IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO 

In re: 

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND 

MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO 

 as representative of 

THE PUERTO RICO HIGHWAYS AND 

TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, 

Debtor

PROMESA 

TITLE III 

No. 17 BK 3283-LTS 

(Jointly Administered)

This filing relates only to HTA 

Teresa Vizcarrondo Toro & 

Adrián Mercado Jiménez 

And their conjugal society 

 

MOVANT REPLY TO THE PUERTO RICO HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY’S (1) 

OPPOSITION TO (A) MOTION REQUESTING PAYMENT OF SEVERANCE DAMAGES [ECF NO. 

23612], AND (B) AMENDED PETITION REQUESTING PAYMENT OF SEVERANCE DAMAGES 

[ECF NO. 24103], AND (2) REPLY TO RESPONSE FILED BY CLAIMANT ADRIÁN MERCADO 

JIMÉNEZ [ECF NO. 21326] IN CONNECTION WITH THE FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-FOURTH 

OMNIBUS OBJECTION (NON-SUBSTANTIVE) TO SATISFIED CLAIMS DOCKET #24153 

TO THE HONORABLE COURT: 

COMES NOW, MOVANTS, ADRIÁN MERCADO JIMÉNEZ, TERESA VIZCARRONDO 

TORO, and their CONJUGAL SOCIETY, and very respectfully allege and pray: 

BRIEF BACKGROUND 

1. The property called Perseverancia of 459 cds. Located in Barrio Canas at the 

Municipality of Ponce, belonged to Partnership Mario Mercado & Sons. 

2. Said property has a flat (llana) part and a sloped (escarpada) part divided by a 

parcel called Camino. Exhibit 1 

3. On May 26, 1967, Partnership Mario Mercado & Sons was dissolved in case 

Margarita Mercado v Mario Mercado, Civil CS57-2295 Superior Court of Ponce. 

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4. That on November 11, 1976, the Perseverancia farm, among others, was divided 

into four parts: corresponding to the Mercado Parra family parts 11 & 4; to the 

Mercado Jimenez family part 2, and to the Mandry Mercado family part 4. Exhibit 2 

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 

 

5. On August 25, 2011, a Petition for Expropriation KEF2011-0240 was filed by The 

Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority, hereinafter HTA. Proyect ACT 

00911 with 80% Federal funds. 

6. Said Petition was filed using the “Quick Take” method which permits the 

Petitioner (HTA) obtain possession of the property before the total amount of 

compensation is determined2. 

7. In Puerto Rico expropriation procedure is “in rem”, that means that the 

expropriation is directed against the property and not against its owner3. 

8. In this Petition HTA expropriated in Perseverancia parcels 021-01 of 4.7645 cds. 

and 021.04 of 2.515 cds. On said parcels Movants had 25%. 

9. With the expropriation of parcel 021-01 the rest of the property was landlocked 

since day one. Exhibit 3 

10.As of today, the access, illustrated in the plan under 5.40 Acces Road, has not 

been built as HTA knows. 

1 Part one was transferred to a corporation called Perseverancia, Inc. 

2

Jeremy S. Young, National Law Review, Vol. XIII, Number 140, May 20, 2023 . . . . “a 

quick take offers and exception to the general rule that condemning party must pay 

before they take possession of a given property; instead, the appropriation party pays an 

appraised deposit into the court registry and can begin work right away.” 

3 32 LPRA Sec. 2905

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11. Thus, Movants have lost all access to the property since the filing of the 

expropriation on August 25, 2011, to the present day. 

12.HTA knows by vast experience in Eminent Domain cases that it has to pay for the 

true value of the land taken and severance damages, which is the loss of value of 

the remainder. As a matter of fact, as of today, the issue of the amount due is 

being litigated by HTA in case KEF1998-1261 before the local court. This pertains also 

to the Perseverancia farm part 4 belonging to Mercado Parra family. Exhibit 4 

13.HTA was invited by Movants to see the landlocked property in person [Exhibit 5], 

no answer was received. 

14. The expropriation in rem of parcel 021-01 and 021-04 was filed on August 25, 

2011, using the “Quick Take” procedure. The Settlement Agreement with the 

Movant was not signed until June 22, 2018. Seven years later. 

