Zambrana-Marrero v. Suarez-Cruz

999 F. Supp. 678, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4769, 1998 WL 166555
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedMarch 31, 1998
DocketCivil No. 94-1212 (SEC)
StatusPublished

This text of 999 F. Supp. 678 (Zambrana-Marrero v. Suarez-Cruz) 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
Zambrana-Marrero v. Suarez-Cruz, 999 F. Supp. 678, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4769, 1998 WL 166555 (prd 1998).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CASELLAS, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on defendant Ismael Betancourt-Lebrón’s motion for summary judgment (Docket # 133), which was duly opposed (Docket # 145). Defendant Betancourt-Lebron contends that the above-captioned matter should be dismissed in its entirety because the two policemen whose conduct is the object of this lawsuit did not act under color of law when they assaulted the decedent, plaintiffs’ father and husband. Because we believe that co-defendants Carlos Suárez-Cruz and Angel Rolón-Mercado did not act under color of law, we hereby GRANT Betancourt’s motion. We therefore do not deem it necessary to address the remaining motions to dismiss and/or for summary judgment, filed by Suárez-Cruz’s and Rolón-Mercado’s various supervisors (Dockets # 118, 125, 126 and 132), which were essentially based on lack of supervisory liability. Nevertheless, we will refer to them insofar as they address the “color of law” issue in particular.

Summary Judgment Standard

The First Circuit has clearly established that “summary judgment will lie if the record, even when taken in the aspect most favorable to the nonmovant, ... fails to yield a trialworthy issue as to some material fact.” Martínez v. Colón, 54 F.3d 980, 983-84 (1st Cir.1995). It has further held that “[i]n applying this principle, it is important to bear in mind that ... [i]t is only when a disputed fact has the potential to change the outcome of the suit under the governing law if found favorably to the nonmovant that the materiality hurdle is cleared.” Id. at 984.

As the preceding ease law intimates, the mere existence of a factual dispute is not enough to defeat summary judgment. United Structures, Inc. v. G.R.G. Engineering, S.E., 927 F.Supp. 556, 560 (D.P.R.1996). In those cases where there are factual disputes, summary judgment will be deemed proper if the unresolved facts are not genuine and material to the resolution of the ease. Corporacion Insular de Seguros v. Reyes Mu[679]*679ñoz, 849 F.Supp. 126, 132 (D.P.R.1994). For a dispute to be “genuine”, “the factual controversy ‘must be sufficiently open-ended to permit a rational factfinder to resolve the issue in favor of either side.’ ” Lynne Woods-Leber v. Hyatt Hotels of Puerto Rico. Inc., 124 F.3d 47 (1st Cir.1997). See also U.S. v. One Parcel of Real Property, 960 F.2d 200, 204 (1st Cir.1992); Boston Athletic Assn. v. Sullivan, 867 F.2d 22, 24 (1st Cir.1989). By like token, for a dispute to be deemed “material,” the fact must be one that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Morris v. Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico, 27 F.3d 746, 748 (1st Cir.1994).

In determining whether to grant a summary judgment motion, the Court may not, however, weigh the evidence. Casas Office Machines, Inc. v. Mita Copystar America, Inc., 42 F.3d 668 (1st Cir.1994). Summary judgment “admits of no room for credibility determinations, no room for the measured weighing of conflicting evidence such as the trial process entails.” Id. citing Greenburg v. Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority, 835 F.2d 932, 936 (1st Cir.1987). Accordingly, if the facts permit more than one reasonable inference, the court on summary judgment may not adopt the inference least favorable to the non-moving party. Casas Office Machines, 42 F.3d at 684.

Defendants assert that plaintiffs’ opposition to the summary judgment motion is not only substantively flawed, but also procedurally defective because it fails to comply with the so-called “anti-ferret rule”; that is, it does not present a concise statement of material facts as to which there is a genuine issue to be tried, which is something that Local Rule 311.12 requires.1

This Court has previously expressed that “[w]hen a party opposing a motion for summary judgment fails to comply with the ‘anti-ferret rule,’ the statement of material facts ■filed by the party seeking summary judgment [shall be] deemed ... admitted.” Méndez-Marrero v. Toledo, 968 F.Supp. 27 (D.P.R.1997), referring to Dominguez v. Eli Lilly & Co., 958 F.Supp. 721, 727 (D.P.R. 1997). See also Tavarez v. Champion Products, Inc., 903 F.Supp. 268, 270 (D.P.R.1995). Otherwise, the Court would be forced to search “through the entire record for evidence of genuine issues of material fact which might preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Méndez-Marrero, 968 F.Supp. at 34, referring to Stepanischen v. Merchants Despatch Transp. Corp., 722 F.2d 922, 930-31 (1st Cir.1983). Although the non-movant’s failure to provide a statement of uncontested material facts does not automatically warrant the granting of summary judgment, “it launches the non-movant’s ease down the road towards an easy dismissal.” Id.

Such is not, however, the scenario in the present case. Plaintiffs did submit a separate Rule 311.12 statement. The only problem is-that they labeled it “statement of undisputed material facts” This created some confusion among defendants, who weren’t sure whether plaintiffs were filing a cross-motion for summary judgment. But plaintiffs’ prayer at the end of their memorandum in support of their opposition makes it clear that they were only seeking that the Court deny defendants’ motions. More importantly, halfway through their 311.12 statement, plaintiffs did address several of defendants’ alleged uncontest'ed facts. It is true that plaintiffs only generally referred to their exhibits, and did not specifically direct us to a particular page within each exhibit. Never[680]*680theless, we will not admit defendants’ alleged uncontested facts on that basis alone.

Based on the foregoing, we will analyze whether there are any genuine issues of material fact in dispute, which warrant that we do not grant summary judgment at this stage. We find that there are none.

Factual Background

We review the facts in the light most favorable to plaintiffs. The incident which gave rise to this action took place on the night of Thursday, June 10, 1993. At around 6:00 p.m. that evening, police officers Carlos Suárez-Cruz and Angel Rolón-Mereado finished their daily shift and headed toward the parking lot of the Panasonic building in Carolina. Puerto Rico, to celebrate the birthday of a mutual friend.2 They got there on Suarez’s personal ear.3 Although they were still wearing their official, police-issue pants and boots, and were carrying their police-issue weapons pursuant to departmental regulations, they were only wearing t-shirts.4 While at the party, they each had a couple of alcoholic drinks.5 At around 8:00 to 8:30 p.m., they decided to head back home. Rolón asked Suárez to give him a ride to his mother-in-law’s house, where his wife was waiting.6 On the way home, however, they went by a bar often frequented by Suárez called Freddy’s Pub, and Rolón persuaded Suárez to stop there for a while.7

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Bluebook (online)
999 F. Supp. 678, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4769, 1998 WL 166555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zambrana-marrero-v-suarez-cruz-prd-1998.