Nieto-Vincenty v. Valledor

22 F. Supp. 3d 153, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75678, 2014 WL 2311056
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedMay 30, 2014
DocketCivil No. 12-1585 (FAB)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 22 F. Supp. 3d 153 (Nieto-Vincenty v. Valledor) 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
Nieto-Vincenty v. Valledor, 22 F. Supp. 3d 153, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75678, 2014 WL 2311056 (prd 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

BESOSA, District Judge.

Before the Court are three motions for summary judgment: one filed by Jose A. Valledor, Concepcion Valledor, and their conjugal partnership (Docket No. 75); a second filed by those same defendants, as well as Zurqui, Inc. d/b/a Sea Watch Divers (“Zurqui”), and Ronald Jose Valledor (Docket No. 80); and a third filed by Pal-[156]*156mas del Mar Yacht Club and Marina (“PDMYC”) (Docket No. 81.) Also pending is a motion to strike. (Docket No. 95.) After considering all relevant motions and replies, the Court now GRANTS the motions for summary judgment at Docket Numbers 75 and 81, GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the motion for summary judgment at Docket Number 80, and DENIES the motion to strike at Docket Number 95.

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment serves to assess the evidence and determine if there is a genuine need for trial. Garside v. Oseo Drug, Inc., 895 F.2d 46, 50 (1st Cir.1990). The Court may grant a motion for summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). A fact is “material” if it has the potential to “affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Id. A dispute is “genuine” when it “could be resolved in favor of either party.” Calero-Cerezo v. U.S. Dep’t. of Justice, 355 F.3d 6, 19 (1st Cir.2004). The party moving for summary judgment has the initial burden of “de-monstrat[ing] the absence of a genuine issue of material fact” with definite and competent evidence. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Maldonado-Denis v. Castillo-Rodriguez, 23 F.3d 576, 581 (1st Cir.1994). It must identify “portions of ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any’ ” which support its motion. Id. (citing Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)). Once a properly supported motion has been presented, the burden shifts to the non-moving party “to demonstrate that a trier of fact reasonably could find in [its] favor.” Santiago-Ramos v. Centennial P.R. Wireless Corp., 217 F.3d 46, 52 (1st Cir.2000) (internal citation omitted).

It is well-settled that “[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence” is insufficient to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). “[A] party opposing summary judgment^ therefore,] must ‘present definite, competent evidence to rebut the motion.’ ” Maldonado-Denis, 23 F.3d at 581 (internal citation omitted). In making this assessment, the Court must take the entire record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw all reasonable inferences in its favor. Farmers Ins. Exch. v. RNK, Inc., 632 F.3d 777, 779-80 (1st Cir.2011).

II. Zurqui, Inc.’s and the Valledor Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment

Defendants Zurqui, Inc. d/b/a Sea Watch Divers (“Zurqui, Inc.”), Ronald Jose Valle-dor, Jose A. Valledor, Concepcion Valle-dor, and the conjugal partnership between Jose and Concepcion Valledor (collectively, “the Valledor defendants”) move for summary judgment on three different grounds. (Docket No. 80.) After addressing defendants’ motion to strike plaintiffs’ expert witness (Docket No. 95), the Court will address each ground for summary judgment in turn.

A. Motion to Strike Plaintiffs’ Expert Witness

Pursuant to deadlines agreed upon by the parties, plaintiffs’ written answers to discovery were due on August 30, 2013, their expert reports on September 3, 2013, and their expert names and curricula vitae on September 6, 2013; discovery closed on February 7, 2014. (Docket No. 95.) On August 30, 2013, plaintiffs provided defen[157]*157dants with a preliminary report by an expert witness with whom they had consulted, Commander John Deck III. (Docket Nos. 103-1 & 103-2.) On April 21, 2014, plaintiffs submitted a supplemental report by Commander Deck as an attachment to their opposing statement of material facts. (Docket No. 87-15.) That same day, Zurqui, Inc. and the Valledor defendants moved to strike Commander Deck’s unsworn declaration and supplemental report, and to preclude the designation of Commander Deck as an expert witness. (Docket No. 95.) Defendants contend that, despite their allowing plaintiffs multiple extensions of time to comply with discovery obligations and deadlines, plaintiffs failed to designate their expert witness and submit a supplemental expert report before the mutually agreed upon deadline. Id.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 provides for the exclusion of tardy expert witness disclosures “unless the failure was substantially justified or is harmless.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 37(c)(1). Plaintiffs do not offer any justification for their failure to comply fully with their supplemental discovery and disclosure deadlines, and the Court sympathizes with defendants’ frustration. Nevertheless, the Court finds that plaintiffs’ tardiness was harmless. Defendants had knowledge of plaintiffs’ expert’s identity and the substance of his preliminary report on August 30, 2013. (Docket Nos. 103-1 & 103-2.) Additionally, defendants assure that they did not “throw caution to the wind and simply assume that [pjlaintiffs had not designated an expert witness,” but rather retained two expert witnesses of their own. (Docket No. 95 at ¶ 15.) Their suspicion that plaintiffs would eventually designate Captain Deck takes the wind out of the sails of defendants’ prejudice argument and indicates that defendants could have similarly arranged to depose him prior to the close of discovery. Accordingly, .defendants’ motion to strike (Docket No. 95) is DENIED. The Court declines to reopen discovery; any future non-compliance on behalf of either party, particularly the plaintiffs, however, will result in sanctions.

B. Uncontested Facts

On July 24, 2011, the M/V Sea Watch (“Sea Watch”), a seagoing diesel-propelled vessel, sank approximately 3.4 miles off the coast of Humacao, Puerto Rico. (Docket No. 82-1 at ¶ 9.) At that time, twenty-three persons were on board the vessel, including twenty-one plaintiffs as passengers, Ronald Valledor at the helm, and crew-member Edwin Sanchez.1 (Docket No. 82-1 at ¶ 7.) All passengers on board the vessel were rescued. (Docket No.

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Bluebook (online)
22 F. Supp. 3d 153, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75678, 2014 WL 2311056, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nieto-vincenty-v-valledor-prd-2014.