Court Opinion

ID: 2961948
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2015-09-21 20:50:13.636123+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:00:19.451327
License: Public Domain

USCA1 Opinion

	

                            UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                                FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT                                 ____________________        No. 91-2062                                 ANGEL SIERRA-SERPA,                                Plaintiff, Appellant,                                          v.                               MANUEL MARTINEZ, ET AL.,                                Defendants, Appellees.                                 ____________________                     APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT                           FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO                     [Hon. Carmen C. Cerezo, U.S. District Judge]                                             ___________________                                 ____________________                                        Before                                 Selya, Circuit Judge,                                        _____________                     Coffin and Campbell, Senior Circuit Judges.                                          _____________________                                 ____________________            Carlos V. Garcia Gutierez with whom  Guillermo J. Ramos Luina  was            _________________________            ________________________        on brief for appellant.            Carlos  Lugo  Fiol,  Assistant  Solicitor  General, Department  of            __________________        Justice, with whom Reina Colon De Rodriguez, Acting Solicitor General,                           ________________________        was on brief for appellees.                                 ____________________                                    June 15, 1993                                 ____________________                      Per  Curiam.   The  Supreme  Court  of Puerto  Rico                      ___________            issued  its  opinion and  a  judgment  on  February 5,  1993,            Sierra-Serpa v. Martinez, No.  CT-92-344 (P.R. Feb. 5, 1993),            ____________    ________            responding to the question certified by this court on May 27,            1992.  See  Sierra-Serpa v.  Martinez, 966 F.2d  1 (1st  Cir.                   ___  ____________     ________            1992).                      The   sole  issue   in  this   appeal  is   whether            plaintiff's    1983 action  was barred  by Puerto  Rico's one            year statute of limitations  for tort actions.  The  district            court held that it  was barred and dismissed the  action.  On            appeal, this  court found  that the issue  turned on  whether            Section 3  of Article 40  of the  Puerto Rico  Code of  Civil            Procedure, 32  L.P.R.A.    254, was implicitly  repealed when            Article 20  of the Penal Code  of 1937 was repealed  in 1974.            If Article 40(3)  was implicitly  repealed, then  plaintiff's            action  was  barred by  the  statute of  limitations  and was            properly dismissed.  The Puerto Rico Supreme  Court stated in            its opinion  that  Article  40(3)  was  implicitly  repealed,                                               ___            responding  in  the  negative  to our  question  whether,  in            essence,  Article   40(3)   excluded  from   the   applicable            limitations  period  the  time  during  which  plaintiff  was            imprisoned.                        In light of the opinion and judgment of the Supreme            Court  of Puerto  Rico,  we hold  that  the district  court's                                         -2-            dismissal  of  appellant's   complaint  as  time  barred   is            affirmed.           So ordered.                                    __________                                         -3-