UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

In re:

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND 

MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO,

as representative of

THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, et 

al.,

Debtors

PROMESA

Title III

No. 17 BK 3283-LTS

(Jointly Administered)

RESPONSE TO OBJECTION TO MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM THE 

AUTOMATIC STAY

COMES NOW creditor José Miguel Malvet Santiago (hereinafter, the “Movant”), 

through the undersigned legal counsel, and respectfully sets forth and prays:

1. Movant has a claim before the Commission for Appeals of Public Service 

(“CASP”) for his wrongful termination from the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections 

and Rehabilitation (DCR from its initials in Spanish).

2. Movant’s case before the CASP – José Miguel Malvet v. Administración de 

Corrección, Case No. 2007-07-0025 – was stayed once the case of caption was 

commenced.

3. Movant had engaged with Debtor in negotiations for the modification of the 

bankruptcy stay, but due to numerous clerical and personal challenges, continuation of 

the stay modification process was stalled. 

4. When retaking the matter subsequently, Debtor was no longer willing to 

modify the stay as had been the case before.

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5. Thus, on 23 September 2022, Movant filed a motion for relief from stay 

requesting the stay be modified to allow the continuance of his administrative case before 

the Commission for Appeals of Public Service (“CASP”).

6. On 28 October 2022, Debtor filed an objection to Movant’s request for relief 

by, in essence, stating that lifting the stay and allowing Movant’s claim to proceed to final 

judgment would be a waste of the Commonwealth’s resources, would significantly 

interfere with the administration of the Title III case and circumvent the requirements in 

the Confirmation Order”.

7. Debtor’s report of Movant’s request interfering with the administration of 

the present case and wasting the Commonwealth’s resources are grossly exaggerated.

8. Movant seeks relief from the automatic stay precisely because he is seeking 

redress for his wrongful termination under state and, more specifically, under 

administrative law.

9. Far from being a purely monetary claim, Movant’s claim is for remedy 

against unjust termination of his employment. Though there is an economic factor in the 

possibility of there being wrongfully unpaid wages, the actual employment and the harm 

of its termination on Movant’s pride and emotional well-being is the crux of the matter.

10. The CASP is the proper venue for determining whether Movant was unduly 

terminated and whether there is a valid claim for unpaid wages. As is the case in 

circumstances such as these, enforcement of the claim requires the resolution of issues 

which, under a regulatory scheme, have been placed within the special competence of an 

administrative body; in such a case the judicial process is suspended pending referral of 

such issues to the administrative body for its views. United States v. W. Pac. Ry. Co., 352 

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U.S. 59, 64 (1956); see also Miller v. WD-40 Co., 29 F. Supp. 2d 1040, 1045 (D. Minn. 

1998).

11. The remedy Movant seeks will not prejudice the interests of other creditors 

and it will not interfere with the continuation of the proceedings in the case of caption.

Movant’s monetary claim would still be subject to the conditions of Debtor’s plan, but the 

his employment status and, more importantly, he would not be denied the satisfaction of 

clearing his name from the stigma of being wrongfully terminated.

WHEREFORE, Movant respectfully requests from the Honorable Court to take 

notice the foregoing and enter an order modifying the automatic stay so that Case No. 

2007-07-0025 before the Commission for Appeals of Public Service may continue.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that, on 13 November 2022, I electronically filed the foregoing with 

the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such 

filing to all counsel of record and parties in the Master Service List. 

/s/ Miguel Ángel Serrano Urdaz

USDC 223608

P.O. Box 1915

Guayama PR 00785

Tel/Fax 787-864-5454 

serrano.urdaz.law@hotmail.com

Attorney for Movant

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