Puerto Rico Medical Emergency Group, Inc. v. Iglesia Episcopal Puertorriqueña, Inc.

118 F. Supp. 3d 447, 2015 WL 4669814
District Court, D. Puerto Rico·Decided August 7, 2015·No. Civil No. 14-1616 (FAB)·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER1

BE SOSA, District Judge.

Before the Court are defendants’ first and second supplemental motions to dismiss the amended complaint, (Docket Nos. 35, 45), which incorporate by reference the motion to dismiss the original complaint, (Docket No. 12). For the reasons explained below, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART defendants’ motions to dismiss and GRANTS plaintiff leave to amend its complaint.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Pleadings and Motions

On August 11, 2014, Puerto Rico Medical Emergency Group, Inc. (“PRMEG”) filed a complaint against Iglesia Episcopal Puertorriqueña, Inc. (“IEP”), Hospital Episcopal San Lucas, Inc. (“HESL”), Ser-vicios Generates Episcopates, Inc. (“SGE”), and Servicios de Salud Episcopales (“SSE”), (collectively, “defendants”). (Docket No. 1.) The complaint alleges violations of sections 1962(b) and 1962(c) of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., (“RICO”), and raises several state law claims. Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (“Rule 12(b)(6)”) on October 10, 2014. (Docket No. 12.) Plaintiff PRMEG opposed the motion to dismiss [452]*452on November 26, 2014, (Docket. No. 17), and filed its first amended complaint on December 2, 2014, (Docket No, 20), with leave from the Court, (Docket No. 19).

On February 13, 2016, defendant IEP filed a supplemental motion to dismiss. (Docket No. 35.) On March 2, 2015, PRMEG opposed that motion, (Docket No. 39), and tendered a second amended complaint, (Docket No. 39-1), for which it sought leave to file, (Docket No. 40). Defendants opposed plaintiffs second request for leave to amend and replied to plaintiffs opposition to the supplemental ■ motion to dismiss on March 17, 2015. (Docket No; 43.)

On April 16, 2015, defendants filed a second supplemental motion to dismiss and again opposed plaintiffs motion for leave to file a second amended complaint, (Docket No. 45), which plaintiff PRMEG opposed, (Docket No. 47).

On May 12, 2015, the Court denied without prejudice PRMÉG’s motion for leave to file a second amended complaint. (Docket No. 49.) The Court reasoned that the tendered factual allegations in ’the second amended complaint did not add any detail relating to when and where defendants allegedly used mails and wires to commit fraud, and thus fell outside the relaxed standard for allowing amendments of this type. I'd. at p. 7. The Court also found that PRMEG made no attempt to demonstrate that good cause justified amending its complaint more than two months after the Court-ordered deadline. Id. at p. 8.

B. Scheduling Order Deadlines

On December 1,2014, the Court issued a Scheduling Order pursuant to Federal Rulé of Civil Procedure 16(b). (Docket No. 18.) The order set, inter alia, the following deadlines:

• June 8, 2015: Motions to dismiss
• November 9, 2015: Conclusion of discovery
«January 8, 2016: Motions for summary judgment
• May 9, 2016: Trial

Id. at p. 22. The Court also ordered that the filing of dispositive motions would not disrupt' discovery or suspend deadlines. Id. at p. 10.

Pursuant to the Scheduling Order, the parties filed a joint case management memorandum on February 3, 2015. (Docket No. 34.) In that memorandum, plaintiff PRMEG and defendants HESL, SGE, and SSE agreed that written discovery would commence no later than March 1,2015. Id. at pp. 43-14.

II. RULE 12(b)(6) STANDARD

Rule 12(b)(6) allows the Court to dismiss a complaint when the pleading fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed,R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). In. resolving a motion to dismiss, the Court employs a two-step approach. First, the Court “isolate[s] and ignore[s] statements in the complaint that simply offer legal labels and conclusions or merely rehash cause-of-action elements.” Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55 (1st Cir.2012). Second, the Court “take[s], the complaint’s well-pled (i.e., non-conclusory, non-speeulative) facts as true, drawing all reasonable inferences in the pleader’s favor, and see[s] if they plausibly narrate a claim for relief.” Id. The appropriate inquiry “in assessing plausibility is not whether the complaint makes any particular factual allegations but, rather, whether ‘the complaint warrants] dismissal because it failed in toto to render plaintiffs’ entitlement to relief plausible.’ ” Rodriguez-Reyes v. Molina-Rodriguez, 711 F.3d 49, 55 (1st Cir.2013) (quoting Bell [453]*453Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 569 n. 14, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

III. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS IN THE AMENDED COMPLAINT

A. The Parties

Plaintiff PRMEG is a corporation that provides emergency room administration services and treatment to patients in various hospitals in Puerto Rico. (Docket No. 20 at p. 4.)

All four defendants are corporations. (Docket No. 20 at p. B.) IEP owns HESL, SGE, and SSE. Id. at p. 3. HESL and.SSE manage several hospitals in Puerto Rico. Id. at pp. 4-5. SGE bills for the services that HESL provides. Id. at p. 25.

The four defendants have overlapping directors, and the head of the church at IEP is the president of the boards of directors of HESL, SGE, and SSE. (Docket No. 20 at pp. 5, 17.) Officers of HESL, SGE, and SSE met with and received instructions from IEP on a regular basis. Id. at p. 17. Directors of HESL, SGE, and SSE met with IEP officers to discuss how they could divert corporate funds to IEP’s bank accounts, and officers of IEP and SSE coordinated a monthly contribution from HESL, SGE, and SSE to IEP. Id. at pp. 17-18.

B. The PRMEG-HESL Contract

On September 25, 2007, PRMEG entered into a contract with HESL pursuant to which PRMEG would manage and provide medical coverage for the HESL emergency room. (Docket No. 20 at pp. 5-6.) The contract provided that HESL would pay PRMEG $155,000 per month for the first three months and $133,000 per month thereafter. Id. at p. 6. The contract also gave PRMEG the right to bill insurance companies directly for the services PRMEG provided to patients in the HESL emergency room, and required HESL to notify the insurance companies .with which it did business that PRMEG had retained the right to bill. Id. at p. 7. PRMEG never agreed to amend the contract, nor did it authorize HESL to bill for services PRMEG provided. Id. at pp. 6-7.

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Puerto Rico Medical Emergency Group, Inc. v. Iglesia Episcopal Puertorriqueña, Inc., 118 F. Supp. 3d 447, 2015 WL 4669814 (prd 2015).

118 F. Supp. 3d 447 (Puerto Rico Medical Emergency Group, Inc. v. Iglesia Episcopal Puertorriqueña, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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