Torres-Lopez v. Garcia-Padilla

209 F. Supp. 3d 448, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129242, 2016 WL 5173238
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 21, 2016
DocketCIVIL NO. 14-1165 (PG)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 209 F. Supp. 3d 448 (Torres-Lopez v. Garcia-Padilla) 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
Torres-Lopez v. Garcia-Padilla, 209 F. Supp. 3d 448, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129242, 2016 WL 5173238 (prd 2016).

Opinion

OMNIBUS OPINION AND ORDER

JUAN M. PEREZ-GIMENEZ, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiff Sandra Torres-Lopez (“Torres-Lopez” or “Plaintiff’) filed the instant action against defendants Hon. Alejandro Garcia Padilla’s (“Garcia-Padilla”) and Javier Rua-Jovet’s (“Rua-Jovet”)(collectively, “Defendants”), in their official and individual capacities, alleging violations of the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and of Puerto Rico law.1 See Docket No. 1. Plaintiff claims that Defendants conspired among themselves to remove her from the Chairperson position of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico (“TRBPR”) solely because of her political affiliation to the New Progressive Party (“NPP”). Id. at pp. 6-7. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory and punitive damages pursuant to Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and Puerto Rico law. Id. at pp. 9-11.

Before the court are Defendants’ motions to dismiss the complaint (Docket Nos. 69 and 70), and Plaintiffs opposition thereto (Docket No. 74).2 For the reasons set forth below, the court GRANTS the Defendants’ motions.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND3

Established in 1996, the TRBPR is “the agency in charge of regulating telecommunication services in Puerto Rico and of enforcing compliance and administrating” the provisions of its enabling act, Puerto Rico Telecommunications Act of 1996, Law No. 213 of 1996, as amended (“Law 213”). See P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 27, § 267 (West 2013). Under Law 213, the TRBPR (or the “Board”) would “be composed of three (3) associate members, one of whom [would] be its Chairperson, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.” P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 27, § 267(a) (amended 2013). On November 16, 2009, Torres-Lopez was appointed to the position of Chairperson of the TRBPR by then-Governor Luis Fortuño, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Docket No. 1 at ¶ 7. Her appointment was for a six-year term, set to expire on November of 2015. Id at ¶ 12.

[453]*453Following the 2012 General Elections, the Government of Puerto Rico changed hands, and soon thereafter, the Legislature enacted Law No. 11 of April 26, 2013 (“Law No. 11”), which purportedly “abolished” the Chairperson position that Law 213 had created. See Docket No. 70. The complaint alleges that Torres-Lopez was subsequently removed from the Chairperson position when Rua-Jovet presented himself at the TRBPR offices as the newly-appointed Chairperson of the TRBPR on July 1, 2013. Docket No. 1 at ¶ 17. Torres-Lopez nevertheless remained as an Associate Member of the TRBPR.4 Id.

Plaintiff did not contest Defendant’s alleged actions until the filing of the above-captioned complaint on March 3, 2014. See id. On that same date, Torres-Lopez filed an urgent Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction (Docket No. 3) requesting, in relevant part, that this court order Defendants to vacate Rua-Jovet’s appointment and to reinstate her to the position of Chairperson of the TRBPR. The court denied the TRO request and held an evidentiary hearing on plaintiffs preliminary injunction request. See Docket No. 14.

On June 15, 2015, the court denied Torres-Lopez’ preliminary injunction request on both Fourteenth and First Amendment grounds. See Docket No. 65. Also, in accordance with the First Circuit Court of Appeals’ rulings in the sister cases of Torres-Rivera v. Garcia-Padilla, 783 F.3d 42 (1st Cir.2015), Montanez-Allman v. Garcia-Padilla, 782 F.3d 42 (1st Cir.2015), and Diaz-Carrasquillo v. Garcia-Padilla, 750 F.3d 7 (1st Cir.2014), the court dismissed plaintiffs Due Process claims under the Fourteenth Amendment without prejudice to allow her to file suit in Puerto Rico court.5 Consequently, only Plaintiffs claim under the First Amendment remains. Defendants move the court to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to the plausibility standard explained below.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) authorizes the dismissal of a complaint that fails to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. “To avoid dismissal, a complaint must provide ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ” Garcia-Catalan v. U.S., 734 F.3d 100, 102 (1st Cir.2013)(quoting Fed.r.Civ.p. 8(a)(2)). When ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a district court must “ask whether the complaint states a claim to relief that is plausible on its face, accepting the plaintiffs factual allegations and drawing all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor.” Cooper v. Charter Communications Entertainments I, LLC, 760 F.3d 103, 106 (1st Cir.2014)(citing Maloy v. Ballori-Lage, 744 F.3d 250, 252 (1st Cir.2014))(internal quotation marks omitted). Additionally, courts “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.” A.G. ex rel. Maddox v. v. Elsevier, Inc., 732 F.3d 77, 80 (1st Cir.2013)(citing Haley v. City of Boston, 657 F.3d 39, 46 (1st Cir.2011)).

“To cross the plausibility threshold, the plaintiff must ‘plead[ ] factual content that [454]*454allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ ” Cooper, 760 F.3d at 106 (citing Maloy, 744 F.3d at 262). See also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). That is, “[flactual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, ..., on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact) ....” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).

“In resolving a motion to dismiss, a court should employ a two-pronged approach. It should begin by identifying and disregarding statements in the complaint that merely offer legal conclusions couched as fact or threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action.” Ocasio-Hernandez v. Fortuno-Burset, 640 F.3d 1, 12 (1st Cir.2011)(citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955)(internal quotation marks omitted). That is, the court “need not accept as true legal conclusions from the complaint or naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancement.” Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 266 (1st Cir.2009)(citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937). “A complaint ‘must contain more than a rote recital of the elements of a cause of action,’ but need not include ‘detailed factual allegations.’” Rodriguez-Vives v. Puerto Rico Firefighters Corps, 743 F.3d 278, 283 (1st Cir.2014)(citing Rodríguez-Reyes v. Molina-Rodriguez, 711 F.3d 49, 53 (1st Cir.2013)).

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Bluebook (online)
209 F. Supp. 3d 448, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129242, 2016 WL 5173238, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/torres-lopez-v-garcia-padilla-prd-2016.