Blanco-Torres v. Fuentes Maldonado et al

Filing 61

OPINION AND ORDER: Denying 56 Motion for Reconsideration. Signed by Judge Gustavo A. Gelpi (AS) Modified on 4/29/2015 to change document type to Opinion (su).

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

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JOSE BLANCO TORRES,

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Plaintiff

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v.

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JUNTO DE GOBIERNO DE SERVICIO
DE EMERGENCIA, et al.,

CIVIL NO. 14-1622 (GAG)

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Defendants.
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OPINION AND ORDER

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José Blanco Torres, Plaintiff in this matter, brought this action against Junta de Gobierno

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del Servicio de Emergencia 9-1-1 (“the Board”) and Director Roberto Fuentes-Maldonado

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(“Fuentes”) in his official and individual capacity (collectively referred to as “Defendants”),

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alleging that he was discriminated against on the basis of his disability and age in violation of the

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Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq.; the Age Discrimination in

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Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq.; the Fourteenth Amendment to the United

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States constitution, pursuant to § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; Puerto Rico Law No. 44 of

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July 2, 1985, P.R. LAWS ANN. tit. 1 §§ 501 et seq. (“Law 44”); and No. 100 of June 1959, P.R.

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LAWS ANN. tit. 29 §§ 146 et seq. (Docket No. 1 and 26.)

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Defendants then moved this court to dismiss Plaintiff’s amended complaint pursuant to

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(5) and (6).

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Defendants’ motion. (Docket No. 41.) Thereafter, the court denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss

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this case due to Plaintiff’s insufficient service of process, ordered Plaintiff to re-serve Defendants,

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and also denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s ADA claim against the Board and

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(Docket No. 31.)

Plaintiff opposed

Civil No. 14-1622 (GAG)
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Fuentes in his official capacity. (See Docket No. 43.) The court did, however, dismiss the

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remainder of Plaintiff’s claims. (Id.)

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Presently before the court is Defendants’ motion for reconsideration of the court’s denial of

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their motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s ADA claim, in which Defendants disagree with the court’s

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interpretation of the application of Title II of the ADA and also argue that assuming Title II applies

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in this case, such application is time-barred. (Docket No. 56.) Plaintiff failed to oppose said

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motion.
Upon considering the Defendants’ submission and the pertinent law, the court DENIES

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Defendants’ Motion for Reconsideration at Docket No. 56.
I.

Standard of Review

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A motion for reconsideration cannot be used as a vehicle to re-litigate matters already

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litigated and decided by the court. Villanueva-Mendez v. Vazquez, 360 F. Supp. 2d 320, 322

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(D.P.R. 2005). It is also a long-standing rule that motions for reconsideration cannot be used to

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bring forth new arguments. See Nat’l Metal Finishing Co., Inc. v. Barclays Am./Commercial, Inc.,

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899 F.2d 119, 123 (1st Cir. 1990) (holding that motions for reconsideration may not be used “to

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repeat old arguments previously considered and rejected, or to raise new legal theories that should

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have been raised earlier”). These motions are entertained by courts if they seek to correct manifest

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errors of law or fact, present newly discovered evidence, or when there is an intervening change in

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law. See Rivera Surillo & Co. v. Falconer Glass. Indus. Inc., 37 F.3d 25, 29 (1st Cir. 1994).

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Civil No. 14-1622 (GAG)
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II.

Discussion

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With respect to Defendants’ arguments that this court engaged in a manifest error of law

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when it held that Title II encompasses employment practices, and thus allows public employees to

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sue public entities for employment discrimination, the court finds that it did not make any such

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error.

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The court need not delve into its reasoning in great detail, because it thoroughly explained

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such in its Opinion and Order at Docket No. 43, and Defendants fail to raise any arguments that

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persuade the court to abandon said reasoning at this time.

