Opinion ID: 199490
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: District Court's Justification

Text: 22 In its written opinion, the district court found a protective order in favor of Lopez-Gerena to be justified because, as a matter of law, Humacao cannot be liable for the punitive damages judgment. The district court's reasoning appears to rest on two grounds: first, that recovery is barred by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's sovereign immunity, and, second, that recovery of punitive damages is prohibited by the scope of Law 9. We address these issues in turn. 23 The district court's discussion of sovereign immunity focuses entirely on language in Law 9 stating that the statute is not to be construed as a waiver of the Commonwealth's sovereign immunity--that is, the immunity afforded it under the Eleventh Amendment. See Ortiz-Feliciano v. Toledo-Davila, 175 F.3d 37, 39 ([T]he Commonwealth is protected by the Eleventh Amendment to the same extent as any state. . . .) (citing Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. v. P.R. Aqueduct & Sewer Auth., 991 F.2d 935, 939 n.3 (1st Cir. 1993)). Nothing in the district court's opinion explains why it believed the Commonwealth's Eleventh Amendment immunity was implicated by this case, and we see no reason why it would be. The Commonwealth is not a named defendant in this action. Nor is there any indication that the Commonwealth would be called upon to pay the damages plaintiffs seek. Although, in many applications, Law 9 requires the Commonwealth to pay the judgment of an indemnified official, see P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 32, §§ 3092 (stating that, in general, [t]he Secretary of the Treasury shall pay the judgments, costs and attorney's fees imposed on the defendants from the available funds in the Treasury of Puerto Rico), the provisions of the statute relating to indemnification of mayors and ex-mayors indicate that judgments in these cases are paid by the municipalities themselves, see id. (explaining that, when Law 9 benefits are provided to mayors and ex-mayors, the resulting judgments, costs and attorney's fees . . . shall be defrayed from available funds in the corresponding . . . municipality). 14 24 Indeed, it appears undisputed that the portions of the judgment in this case that have been paid -- the compensatory damages and attorneys' fees -- were paid by Humacao. In light of these facts, this case is clearly distinguishable from those in which we have found the Eleventh Amendment to present a bar to recovery under Law 9. See Ortiz-Feliciano 175 F.3d at 40-41 (affirming a district court's denial, on Eleventh Amendment grounds, of plaintiffs' request for an order directing the Commonwealth to accord Law 9 benefits to the defendants and pay the judgment); Fernandez v. Chardon, 681 F.2d 42, 59-60 (1st Cir. 1982), aff'd sub nom. Chardon v. Fumero Soto, 459 U.S. 987 (1982) (holding that the Eleventh Amendment precluded a district court from issuing an order requiring the Commonwealth to pay a damages award entered against officials of the Puerto Rico Department of Education). 25 In addition, the district court's analysis appears to rest on the assumption that the plaintiffs only have a judgment against Vega- Sosa in his personal capacity, and thus may only reach Humacao through Law 9. We find nothing in the record before us to support this assumption and think that it may well be incorrect. 15 This is significant because, if there is a judgment against Vega-Sosa in his official capacity, it runs against Humacao itself, 16 and the Commonwealth's immunity is irrelevant with respect to that judgment. See Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690 n. 54 (1978) (noting that state sovereign immunity is no bar to municipal liability under §§ 1983). 26 The district court's reliance on Law 9 as a basis for the protective order is also inapposite. To begin with, we question whether the issue of Law 9's scope was open to the district court to interpret, in light of this court's precedent on the subject. In Gonzalez-Torres v. Toledo, 586 F.2d 858 (1st Cir. 1978), we specifically considered the scope of indemnification available under Puerto Rico law, in order to determine whether an individual capacity defendant, once afforded Law 9 benefits, retained an interest in the judgment sufficient to maintain an appeal. See id. at 859. The defendant in question had been the target of a §§ 1983 suit and had a damages judgment -- including a significant punitive damages component -- entered against him. Id. The Commonwealth, acting pursuant to Law 9, moved to indemnify him against the judgment, but the defendant nonetheless sought to appeal the verdict. Id. In connection with this issue, the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico filed a certification with this court stating that the Commonwealth had assumed full payment of any judgment that might be entered. Id. (emphasis added). Thereafter, this Court held that the superintendent was under no personal obligation as a result of the judgment, and thus not a real party in interest, id. at 859-60 -- necessarily implying that the Commonwealth had assumed payment of all the damages, including the punitive damages. 27 Furthermore, even if the issue was properly considered by the district court, the conclusion the court reaches could not be supported on the grounds given. In reasoning that Law 9 must be interpreted to preclude indemnification of punitive damages, the court relied not on the language of Law 9 itself, 17 but on two unrelated statutory provisions describing the recovery available in suits brought against the Commonwealth or its municipalities under various Puerto Rico causes of action. 18 The district court offers no explanation as to why the scope of liability described in these statutes should influence our understanding of Law 9's indemnification provisions, 19 and we find its approach to interpreting the statute unconvincing. 28 Finally, we reiterate that the district court's reasoning ignores the plaintiffs' claim that they have a judgment directly against Humacao deriving from the official capacity suit. Because Law 9 is only implicated where there is a personal capacity judgment against an official, the district court's second rationale would be no bar to recovery against Humacao on an official capacity judgment.