Polo-Echevarria v. Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc.

949 F. Supp. 2d 332, 2013 WL 2636890, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84002
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 13, 2013
DocketCivil No. 12-1006 (FAB)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 949 F. Supp. 2d 332 (Polo-Echevarria v. Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc.) 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
Polo-Echevarria v. Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc., 949 F. Supp. 2d 332, 2013 WL 2636890, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84002 (prd 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER1

BESOSA, District Judge.

Before the Court are Centro Medico del Turabo, Inc. d/b/a Hospital HIMA-San Pablo de Caguas (“CMT”), Corporación Puertorriqueña de Salud (“CPS”), and Joaquin Rodriguez Benitez’s (“Rodriguez”) motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). (Docket Nos. 40 & 43.) Plaintiffs Claudio Polo-Calderon and Jonathan Polo-Echevarria opposed these motions. (Docket No. 46.) For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part both motions to dismiss. (Docket Nos. 40 and 43.)

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual History

The Court takes the following facts as true, as pled in the amended complaint:

Plaintiff Jonathan Polo-Echevarria (“Jonathan”) began “working as a clerk for defendants” on January 22, 2011. (Docket No. 27 at 3.) Defendant Rodriguez, the “resident agent” for both CPS and CMT, was Jonathan’s supervisor. Id. Rodriguez began to make “sexually oriented comments” to Jonathan almost immediately after Jonathan began his job. Id. Rodriguez also sent Jonathan “sexually oriented text messages” and “sexually oriented invitations.” Id. The amended complaint provides examples of Rodriguez’s text messages and invitations to Jonathan, including messages that Rodriguez wanted to “jump on” and “grab” Jonathan. Id. at 4. Jonathan alleges that he was fired soon after he “submitted a written complaint at his work place” regarding Rodriguez’s conduct and that his termination constituted retaliation. Id. at 3-4. Jonathan further alleges that no corrective action was taken after he reported the sexual harassment. Id.

Defendants CPS and CMT are both part of the Hospital Interamericano (“HIMA”) group, and CMT is also known as HIMA. Id. at 2. CPS and CMT “share common management.” Id. at 2-3. CPS’s main practice location is at the HIMA hospital in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Id. at 3. CMT also operates at the HIMA hospital in Caguas. Id. Armando Rodriguez is both the vice [335]*335president of the HIMA group and president of the Board of Directors of CPS. Id. CPS and CMT also “share common personnel practices.” Id. For example, HIMA referred Jonathan for pre-employment drug testing before he worked for CPS. Id. Based on these facts, the amended complaint concludes, “[b]oth entities exercised sufficient control over the terms and conditions of employment of Jonathan as to constitute a joint and/or single employer.” Id.

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff Jonathan brings this suit against defendants CMT, CPS, and Rodriguez for (1) sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1981; and (2) retaliation in violation of the Anti-retaliation proviso of Section 704(a) of Title VII. He invokes the Court’s original jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 2201, and 2002. He also invokes supplemental jurisdiction to decide claims arising under Puerto Rico Law No. 100 of June 30, 1959, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 29 §§ 146 et seq.; Law No. 69 of July 6, 1985, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 29 §§ 1321 et seq.; Law No. 17 of April 22, 1988, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 29 §§ 155; Law No. 80 of May 30, 1976, as amended, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 29 §§ 185(a) et seq.; articles 1802 and 1803 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 31 §§ 5141-42; and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Jonathan’s father, Claudio Polo-Calderon (“Claudio”) also invokes the Court’s supplemental jurisdiction to decide his derivative claim pursuant to article 1802 against defendants CMT, CPS and Rodriguez.

Defendants CPS and Rodriguez answered the amended complaint and asserted a plethora of affirmative defenses and additional facts. (See Docket No. 37.) They then filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (Docket No. 43.)

CPS filed its motion before the First Circuit Court of Appeals decided Rodriguez-Reyes v. Molina-Rodriguez, 711 F.3d 49 (1st Cir.2013), and, therefore, measures the plausibility of Jonathan’s allegations against the prima facie standard. Contending that Rodriguez’s alleged conduct was not severe or pervasive, and that the amended complaint does not contain sufficient factual allegations to make Jonathan’s right to recovery plausible, CPS and Rodriguez seek dismissal of all claims asserted against them. Id. at 3. (Docket No. 43 at 9-11.) CPS further argues that Jonathan’s claims pursuant to specific anti-discrimination statutes preclude his claims pursuant to the general provisions of article 1802 of the Civil Code. Id. at 17. Rodriguez also argues that no individual liability exists pursuant to Title VII and that Jonathan failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before filing suit. (Docket No. 43 at 15-16.) Although Jonathan failed to identify his direct employer in the amended complaint, CPS has not denied an employer-employee relationship with Jonathan.

In defendant CMT’s answer to the amended complaint, it asserts that it was never Jonathan’s employer. (Docket No. 39.) CMT then filed a motion to dismiss, contending that the amended complaint does not plead sufficient factual content to raise Jonathan’s right to relief against CMT above the speculative level. (Docket No. 40.) CMT specifically argues that it was not Jonathan’s employer and that the amended complaint does not provide sufficient notice of the facts upon which Jonathan bases his alternate single employer and joint employer theories of liability. Id. at 5-7.

[336]*336II. LEGAL STANDARD

Rule 12(b)(6) permits a court to dismiss a complaint that fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). A court must “accept as true all well-pleaded facts alleged in the complaint and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom in the pleader’s favor.” Rodriguez-Reyes, 711 F.3d at 52-53 (quoting Santiago v. Puerto Rico, 655 F.3d 61, 72 (1st Cir.2011)). A court “may augment these facts and inferences with data points gleaned from documents incorporated by reference into the complaint, matters of public record, and facts susceptible to judicial notice.” Rodriguez-Reyes, 711 F.3d at 53 (quoting Haley v. City of Boston, 657 F.3d 39, 46 (1st Cir.2011)).

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Bluebook (online)
949 F. Supp. 2d 332, 2013 WL 2636890, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84002, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/polo-echevarria-v-centro-medico-del-turabo-inc-prd-2013.