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encompasses employment practices look to because the legislative history of Title II, which

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notably references § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act as a model for Title II (an act that is

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unquestionably intended to include employment discrimination), and the Department of Justice’s

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implementing regulation that expressly states that Title II covers employment practices. See, e.g.,

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Bledsoe v. Palm Beach County Soil & Water Conservation Dist., 133 F.3d 816, 821-22 (11th Cir.

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1998) (extensively analyzing the legislative history of Title II and noting that Congress

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contemplated a coordinated interpretation of Title II and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act because

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language in § 504 very similar to that of 42 U.S.C. § 12132); Downs v. Mass. Bay Transp. Auth.,

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13 F. Supp. 2d 130, 134-36 (D. Mass. 1998) (same); see also 28 C.F.R. § 35.140(a). Notably,

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while not holding that Title II encompasses employment practices, the First Circuit has clearly

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stated that “the language of Title II [is not] clear on this question” and also appears to have

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suggested that Title II could be construed to encompass employment. Currie v. Grp. Ins. Comm’n,

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290 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 2002); see also Skinner v. Salem School Dist., 718 F. Supp. 2d 186, 192

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(N.H. 2010). As such, when the language of a statute is unclear and ambiguous, the implementing

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As discussed therein, Title II

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agency’s regulation is entitled to deference under the Chevron doctrine. See Chevron U.S.A, Inc.

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v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842-43 (1984) (requiring deference to

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implementing agency where it reasonably resolves a statutory ambiguity). And, as noted above,

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the Department of Justice has specifically stated that “[n]o qualified individual with a disability

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shall, on the basis of disability, be subjected to discrimination in employment under any service,

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program, or activity conducted by a public entity.” 28 C.F.R. § 35.140(a) (emphasis added).
Indeed, the court noted in its Opinion and Order that the issue of whether Title II

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encompasses employment practices is not well-settled law.

The Circuit Courts that have

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considered this question are split, but the guidance from our binding Circuit is clear on this point:

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that the court must differ to the Attorney General’s interpretation of Title II. As such, if the First

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Circuit wishes to weigh in on this issue and clarify its language in Currie, it may do so at a later

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date.

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With respect to Defendants’ claim that any application of Title II is time-barred, the court

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rejects this argument as waived. In moving to dismiss Plaintiff’s ADA claim, Defendants failed to

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affirmatively raise any statute of limitations defense with respect to that law. Such a defense is a

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waivable affirmative defense, not a jurisdictional bar to prosecution. United States v. Spector, 55

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F.3d 22, 24 (1st Cir. 1995). Further, as noted above, it is a long-standing rule that motions for

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reconsideration cannot be used to bring forth new arguments. See Nat’l Metal Finishing Co., Inc.,

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899 F.2d at 123. As such, not only did Defendants fail to raise this argument in their responsive

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pleading, but such an argument is not appropriately considered on motion for reconsideration. To

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the extent that Defendants argue that they did not raise this defense because they interpreted

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Plaintiff’s claim as one being brought under Title I, the court notes that an examination of

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Civil No. 14-1622 (GAG)
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Plaintiff’s amended complaint reveals that it is clear by the language used that he was grounding

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his ADA claim in Title II of that Act, as opposed to Title I. (See Docket No. 26 ¶ 1 (noting that

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the ADA “prohibits public entities from denying services or benefits to otherwise qualified

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employees with disabilities on the basis of those disabilities, and obliges equal opportunity for

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people with disabilities to access, participate in and benefit from a public entity’s aids, benefits,

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and services.”)). More so, Defendants had ample opportunity to respond to this very arguments in

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a reply to Plaintiff’s opposition to their Motion to Dismiss and yet they failed to take advantage of

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that opportunity.
Accordingly, the court DENIES Defendants’ Motion for Reconsideration at Docket No.

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56.

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SO ORDERED.

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In San Juan, Puerto Rico this 28th day of April, 2015.
s/ Gustavo A. Gelpí
GUSTAVO A. GELPI
United States District Judge

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