R&T Roofing Contractor, Corp. v. The Fusco Corporation et al
Filing
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ORDER: Denying 62 Motion for Reconsideration. As ordered previously at Docket No. 59 , Plaintiff shall oppose Defendants' pending motion for summary judgment on or before December 16, 2016. Signed by Judge Gustavo A. Gelpi on 12/9/2016. (GC)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
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R&T ROOFING CONTRACTOR, CORP.,
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Plaintiff,
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CIVIL NO. 15-2955 (GAG)
v.
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THE FUSCO CORPORATION;
TRAVELERS CASUALTY AND SURETY
COMPANY OF AMERICA,
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Defendants.
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MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
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This diversity suit arises from a roofing contract between Plaintiff R&T Roofing
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Contractor, Corp. (“R&T”) and Defendants The Fusco Corporation (“Fusco”) and Travelers
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Casualty and Surety Company of America (“Travelers”) (collectively, “Defendants”).
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retained subcontractor R&T to perform roofing work as part of a major construction project to
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repair and modernize the Clemente Ruiz Nazario Courthouse and the Federico Degetau federal
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office building in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. (Docket No. 4 at 2.) The project did not go according to
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plan, and R&T brought suit. (Docket Nos. 1, 4.)
Fusco
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Nearly a year after initiating this suit, R&T moved to amend its November 30, 2015
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Amended Complaint. (Docket No. 52.) This Court denied R&T’s motion for leave to amend “at
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this late stage of proceedings.” (Docket Nos. 60.) Presently before the Court is R&T’s motion for
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reconsideration of this Court’s order denying the motion to amend the Amended Complaint.1
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(Docket No. 62.) R&T’s motion for reconsideration is DENIED.
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R&T’s motion for reconsideration also renews its motion to defer ruling on Defendants’ motion for
summary judgment and renews its request to re-open the discovery process. (Docket No. 62, at 24.) Given the
denial of reconsideration for leave to amend the complaint, those requests are denied as well.
Civil No. 15-2955 (GAG)
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I.
Relevant Factual and Procedural Background
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R&T brought this diversity suit against Defendants on November 25, 2015; then quickly
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filed an Amended Complaint on November 30, 2015. (Docket Nos. 1, 4.) Defendants answered
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and counterclaimed, moved to dismiss, and moved for a stay pending mediation of the dispute.
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(Docket Nos. 16, 17, 18.) Among other things, the motion dismiss raised the applicability the
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Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 3133, et seq. (“Miller Act”) and its limitations period. The motion to stay
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was referred to Magistrate Judge Camille Vélez-Rivé, (Docket No. 21), who ordered R&T to show
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cause as to why Defendants’ motion to stay should not be granted. (Docket No. 24.) R&T did not
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respond. The stay was ordered on February 10, 2016. (Docket No. 25.)
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Nearly four (4) months later, R&T moved to reopen proceedings because mediation proved
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unsuccessful. (Docket No. 26.) On June 29, 2016, the parties attended a scheduling conference
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and established deadlines for discovery and dispositive motions. (Docket No. 36.)
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Defendants timely renewed their motion to dismiss. (Docket No. 37.) When R&T failed to
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respond within the established deadline, Defendants moved to deem the motion to dismiss as
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unopposed and moved for entry of default. (Docket Nos. 38, 39.) The Court granted Defendants’
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request to deem the motion as unopposed, but denied entry of default without prejudice. (Docket
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Nos. 40, 41.) Subsequently, R&T answered Defendants’ counterclaim, moved for reconsideration,
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and requested an extension to respond to the motion to dismiss. (Docket Nos. 42, 43.) The matter
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was referred to Magistrate Judge Bruce McGiverin, who denied the motion for reconsideration,
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noting that the deadline exceed the period set by rule. (Docket No. 46.)
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On November 1, 2016, Defendants moved for summary judgment. (Docket No. 47.) R&T
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moved for leave to file an amended complaint on November 7, 2016, but did not respond to
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Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. (Docket No. 52.) After the deadline to oppose
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Civil No. 15-2955 (GAG)
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summary judgment passed, Defendants moved to deem the summary judgment motion as
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unopposed. (Docket No. 55.) Then, on November 28, 2016, R&T moved to defer consideration of
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Defendants’ motion for summary judgment under Rule 56(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure. (Docket No. 57.)
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On November 29, 2016, this Court denied R&T’s motion to defer consideration and denied
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Defendants’ motion to deem summary judgment as unopposed. (Docket Nos. 59, 61.) Instead,
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R&T was ordered to respond to the summary judgment motion on or before December 16, 2016.
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The Court also denied R&T’s motion for leave to amend the complaint. (Docket No. 60.) R&T
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now moves for reconsideration of the Court’s denial of leave to amend. (Docket No. 62.)
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II.
