Opinion ID: 199133
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: summary judgment in favor of alvarado

Text: 11 The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Alvarado on the basis of the statute of limitations. In ruling upon a motion for reconsideration, the court stated that the additional facts pleaded by Lopez in his amended complaint did not change this disposition. We review the district court's ruling de novo. See Muniz-Cabrero v. Ruiz, 23 F.3d 607, 609 (1st Cir. 1994). 12 Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and . . . the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); see also Sheinkopf v. Stone, 927 F.2d 1259, 1261 (1st Cir. 1991). As the party opposing the motion, Lopez must set forth facts to demonstrate that a genuine issue exists for trial. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e); Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir. 1990). He has the burden of producing specific facts, in suitable evidentiary form to counter the evidence Alvarado has presented. Morris v. Government Dev. Bank of Puerto Rico, 27 F.3d 746, 748 (1st Cir. 1994). Lopez cannot rely upon conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation regarding Alvarado's allegedly discriminatory acts. Id. If the facts, taken in the light most favorable to Lopez, do not create a genuine issue of material fact regarding his ability to make out a claim of political discrimination, summary judgment was proper, and we must affirm. See Mack v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 871 F.2d 179, 181 (1st Cir. 1989). 13 On appeal, Lopez argues that the district court erred in finding his claim time-barred under the statute of limitations. He contends further that the district court should have found the existence of a continuing violation in the discriminatory conduct he attributes to Alvarado. We agree that the district court properly entered summary judgment for Alvarado, but we affirm for reasons different than those relied upon by the district court. See Medina-Munoz, 896 F.2d at 7 (stating that a court of appeals may affirm on any independently sufficient ground when reviewing a district court's grant of summary judgment). 14 The statute of limitations inquiry assumes that Alvarado committed an act or engaged in a course of conduct that could be the basis for a claim of political discrimination. If Alvarado committed no such predicate act or acts, there is no need to consider whether Lopez's complaint was timely filed or, in the alternative, whether the conduct constituted a continuing violation such that Lopez could still recover for some incidents otherwise barred by the statute of limitations. Having reviewed the summary judgment record in vain for evidence that Alvarado committed a discriminatory act, we conclude that Lopez has not met his burden of demonstrating the existence of a genuine issue of material fact on this essential point. 15 In support of his motion for summary judgment, Alvarado presented evidence, properly substantiated, to refute Lopez's allegations of his discriminatory conduct. In his affidavit, Alvarado states, I did not conspire or meet with anyone in order to set up a plan which will lead to plaintiff's eventual dismissal. He also states that he did not participate in the decision to dismiss Lopez from his position at the FAA in 1996. Because Alvarado properly supported his motion for summary judgment, Lopez had to demonstrate the existence of a trialworthy issue regarding discriminatory conduct by Alvarado. See Woods-Leber v. Hyatt Hotels of Puerto Rico, Inc., 124 F.3d 47, 50 (1st Cir. 1997) (stating, with respect to summary judgment, the non-movant must identify properly substantiated facts sufficient to establish a trialworthy issue). In attempting to meet this burden, Lopez may not rest on the mere allegations or denials of his pleading. Borschow Hospital & Med. Supplies, Inc. v. Cesar Castillo Inc., 96 F.3d 10, 14 (1st Cir. 1996) (quoting Barbour v. Dynamics Research Corp., 63 F.3d 32, 36 (1st Cir. 1995)). Rather, he must point to evidence in the record that would 'permit a rational factfinder to conclude that the challenged personnel action occurred and stemmed from a politically based discriminatory animus.' Padilla-Garcia v. Guillermo Rodriguez, 212 F.3d 69, 74 (1st Cir. 2000) (quoting Rivera-Cotto v. Rivera, 38 F.3d 611, 614 (1st Cir. 1994)). 16 In response to Alvarado's motion for summary judgment, Lopez offered only a personal affidavit and two pages from the transcript of Alvarado's deposition. Because the deposition excerpt is in Spanish, and Lopez did not provide an English translation, we decline to consider it as part of the record on summary judgment. See 1st Cir. R. 30(d); see also Gonzalez-Morales v. Hernandez-Arencibia, 221 F.3d 45, 50 n.4 (1st Cir. 2000) (finding appellants had waived arguments premised on documents for which they had not provided translations). 3 17 In his affidavit, Lopez references the Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment filed with the district court and avers that it is correct in all its parts to the best of my knowledge. This statement is insufficient as a proffer of evidence because affidavits submitted in opposition to a motion for summary judgment must be based on the affiant's personal knowledge. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e); see also Carmona v. Toledo, 215 F.3d 124, 131 (1st Cir. 2000) (noting that such affidavits must be made on personal knowledge and set forth facts that would be admissible in evidence). Moreover, the pleading to which he refers contains only legal arguments, with the exception of one quasi-factual allegation that states, Defendant Arcilio Alvarado actively discriminated against plaintiff [sic] he was responsible for taking away his responsibilities for transferring him and was the one who clearly identified plaintiff as a member of the Popular Democratic Party. This assertion merely repeats the conclusory allegations in the complaint and does not establish a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether Alvarado treated Lopez differently because he was a member of the PDP. See Santiago-Ramos v. Centennial P.R. Wireless Corp., 217 F.3d 46, 53 (1st Cir. 2000) (To the extent that affidavits submitted in opposition to a motion for summary judgment merely reiterate allegations made in the complaint, without providing specific factual information made on the basis of personal knowledge, they are insufficient.). 18 Finally, the only other evidence of discrimination that might be gleaned from this record is a single line in Lopez's affidavit, where he states, Mr. Alvarado in many occasions made reference to my political affiliation. This assertion about statements of political affiliation - unaccompanied by any specific factual information to support this claim, and unrelated to any employment action taken by Alvarado against Lopez - is patently insufficient to establish an act of political discrimination. See, e.g., Figueroa-Serrana v. Ramos-Alverio, 221 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir. 2000) (affirming summary judgment for defendants where the only evidence offered by plaintiffs was a sworn statement that a defendant voiced his intention to rid the workplace of employees with plaintiffs' political affiliation); Dartmouth Review v. Dartmouth College, 889 F.2d 13, 16 (1st Cir. 1989) (stating, we have consistently required plaintiffs to outline facts sufficient to convey specific instances of unlawful discrimination) (emphasis added). 19 In short, Lopez has failed to offer any properly substantiated evidence indicating that an act by Alvarado is cognizable as a claim of political discrimination. Accordingly, we need not reach the issue of whether a lawsuit filed to recover for such an act would be barred by the statute of limitations. Because Lopez has not met his burden of opposing the motion for summary judgment, the court properly entered judgment for Alvarado. 20 Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.