15.It was not until February 23, 2018, that HTA deposited in case KEF2011-0240 the 

amount of $16,448.00 as payment for the “just compensation” of the expropriated 

parcels. Exhibit 6 

16.It was not until August 12, 2019, that the full payment was received by Movants. 

[Exhibit 7] Eight years after the filing of the expropriation for parcels 021-01 and 021-

04. 

17.In the years between 2011 and 2019 numerous hearings take place in court, 

numerous meetings with HTA attorneys, severance damages, or loss of the value of 

the remainder was an issue from the beginning of the expropriation. See Exhibits 8, 

9, 10, 11 and 12 

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18. This is expressly mandated in Resolution of April 25, 2017 at page 7. Exhibit 13 

19.In a “Quick Take” expropriation proceeding the parties first have to withdraw the 

deposited amount, then reach an agreement of the “just compensation” of the 

expropriation parcels, and then proceed with the severance damages. 

20.In this case none was achieved before the HTA filed for Bankruptcy and the local 

court issued a Partial Administrative Judgment on January 23, 2019. Exhibit 14 

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT 

21. The Puerto Rico Civil Codes states: 

Requisites of contract 

There is no contract unless the following requisites exist: 

(1) The consent of the contracting parties. 

(2) A definite object which may be the subject of the contract. 

(3) The cause for the obligation which may be established. 

Civil Code, 1930, § 1218 (31 LPRA §3391) 

22. The Settlement Agreement signed by Movant and HTA on June 22, 2018, is a 

contract whose object is parcels 021-01 and 021-04. Nothing else. 

23. The HTA now tries to extend the object of the contract to include the landlocked 

property. 

24.Paragraph 5 of said agreement states: 

This Court has jurisdiction over this agreement, which is limited to the monetary 

interests of the parties in interest, Mr. Adrián Mercado Jiménez, Teresa Vizcarrondo 

Toro, and the legal partnership comprised of the two with respect to parcels 021-01 

and 021-04, subject of the present lawsuit and as described in the November 2015 

Amended Exhibit A, authorized on November 24, 2015, since the Bankruptcy Court 

has kept the stay lifted only for those purposes. (our emphasis) 

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Paragraph 8 states: 

Accordingly, the following appear before this Court: The Highway Authority, Mr. 

Adrián Mercado Jiménez, Teresa Vizcarrondo Toro, and the legal partnership 

comprised of the latter two, to give their approval to the present agreement putting 

an end to all lawsuits and causes of action regarding parcels 021-01 and 021-04. 

(our emphasis) 

25. The settlement provisions explain how the division of money of parcels 021-01 

and 021-04 is determined. 

26.In the agreement HTA states that there is no further dispute as to the amounts 

agreed to in respect to parcels 021-01 and 021-04 and if any remain, they are 

waived with prejudice. 

27. The object of the Settlement Agreement is parcels 021-01 and 021-04 and the 

compensation due. 

28.HTA now states that Movant, by virtue of the Settlement Agreement, waived any 

action regarding the landlocked 10.29 acres. 

29.By HTA contention Movant agreed to have its property landlocked forever and 

continue to pay property taxes for a property it can’t access. 

30. The landlocking causes continue damages from day one to today and will 

continue until an access is built. 

31. Furthermore, the local Law of Condemnation of Private Property refers us to 

Article 282 of the Civil Code which states: 

-No person shall be deprived of his ownership except it be by a competent 

authority and for a justified purpose of public utility or social benefit, and 

upon payment of just compensation which shall be fixed in the manner 

provided by law. ' 

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32. Farther as we can see the HTA’s contention is against the law and public order 

as no property can be landlocked by law unless compensation is paid. 

33.As a general rule when the state totally blocks the access from a piece of land 

to a highway, the owner of the unpaired tenement is entitled to compensation 

(dictum) Texaco Inc. v. Secretary of Public Works 85 PRR 686 (1962). 

34.On January 20 and January 31, 2022 HTA was reminded the property of Movants 

was landlocked. Exhibit 15 and 16 

COURT OF APPEALS JUDGMENT 

35.HTA in paragraph 14 of their May 5, 2023 brief states: 

Thereafter, Claimants commenced various proceedings in the 

Commonwealth courts seeking to resolve issues in connection with 

calculating and withdrawing the outstanding Settlement amount. 

