Prestige Capital Corp. v. United Surety & Indemnity Co.

245 F. Supp. 3d 349, 2017 WL 1180499, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48176
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedMarch 28, 2017
DocketCIVIL NO. 16-1998 (GAG)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 245 F. Supp. 3d 349 (Prestige Capital Corp. v. United Surety & Indemnity Co.) 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
Prestige Capital Corp. v. United Surety & Indemnity Co., 245 F. Supp. 3d 349, 2017 WL 1180499, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48176 (prd 2017).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GUSTAVO A. GELPI, United States District Judge

On May 29, 2016, Prestige Capital Corporation, (“Prestige” or “Plaintiff’) filed the instant suit against United Surety and [351]*351Indemnity Company (“USIC”) seeking reimbursement of the funds USIC acquired in an interpleader action in local court. (Docket No. 1.) In essence, Prestige argues it has a superior claim over the $104,505.36 conferred to USIC and thus, requests the Court order their reimbursement. Id. Prestige invokes the Court’s diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

Pending before the Court is USIC’s Motion to Dismiss at Docket No. 10. After carefully reviewing the parties’ submissions and pertinent law, the Court GRANTS USIC’s Motion to Dismiss.

I. Relevant Factual and Procedural Background

Prestige is a New Jersey corporation with its principal place of business in Fort Lee, New Jersey that provides accounts receivables financing, among other services. (Docket No. 1 ¶ 4.) USIC is á corporation organized under the laws of Puerto Rico that engages in the surety business. Id. ¶5.

A. Prestige-Pipeliners: Purchase and Sale Agreements

On June 9, 2005, Prestige and Pipeliners of Puerto Rico, Inc. (“Pipeliners”) entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “P & S Agreement”) under which Pipelin-ers sold to Prestige certain accounts receivables and contract rights of Pipeliners. Id. ¶ 6. Section 11 of the P&S Agreement provides that Pipeliners grants to Prestige a continuing security interest in, and a lien upon, all its accounts, inventory, instruments, documents, chattel paper and general intangibles, as such terms are defined in the Puerto Rico Commercial Transactions Act, then existing or thereafter acquired by Pipeliners at any time which were in Prestige’s possession. Id. ¶ 7.

B. Pipeliners-PRASA Contracts

Pipeliners entered into several contracts with the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and. Sewer Authority (“PRASA”) for the provision of services in connection with the maintenance, repair and construction of PRASA’s infrastructure. Id. ¶ 9. On May 19, 2010, PRASA and Pipeliners executed the “Agreement for Capacity Increase of the Sewer Trunk from 8 to 10” and “Connections, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico”. Id. ¶10. USIC issued a Payment and Performance Bond to guarantee the project’s completion. Id. These PRASA contracts required that PRASA pay Pipeliners on the basis of certifications of work and purchase of materials. Two of these certifications were the following: A) Certification # CIF-7128000-1 for $127,260.12 and B) Certification # CIP-7128000-2 for $311,893.01. (collectively “Certifications 1 and 2”). Id. ¶ 11. These certifications were.invoiced to PRA-SA for work done by Pipeliners. Id. Pursuant to the terms of the P&S Agreement, PRASA was required to pay to Prestige or Pipeliners the amounts which would be owed to Pipeliners under Certifications 1 and 2. Id. ¶ 12.

Pipeliners failed to fulfill its payment obligations; therefore, all amounts advanced by Prestige to Pipeliners became due. (Docket No. 1 ¶ 13.) Pipeliners defaulted under the terms and conditions of the P&S Agreement and, as of November 23, 2010, owed Prestige not less than $1,211,968.66, plus accruing costs and fees. Id. On November 23,2010, Prestige served Pipeliners a notice informing that it had defaulted under the terms and conditions provided in the P&S Agreement, owing as of that date an outstanding balance of not less than $1,210,527.18, plus accrued interests and costs. It demanded payment thereof. Id. ¶ 14. On November 29, 2010, Prestige also served a notice of foreclosure of Pipeliners’ accounts to its account debtors, including PRASA. Id ¶ 15.

Due to Pipeliners’ failure to pay, on November 30, 2010, Prestige filed a collec[352]*352tion of monies civil action in this court against Pipeliners, PRASA—as assignee of the amounts owed by PRASA to Pipeliners through the P&S Agreement—and against the Economic Development Bank for Puer-to Rico (“EDB”) because this entity also claimed payment of the amounts owed by PRASA to Prestige (Case No. 10-2155 (PG)) (“District Court Case”). (Docket No. 1 ¶ 16.)

C. The Interpleader Action

On December 3, 2010, PRASA filed an interpleader action pursuant to Rule 19 of the Puerto Rico Rules of Civil Procedure, P.R. Laws Ann. tit, 32A, App. V., in the Puerto Rico Superior Court, San Juan Part, to consign therein the funds requested for payment through the Certifications 1 and 2, (Case No. KAC 2010-1450(508)) (“Interpleader Action”). (Docket No. 1 ¶ 17.) USIC was not party to the inter-pleader action because, at that moment, it had not disbursed any funds for the completion of the project, had not made any work related to the project; and had not made any claims to the funds whose payment had been requested through Certifications 1 and 2. Id. On May 20, 2011, PRASA notified Pipeliners that it had not complied with the terms of their agreement and was terminated for default. Id As stated in the preceding paragraph, by this date PRASA had filed the interpleader action, thus admitting that the amounts requested in Pipeliners' Certifications 1 and 2 for work done by it were in fact owed. (Docket No. 1 ¶ 18.)

D. Takeover Agreement

On January 11, 2013, PRASA and USIC executed a Takeover Agreement whereby USIC would complete the project. Id. ¶ 19. Paragraph 3(b) of the Takeover Agreement provides that Pipeliners sent Certifications 1 and 2 to PRASA for work performed. Id.

USIC allegedly spent $279,321.75 in the completion of the project. Id. Because this amount exceeded the Project’s remaining balance (after the Certifications 1 and 2 consigned of the funds in the interpleader action by $104,505.56) USIC filed a motion to intervene and a complaint in the inter-pleader action claiming a preferential credit to recover the excess amount spent to complete the project. IA ¶ 20.

The District Court case was eventually settled through a “Final Settlement Agreement” dated July 14, 2015. Id. ¶ 21. Negotiations between the defendants in the in-terpleader action ensued and a stipulation between Prestige and the Puerto Rico Treasury Department was executed. Id. USIC opposed this stipulation. In order to end the controversies as to the monies consigned by PRASA through the inter-pleader action and permit that the stipulation between Prestige and the Puerto Rico Treasury Department be approved, Prestige and USIC negotiated and executed a stipulation to eliminate the sole objection to the stipulation between Prestige and Puerto Rico Treasury Department. Id. Partial Judgment entered in the Inter-pleader Action and notified on August 26, 2015, approving both stipulations and providing that under the stipulation between Prestige and USIC, Prestige reserved its right to claim that USIC reimburse to Prestige the $104,505.36 it had received from the funds deposited in court in order to eliminate the objection to the stipulation between Prestige and P.R. Treasury. (Docket No. 1¶ 21.)

■ E. The instant action

On May 19, 2016, Prestige filed the above-captioned complaint, requesting that USIC reimburse it the $104,505 to which is legally entitled under the duly recorded Agreement.

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245 F. Supp. 3d 349, 2017 WL 1180499, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/prestige-capital-corp-v-united-surety-indemnity-co-prd-2017.