Asociacion de Suscripcion Conjunta del Seguro de Responsabilidad Obligatorio v. Ortiz-Garcia

Filing 65

ORDER re 57 MOTION requesting Order for Post-Judgment Interim Relief, filed by Asociacion de Suscripcion Conjunta del Seguro de Responsabilidad Obligatorio. Defendant to respond by November 13, 2008, explaining why it cannot either (1) segregate th e compulsory insurance funds and transfer them to Plaintiff within twenty-four hours of receipt, or (2) speed up the reconciliation process and transfer funds on a weekly or bi-weekly basis until the final corrective measure is implemented by June 20 09. A Hearing will be held on November 18, 2008, at 9:30 A.M. Response due by 11/13/2008. Hearing set for 11/18/2008 09:30 AM in Courtroom 7 before Chief Judge Jose A Fuste. Signed by Chief Judge Jose A Fuste on 10/31/08.(mrj)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO ASOCIACION DE SUSCRIPCION CONJUNTA DEL SEGURO DE RESPONSABILIDAD OBLIGATORIO, Civil No. 08-1707 (JAF) Plaintiff, v. TREASURY SECRETARY ÁNGEL A. ORTIZ-GARCÍA, Defendant.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Before Suscripción the court is

ORDER the Seguro request de by the Asociación de

Conjunta

del

Responsabilidad

Obligatorio

("Plaintiff" or "JUA") for interim relief, filed on October 15, 2008, Docket No. 57. Defendant, the Secretary of the Treasury of

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, opposed on October 20, 2008, Docket No. 60, and Plaintiff replied on October 24, 2008, Docket No. 64. Under our August 15, 2008 Opinion and Order, Docket No. 38, the parties have been meeting in an attempt to comply with our ruling that Defendant must not continue to deposit compulsory insurance premiums into the Commonwealth General Fund. The parties have

agreed that, ultimately, compulsory premiums will be collected in a way that eliminates the collection centers currently in use, and that bypasses the Treasury Department. Docket Nos. 60, 64-1.

However, the parties acknowledge that this system will not be fully ready for implementation until June 30, 2009. Docket 64-2.

Civil No. 08-1707 (JAF)

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Plaintiff now requests that we order Defendant to transfer premiums collected on Plaintiff's behalf within twenty-four hours of receipt. Docket No. 57. Defendant responds, without explanation, that "it is technically impossible to segregate funds at the point of collection for the Department of the Treasury," and portrays Plaintiff's motion as an attempt to circumvent the negotiation process carried out by the parties per our Opinion and Order. Docket No. 60. Defendant does not clarify why it is impossible to either segregate the compulsory insurance premiums at the point of collection or to perform the reconciliations more quickly, in order to transfer the funds to Plaintiff more frequently and

expeditiously.

We understand that the ultimate solution may take

some months to carry out, but we see no reason to delay any and all corrective measures until June 2009. Accordingly, we hereby ORDER Defendant to respond by

November 13, 2008, explaining why it cannot either (1) segregate the compulsory insurance funds and transfer them to Plaintiff within twenty-four hours of receipt, or (2) speed up the reconciliation process and transfer funds on a weekly or bi-weekly basis until the final corrective measure is implemented by June 2009. A Hearing will be held on November 18, 2008, at 9:30 A.M. IT IS SO ORDERED. San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 31st day of October, 2008. S/José Antonio Fusté JOSE ANTONIO FUSTE Chief U.S. District Judge