Suite 800, MCS Plaza, 255 Ponce de León Ave., San Juan, PR 00917· PO Box 71449, San Juan, PR 00936-

8549 Office Tel.: (787) 756-9640· Fax (787) 756-9641

www.crlawpr.com

www.chitolaw.com

August 2, 2023

Ramón Coto-Ojeda* 

—

*Also admitted to the District of Columbia Bar

Edna Pérez-Román

Gabriel A. Rosa-Cruz

Vanellies Santiago-Rivera

Attn:

Hermann Bauer (Hermann.Bauer@oneillborges.com)

Ubaldo M. Fernández Barrera (ubaldo.fernandez@oneillborges.com)

Diana M. Perez (dperez@omm.com)

Luis C. Marini-Biaggi (lmarini@mpmlawpr.com) 

Carolina Velaz-Rivero (cvelaz@mpmlawpr.com)

MATTER: In re: The Financial 

Oversight and Management Board for 

Puerto Rico, Case No. 17-3283 (LTS); 

“LIFT STAY NOTICE FOR CASE NO. 13-

1360(ADC), ROBERT ANEL DÍAZ-MORALES 

V. LIMARIS CRUZ-VÉLEZ, ET AL.”

Dear all:

On May 5, 2023, we sent a communication to your offices 

informing you of our intention to request the lifting of the stay 

imposed by the United States District Court of Puerto Rico ("USDCPR") on the claim presented by Mr. Robert Anel Díaz-Morales ("Mr. 

Díaz Morales"). As you may recall, through that action, the 

procedural process of which is outlined in detail in our previous 

communication, Mr. Díaz Morales claimed against various public 

officials who were involved in the proceedings against him for 

being falsely and unjustly accused, convicted, and incarcerated 

for a period of 8 and a half years.

EXHIBIT 4

Case:17-03283-LTS Doc#:24878-4 Filed:08/14/23 Entered:08/14/23 11:05:59 Desc:

Exhibit Exhibit 4 Page 1 of 3
Page 2

Suite 800, MCS Plaza, 255 Ponce de León Ave., San Juan, PR 00917· PO Box 71449, San Juan, PR 00936-

8549 Office Tel.: (787) 756-9640· Fax (787) 756-9641

www.crlawpr.com

www.chitolaw.com

In this regard, you will also recall that initially, the USDCPR denied the request of the defendants to stay the proceedings, 

because the Commonwealth was not named as a party in the lawsuit. 

This Court's decision was appealed to the United States Court of 

Appeals for the First Circuit, which affirmed the inapplicability 

of the stay enjoyed by the Commonwealth against its creditors under 

PROMESA. However, following a ruling by Judge Swain that the stay 

provisions of PROMESA were applicable to the Commonwealth 

officials, on April 13, 2022, the USDC-PR extended the automatic 

stay to Mr. Díaz Morales' claim.

After outlining the legal reasons for the lift of the stay 

applied to Mr. Díaz Morales' claim, we sincerely requested to 

schedule an in-person meeting with you to reach a fair resolution 

to the claim of a person who was harmed by an unjust and erroneous 

judicial decision. However, to our surprise, on July 31, 2023, we 

received your objection to Proof of Claim number 46107, and you 

based it on the following:

“Proof of Claim fails to provide a basis for asserting 

a claim against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proof 

of Claim and supporting documentation only show 

liability between Claimant and individuals in their 

personal capacities, who are not part of the Title III 

proceedings.”

Not only is the reason provided as the basis for your 

opposition erroneous and in bad faith, but it is also frivolous 

and reckless. You will recall that, at the state level, it was the 

Commonwealth that, under the provisions of PR Law No. 104 of 1955, 

the Claims and Demands against the State Act, 32 LPRA § 3077 et 

seq., assumed the legal representation of the sued public officials 

and, furthermore, committed through a settlement agreement to 

indemnify Mr. Díaz Morales for the violations of his civil rights 

that arose as a result of his incarceration. At the federal level, 

it was the USDC-PR itself that acted based on its previous decision 

and extended the application of the stay to the actions of the 

officials sued by Mr. Díaz Morales.

Upon receiving the frivolous and reckless objection to Mr. 

Díaz Morales' Proof of Claim and acting in accordance with the 

good faith that has characterized Mr. Díaz Morales throughout the 

proceedings in various state and federal forums, on July 31, 2023, 

Counselor Gabriel A. Rosa-Cruz of Coto & Associates attempted to 

Case:17-03283-LTS Doc#:24878-4 Filed:08/14/23 Entered:08/14/23 11:05:59 Desc:

Exhibit Exhibit 4 Page 2 of 3
Page 3

Suite 800, MCS Plaza, 255 Ponce de León Ave., San Juan, PR 00917· PO Box 71449, San Juan, PR 00936-

8549 Office Tel.: (787) 756-9640· Fax (787) 756-9641

www.crlawpr.com

www.chitolaw.com

reach Mr. Hermann Bauer by phone, but his secretary informed him 

that he was not available. Counselor Rosa-Cruz left his cell phone 

number, hoping that Mr. Bauer would get in touch to, at the very 

least, arrange an in-person meeting as soon as possible and reach 

a resolution. However, as of the date of this communication, 

neither Mr. Bauer nor his team have shown good faith or had the 

courtesy to respond to our various communications to resolve the 

issue at hand.

Finally, we remind you that this claim is not merely a 

collection effort by a creditor. Our client was deprived of his 

constitutional right to freedom and to have his innocence 

safeguarded beyond a reasonable doubt for eight and a half years. 

There is no doubt that the Commonwealth’s officials, acting under 

color of law, violated Mr. Díaz Morales' rights, then a 21-yearold accounting major, and that our judicial system failed him in 

one of the worst ways imaginable. This resulted in him enduring 

incredible horrors during his incarceration, cutting short his 

youth, depriving him of enjoying the fruits of his efforts, and 

hindering for almost ten years his willingness to be a productive 

and law-abiding member of our society.

Based on the above, we request an in-person meeting on or 

before Friday, August 11, 2023, to reach an agreement regarding 

the compensation to which Mr. Díaz Morales is entitled for all the 

damage he has been forced to endure up to this day. Otherwise, we 

will proceed with our objection to your opposition of the Proof of 

Claim and submit our Motion to Lift Stay for the Court’s 

consideration. Please feel free to get in touch with Counselor 

Rosa-Cruz via the contact information provided to Mr. Bauer’s 

secretary or any of the addresses or phone numbers provided below.

SALDAÑA, CARVAJAL & VÉLEZ

RIVÉ,P.S.C.

166 Ave. de la Constitución

San Juan, P.R. 00961

Tel. (787) 289-9250

Fax (787) 289-9253

s/ Ángel E. Rotger Sabat

ANGEL E. ROTGER SABAT

USDC-PR No. 208601

arotger@scvrlaw.com

COTO & ASSOCIATES

P O Box 71449

San Juan, P. R 00936-8549

Tel: (787) 756-9640

Fax: (787) 756-9641

s/ Ramón Coto Ojeda

RAMON COTO-OJEDA

USDC-PR No. 202006

rco@crlawpr.com

Case:17-03283-LTS Doc#:24878-4 Filed:08/14/23 Entered:08/14/23 11:05:59 Desc:

Exhibit Exhibit 4 Page 3 of 3