Hoyos v. Telecorp Communicati

Filing 920070518

Opinion

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var WPFootnote1 = '                   In May 2001, Telecorp was acquired by AT&T Wireless. For\
simplicity\'s sake, we refer to the defendant as Telecorp\
throughout.\
'

var WPFootnote2 = '                   Hoyos also complains that on removal Telecorp failed to\
provide the district court with certified translations or even\
original Spanish language versions of the motions filed in the\
Puerto Rico court about the Law 2 issue. See 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a). \
In some cases, the failure to provide such documents could be fatal\
to removal. See id. § 1447(c) (authorizing remand to state court\
for defects in removal procedure). This defect in removal was not\
raised with the district court within thirty days of removal,\
however, see id., and in any event, Hoyos did not request as a\
remedy, either from the district court or from this court, that the\
case be remanded to state court. Instead, Hoyos moved the district\
court to order Telecorp to file translations of the missing\
documents, see D.P.R. R. 10(b); cf. Cordero-Soto v. Island Fin.,\
Inc., 418 F.3d 114, 118 (1st Cir. 2005) (holding that the district\
court did not abuse its discretion in excluding from consideration\
documents not filed in English), and argues to this court only that\
default judgment should have entered in his favor. For the reasons\
described below, the documents not filed by Telecorp were not\
material, and so any failure to file these state court pleadings\
with the district court was harmless.\
'

var WPFootnote3 = '                   In his complaint, Hoyos cited to Puerto Rico Law 115,\
which prevents discrimination against individuals for testifying. \
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 29, § 194a(a). That claim was untenable from\
the outset on these facts and is not raised on appeal. \
'

var WPFootnote4 = '                   Hoyos makes a cursory argument that a jury always must\
make the determination whether an employer had good cause to\
discharge an employee. He cites to a Puerto Rico Supreme Court\
case, Rivera Torres v. Pan Pepín, Inc., 2004 T.S.P.R. 59 (2004),\
but has not provided a translation as required by this court\'s\
rules. See 1st Cir. Loc. R. 30(d). As a result, the case may not\
be used to support his position. López-González v. Mun. of\
Comerío, 404 F.3d 548, 552 n.4 (1st Cir. 2005). In any event,\
Hoyos\'s interpretation of the law governing Law 80 claims does not\
conform with our understanding. See, e.g., Velázquez-Fernández v.\
NCE Foods, Inc., 476 F.3d 6, 13 (1st Cir. 2007) (affirming grant of\
summary judgment to employer on Law 80 claim because discharge of\
employee was for good cause).\
'

var WPFootnote5 = '                   Hoyos frames his argument in terms of the law governing\
employment discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil\
Rights Act of 1964. Because he raises no Title VII claim, we\
reframe his argument in terms of the law governing Law 80 and Law\
100 claims.\
'

var WPFootnote6 = '                   Hoyos also argues that "Telecorp\'s alleged non-discriminatory reasons [for terminating Hoyos\'s employment] were\
vague and general at best . . . and did not place . . . Hoyos in\
any position to understand what they [were]." Such an argument\
cannot be taken seriously.\
'

var WPFootnote7 = '                   Hoyos states that Alomar also violated a superior\'s\
instruction when she spoke with other Telecorp employees about her\
sexual harassment complaint against Hoyos. He argues that the fact\
that she was not disciplined for her violation while he was is\
evidence of disparate treatment on the basis of sex. The two\
violations are not remotely comparable, and the company\'s handling\
them differently does not evidence discrimination.\
'

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