Torres-Santiago v. Díaz-Casiano

708 F. Supp. 2d 178, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106679, 2009 WL 4015648
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedNovember 16, 2009
DocketCivil No. 08-1650 (GAG/BJM)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 708 F. Supp. 2d 178 (Torres-Santiago v. Díaz-Casiano) 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-Santiago v. Díaz-Casiano, 708 F. Supp. 2d 178, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106679, 2009 WL 4015648 (prd 2009).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

BRUCE J. MCGIVERIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiffs Phillip Cruz-Rosario (“Cruz”) and Marta Torres-Santiago (“Torres”) (collectively,' “plaintiffs”) filed a complaint against several Commonwealth of Puerto Rico police officers and the Superintendent of Police, in both their official and personal capacities, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Puerto Rico’s constitution and civil law. (Docket No. 47). Defendants Christian Valles-Collazo (“Valles”), Ángel D. Díaz-Casiano (“Díaz-Casiano”), and Nelson Acocho (“Arocho”) filed motions to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) (Docket No. 52, 59), and defendant Pedro Toledo-Dávila (“Toledo”) filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.CivJP. 12(c). (Docket No. 58). Plaintiffs have not opposed any of the motions. As the parties did not timely object to proceeding before a magistrate judge, this case was referred to me by the presiding district judge. (Docket No. 51). 28 U.S.C. § 636; Roell v. Withrow, 538 U.S. 580, 123 S.Ct. 1696, 155 L.Ed.2d 775 (2003). After careful consideration, Valles’s motion to dismiss is granted, Díaz-Casiano’s and Arocho’s motion to dismiss is granted, and Toledo’s motion for judgment on the pleadings is granted.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings is treated much like a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Pérez-Acevedo v. Rivero-Cubano, 520 F.3d 26, 29 (1st Cir.2008). In order to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion (and, by extension, a Rule 12(c) motion), a complaint must allege “a plausible entitlement to relief.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); see also Pérez-Acevedo, 520 F.3d at 29. However, a court should “accept well-pled fac[180]*180tual allegations in the complaint as true and make all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor.” Miss. Public Employees’ Retirement System v. Boston Scientific Corp., 523 F.3d 75, 85 (1st Cir.2008). While a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations in order to withstand dismissal, a plaintiffs “obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal citation omitted). The court need not accept as true legal conclusions or “naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancement.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, - U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (internal alteration omitted); Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 267 (1st Cir.2009). The complaint must allege enough factual content to nudge a claim across the line from conceivable to plausible. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1952 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). The court’s assessment of the pleadings is context-specific, requiring the court “to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. at 1949. The plaintiff must show more than the “sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. Where the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged, but has not shown, that the pleader is entitled to relief. Id. at 1950 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)).

On either a Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(c) motion to dismiss, “the facts are set forth as alleged in the complaint and inferences [are] taken in the light most favorable to ... the non-moving party.” Diaz-Romero v. Mukasey, 514 F.3d 115, 116 (1st Cir.2008); Estate of Bennett v. Wainwright, 548 F.3d 155, 163, 165 (1st Cir.2008). The court may consider documents the authenticity of which are not disputed by the parties, documents central to the plaintiffs’ claim, and documents sufficiently referred to in the complaint. Curran v. Cousins, 509 F.3d 36, 44 (1st Cir.2007) (internal citation omitted). When “a complaint’s factual allegations are expressly linked to — and admittedly dependent upon — a document (the authenticity of which is not challenged), that document effectively merges into the pleadings and the trial court can review it in deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).” Beddall v. State St. Bank & Trust Co., 137 F.3d 12, 17 (1st Cir.1998). Indeed, on a motion to dismiss, the court “may properly consider the relevant entirety of a document integral to or explicitly relied upon in the complaint.” Clorox Co. v. Proctor & Gamble Commer. Co., 228 F.3d 24, 32 (1st Cir.2000). The rationale for this principle is that “the main problem of looking to documents outside the complaint — lack of notice to plaintiff — is dissipated ‘where plaintiff has actual notice ... and has relied upon these documents in framing the complaint.’ ” Id. (internal citation omitted). Here, the defendants’ motions cite and rely on several documents incorporated by reference into.the complaint. Therefore, the following facts refer to the allegations contained in the complaint and to the documents incorporated by reference.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs, residents of Carolina, filed their amended complaint on April 30, 2009. (Docket No. 47). The complaint alleges that on September 27, 2006, defendant Díaz-Casiano, a police officer then assigned to the Carolina Area Drug Unit, and three unnamed police officers (referred to in the complaint as Tom Doe, Mark Doe, and Sam Doe) stopped plaintiff Cruz outside the “El Barril” pub in Car[181]*181olina. (Id., ¶ 12). One of the officers slapped Cruz while his pockets were searched; the frisk revealed nothing. (Id.). The police officers punched Cruz in the face approximately five times, causing him to bleed; they then walked him from El Barril to his home in a public housing-project, where he lived with his girlfriend, plaintiff Torres. (Id.).

Upon arrival at the plaintiffs’ home, where no one was present, the officers pulled out Cruz’s keychain from his pocket and tested each key until they gained entry to the house, without Cruz’s consent. (Id.; Docket No. 7-5, 1). The officers then “stormed” the house, where they illegally searched plaintiffs’ room, destroying items including shelves and a dresser. (Docket No. 47, ¶ 12). In the room, they found Torres’s purse, which they opened, removing a piece of identification, namely Torres’s electoral card. (Id.; Docket No. 7-5, 1-2).

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708 F. Supp. 2d 178, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106679, 2009 WL 4015648, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/torres-santiago-v-diaz-casiano-prd-2009.