Ultimately, the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals endorsed the Settlement 

Agreement, conducted an accounting of HTA’s deposits in 

performance of the Settlement Agreement Amount, and remanded the 

case to the lower court to “order the delivery of the [remaining] amount 

of $15,193.32 in full payment of just compensation in favor of the 

[Claimants].” May 31, 2019 Judgment of the Court of Appeals at 11-12. 

36. The HTA statement gives the impression that the Court of Appeals passed 

judgment on the terms of the agreement resolving the issue in their favor. Far from 

the truth we shall see reading said Judgment. Exhibit 17 

37.As the petition by Movants to withdraw the money in local expropriation court 

was denied, Movants filed Certiorari KLCE201801384 with HTA appearing endorsing 

Movants petition. Exhibit 18 

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38.As the second petition to remove the funds resulted in an erroneous amount to 

be given to movants by the expropriation court both HTA and Movants filed 

Certioraris. KLCE201900284 by HTA and KLAN201900334, which were consolidated. 

39. The Court of Appeals ordered the payment of the correct sum. The terms of 

Settlement Agreement between the HTA and Movants was not an issue before this 

or any Court of Appeals. 

CAMINO PARCEL. 

40.HTA pleads that the Camino claim was filed on May 2, 2023 untimely as it should 

have been filed on March 6, 2023. Obviously, such incorrect filing is my fault. 

Nevertheless, no harm has been done as HTA was well aware of the matter since 

the year 2011. We very respectfully ask this Honorable Court to accept this 

pleading for the benefit of justice. 

COMPENSATION 

41.On June 28, 2018 Movants filed the corresponding Proof of Claim. Exhibit 19V 

42. The computation for the compensation of the severance land is done using the 

same parameters HTA used in other parcel expropriated from Perseverancia 

property. We will do the math for the benefit of this Honorable Court and HTA. 

43.Movants own 10.29 “cuerdas” of the landlocked property. The value of each 

“cuerda” is $17,300.00, thus the landlocked portion is valued at $17,300.00 x 10.29 = 

$178,017.00. The property has been landlock since 2011 to today or for 12 years. 

44.Utilizing the same metrics HTA used in the sister case KEF2011-0241 he have: 

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10.29 “cuerdas” x $17,300.00 = $178,017.00

Rent: $178,017.00 x .08 = $14,241.36 annually x 12 = $170,896.32

Plus, interests averaged at 1% is: $178,017.00 x 1%= $1,780.17 x 12 years = $21,362.04 

Thus, we add: $178,017.00 (value of landlocked property 

 $170,896.32 (rent) 

 $ 21,362.04 (interest – not compounded) 

 $370,275.36 

45. The damages relative to Camino parcel of $30,791.00 being challenged by HTA 

are not included. 

WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested that Puerto Rico Highways and 

Transportation Authority’s (1) Opposition to (A) Motion Requesting Payment of 

Severance Damages [ECF No. 23612], and (B) Amended Petition Requesting 

Payment of Severance Damages [ECF No. 24103], and (2) Reply to Response filed 

by Claimant Adrián Mercado Jiménez [ECF No. 21326] In Connection with the Four 

Hundred Fifty-Fourth Omnibus Objection (Non-Substantive) to Satisfied Claims BE 

DENIED, and that Movant Reply to The Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation 

Authority’s (1) Opposition To (A) Motion Requesting Payment of Severance 

Damages [ECF No. 23612], And (B) Amended Petition Requesting Payment of 

Severance Damages [ECF No. 24103], and (2) Reply to Response Filed by Claimant 

Adrián Mercado Jiménez [ECF No. 21326] in Connection with the Four Hundred FiftyFourth Omnibus Objection (Non-Substantive) to Satisfied Claims Docket #24153 BE 

GRANTED, and that Puerto Rico Highways and Authority be ordered to pay Movants 

the sum of $370,275.36 with costs and attorney fees. 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED. 

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PROMESA TITLE III No. 17 BK 3283-LTS 9

 In San Juan, Puerto Rico this 25 day of May 2023. 

 

 s/ADRIÁN MERCADO

USDC-PR 111304 

PO Box 9023980 

San Juan, PR 00902-3980 

TEL.: (787) 273-0611 

MOB.: (787) 567-0025 

E-Mail: amercado@mercadosotolaw.com

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of this motion was electronically filed by 

Movant, using the CM/EFC system, which will send notification to all the parties 

which have made an electronic appearance in this case. 

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