, 1994, newly-arrived Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein (“SAC Schwein”) delivered to Marti a letter from FBI Headquarters dated November 10, 1994 and advising Marti that the FBI was considering dismissing him. Then, on March 6, 1995, Marti received a letter from FBI Headquarters dated February 27, 1995 dismissing Marti from the FBI for conversion of FBI funds. Marti filed a request for reconsideration on April 4, 1995. His request was denied on August 30, 1995, and he received the denial on September 9, 1995. On May 24, 1996, Marti filed this lawsuit.

Discussion

Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss Marti’s claims under several provisions of Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b). The Court shall treat the Motion to Dismiss as having been brought pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). In ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a court must accept all well-pled factual averments as true and must draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. Carports Distribution Ctr., Inc. v. Automotive Wholesaler’s Assn., 37 F.3d 12, 14 (1st Cir.1994). A court should not dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim unless it is clear that the plaintiff will be unable to prove any set of facts which would entitle him to recovery. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Miranda v. Ponce Federal Bank, 948 F.2d 41, 44 (1st Cir.1991). In his complaint a plaintiff is obliged to allege facts regarding each essential element necessary to entitle him to recovery under an actionable legal theory. Roth v. United States, 952 F.2d 611, 613 (1st Cir.1991) (quoting Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corp., 851 F.2d 513, 515 (1st Cir.1988)).

Marti’s first claim is that he was deprived of property without due process of law. While the parties agree that an FBI Special Agent normally has no expec[100]*100tation of continued employment,1 Marti argues that the letter of censure issued to him by the FBI vested him with a property interest in continued employment with the FBI.2 According to Marti, the FBI’s issuance of the letter of censure effectively barred the FBI from imposing further discipline on Marti for any events arising from the handling of the $2,500.00 security deposit. Thus, Marti argues that he had a legitimate expectation that his employment would not be terminated for reasons relating to the security deposit incident.

Even if Marti has alleged facts adequate to support his contention that he had a legitimate expectation of continued employment with the FBI, he has not alleged facts sufficient to show that he was deprived of a property interest without due process of law.

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Marti Navarro v. United States
104 F. Supp. 2d 96 (D. Puerto Rico, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
104 F. Supp. 2d 96, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10087, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/navarro-v-united-states-prd-2000.