United States v. Pesquera

995 F. Supp. 235, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22117, 1997 WL 853763
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedNovember 21, 1997
DocketCiv. No. 97-1682(SEC)
StatusPublished

This text of 995 F. Supp. 235 (United States v. Pesquera) 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
United States v. Pesquera, 995 F. Supp. 235, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22117, 1997 WL 853763 (prd 1997).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CASELLAS, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on defendants’ motion to partially dismiss the complaint (Docket # 6), which was duly opposed (Docket # 7). Defendants essentially contend that the above-captioned matter should be dismissed in part because: (1) the $35.00 fee which the Automobile Accident Social Protection Act, 9 L.P.R.A § '2051-65, imposes upon all registered vehicles is not an insurance premium, and thus Federal Government vehicles are not exempted from paying it; (2) the applicable federal regulations require that the fee be paid; and (3) the U.S. Government’s self-insurance scheme would not be affected if payment of the fee-were required. Upon careful examination of the relevant facts, the applicable law, and the arguments advanced by both parties, the Court finds that defendants’ motion should be DENIED.

Procedural Background

The Automobile Accident Social Protection Act, 9 L.P.R.A. §§ 2051-2065, provides relief to traffic accident victims and their families by affording them basic medical and hospital services, among other benefits, regardless of fault. See 9 L.P.R.A § 2054. Its benefits are available to “every natural person who suffers bodily injury, sickness or death as a result thereof, as a consequence of the maintenance or use by himself or by another person of a motor vehicle as such ...” 9 L.P.R.A. § 2053. Those who do not have a valid driver’s or motor vehicle license at the time of the accident are nevertheless, excluded from these benefits.1

This social protection program is financed by all motor vehicle owners, through an annual contribution of $35.00 which is paid at the time the vehicle is registered. 9 L.P.R.A. § 2064. There is no dispute as to the fact" that official United States Government vehicles need not pay this $35.00 contribution; thé Puerto Rico Vehicle and Traffic Law specifically exempts the United States Government from registering such vehicles. See 9 L.P.R.A. § 401(a). See also Op.Sec. Jus. No. 3 (1984). The question before the Court is rather, whether those vehicles used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), or the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for law enforcement purposes, which for security reasons do not carry official U.S. Government license plates, must pay the $35.00 fee upon being registered with the local Department of Transportation. .

On May 1, 1997, the United States filed a motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to enjoin the defendants from requiring plaintiff and all its agencies to pay the insurance premium imposed on all vehicles which are registered and may be in the future registered with the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works.2 Shortly thereafter, on [237]*237June 17, 1997, defendants filed a motion to partially dismiss the complaint on the ground that the fee imposed by the Automobile Accident Social Protection Act was not an insurance premium as a matter of law, and that therefore, plaintiff could be required to pay the fee upon registering its vehicles. Plaintiff essentially asserts that the fee is indeed an insurance premium and that the same rationale which precludes defendants from imposing the compulsory insurance program upon plaintiff precludes them from requiring them to pay the AACA fee.

Motion to Dismiss Standard

Rule 12(b)(6) motions have no purpose other than to “test the formal sufficiency of the statement of the claim for relief; it is not a procedure for resolving a contest about the facts or the merits of the ease.” 5A Wright & Miller, supra § 1356, at 294 (2d ed.1990). Only where the complaint fails to comply with the liberal standard provided in Rule 8(a), that is, to provide a “short and plain statement ... showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” will it be subject to dismissal under 12(b)(6). Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). See also Federal Practice and Procedure, supra at 296; Podell v. Citicorp Diners Club, Inc., 859 F.Supp. 701 (S.D.N.Y.1994). It is the moving party which has the burden of proving that no claim exists. Federal Practice and Procedure, supra at 115 (1996 supp.). See also Clapp v. LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae, 862 F.Supp. 1050 (S.D.N.Y.1994).

Furthermore, in determining whether to grant a motion to dismiss, courts must construe the complaint “in the light most favorable to plaintiff’ and treat her allegations as though they were hue. Federal Practice and Procedure, supra at 304. See also Rockwell v. Cape Cod Hosp., 26 F.3d 254 (1st Cir.1994) . “[A] complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). See also Wyatt v. City of Boston, 35 F.3d 13 (1st Cir.1994); Schroeder v. De Bertolo, 879 F.Supp. 173 (D.Puerto Rico, 1995).

Analysis

Defendants essentially rely on the cases of Mercado Santini v. Tribunal Superior Court, 101 D.P.R. 523, 1973 WL 35636 (1973), and Trailer Marine Transp. Corp. v. Rivera Vazquez, 977 F.2d 1 (1st Cir.1992) to bolster their argument that the AACA fee is not an insurance premium. In Mercado Santini, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court held that “[t]he fact that the AACA [was] the public instrumentality created to administer the system of “Insurance” and compensation for traffic accidents, and that the contribution ■ [was] called a premium [did] not transform it into an insurer.” 101 D.P.R. at 529-30. Subsequently, in Trailer Marine, the First Circuit concluded that the imposition of the AACA fee did not fail within the definition of the “business of. insurance” under the McCarran-Ferguson Act. 977 F.2d at 13-14.

These cases did not, however, address the question of whether the $35.00 fee should be considered an insurance premium. To the contrary, the Mercado Santini court specifically held that the AACA was a public instrumentality created to administer a system of “insurance” through a system of contributions called “premiums,” Mercado Santini, 101 D.P.R. at 731, an analogy which this Court finds more in sync with plaintiffs position. More importantly, as plaintiff points out, in United States v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 478 F.2d 451, 454 (1st Cir.1973), the First Circuit specifically held that the fee required by the Act was not a tax, but rather, “an insurance premium”. Id. at 455. This ruling has nob—as defendants would have us believe—been reversed, either explicitly or implicitly, by later cases such as Trailer Marine. In fact, the Act itself explicitly states that “[t]he cost of this insurance shall be distributed among all the motor vehicle owners though an annual contribution to be paid at the time of registering the vehicle.” 9 L.P.R.A. § 2064 (emphasis added).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Wyatt v. City of Boston
35 F.3d 13 (First Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
478 F.2d 451 (First Circuit, 1973)
Susan Rockwell v. Cape Cod Hospital
26 F.3d 254 (First Circuit, 1994)
Podell v. Citicorp Diners Club, Inc.
859 F. Supp. 701 (S.D. New York, 1994)
Clapp v. LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae
862 F. Supp. 1050 (S.D. New York, 1994)
Schroeder v. De Bertolo
879 F. Supp. 173 (D. Puerto Rico, 1995)
Mercado Santini v. Tribunal Superior
101 P.R. Dec. 523 (Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
995 F. Supp. 235, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22117, 1997 WL 853763, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-pesquera-prd-1997.