Discussion
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R&T seeks reconsideration of this Court’s denial of leave to amend its complaint under
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Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See FED. R. CIV. P. 15(a)(2) (“a party may
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amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or the court’s leave. The court
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should freely give leave when justice so requires.”). The Rule 15(a) leave freely given standard is
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liberal, but not limitless. United States ex rel. D’Agostino v. EV3, Inc., 802 F.3d 188, 195 (1st
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Cir. 2015) (citing O’Connell v. Hyatt Hotels of P.R., 357 F.3d 152, at 154 (1st Cir. 2004)). “Of
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course, the grant or denial of an opportunity to amend is within the discretion of the District
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Court[.]” Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962).
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Here, the Court denied R&T’s motion for leave to amend, in its discretion, given “this late
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stage in proceedings.” (Docket No. 60.) The circumstances revealed that R&T’s undue delay,
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repeated failure to cure deficiencies, and utter disregard for court deadlines warranted denial of
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leave. See United States ex rel. D’Agostino, 802 F.3d at 195 (citing Foman, 371 U.S. at 182).
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Civil No. 15-2955 (GAG)
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Rule 59(e) motions—which seek to alter or amend a judgment—include motions for
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reconsideration. Biltcliffe v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 772 F.3d 925, 930 (1st Cir. 2014). “Rule 59(e)
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relief is granted sparingly, and only when ‘the original judgment evidenced a manifest error of law,
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if there is newly discovered evidence, or in certain other narrow situations.’” Id. (quoting Global
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Naps, Inc. v. Verizon New England, Inc., 489 F.3d 13, 25 (1st Cir. 2007)). However, the motion is
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not an appropriate mechanism to reiterate previous arguments or assert arguments that could have,
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or should have, been raised initially. Palmer v. Champion Mortg., 465 F.3d 24, 30 (1st Cir. 2006).
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Moreover, a Rule 59(e) motion does not allow a party to correct its own procedural missteps.
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Biltcliffe, 772 F.3d at 930 (citing Iverson v. City of Boston, 452 F.3d 94, 104 (1st Cir. 2006)).
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R&T presents a number of reasons for the Court to reconsider the denial of leave to amend:
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this is R&T’s first request for a substantive amendment; the case is only one year old; the case was
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stayed for nearly four (4) months; R&T’s delay in bringing the motion to amend was partly
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Defendants’ fault; and R&T was unaware of the Miller Act when the complaint was filed. (Docket
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No. 62, at 2, 7, 22.) Additionally, R&T stresses the importance of the proposed amendment—
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invoking federal question jurisdiction under the Miller Act rather than diversity jurisdiction—to
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support its reconsideration request. Id. at 4.
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Notably, R&T presented none of these reasons when initially moving for leave to amend
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the complaint. (See Docket No. 52.) As a result, these arguments are presented now through the
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unforgiving vehicle of reconsideration. See, e.g., Biltcliffe, 772 F.3d at 930 (“reconsideration is
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not the venue to undo procedural snafus or permit a party to advance arguments it should have
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developed prior to judgment”).
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weaknesses of R&T’s basis for reconsideration.
Review of the docket and the applicable law reveals the
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Civil No. 15-2955 (GAG)
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R&T candidly admits “when filing the complaint, [R&T] had no idea that the Miller Act
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existed[.]” (Docket No. 62, at 22.) Lacking knowledge of the Miller Act, R&T believes it is
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entitled to correct the error now. However, Defendants directly raised the issue of the Miller Act
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in their motion to dismiss on February 1, 2016. (See Docket No. 17-1 at 1, 2.) Therefore, R&T
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was on notice of the Miller Act on February 1, 2016, when Defendants directly raised the issue.
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Even excusing the initial drafting oversight, R&T delayed nine (9) months to amend the
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complaint after receiving Defendants’ motion to dismiss. R&T could have, and should have, filed
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a motion to amend the complaint in February (when Defendants raised the Miller Act issue), or in
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May (when R&T moved to reopen proceedings after mediation), or at the very least, in July (when
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Defendants renewed their motion to dismiss). R&T’s “repeated failure to cure” this defect doomed
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its motion for leave to amend. See United States ex rel. D’Agostino, 802 F.3d at 195 (“repeated
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failure to cure deficiencies” is one of many reasons for denial of leave to amend under Rule 15(a)’s
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leave freely given standard).
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When R&T finally sought leave to amend, Defendants’ had already moved for summary
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judgment as per the Court’s scheduling orders. (Docket No. 36.) Thus, R&T was required to
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show substantial, convincing evidence to support its motion for leave to amend the complaint.
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Somascan, Inc. v. Philips Med. Sys. Nederland, B.V., 714 F.3d 62, 64 (1st Cir. 2013) (citing
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Resolution Trust Corp. v. Gold, 30 F.3d 251, 253 (1st Cir. 1994)). R&T’s three-page motion for
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leave to amend hardly presented any reason why—after nearly a year—R&T should be permitted
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to amend its complaint and assert a new cause of action. Instead, R&T mentioned only that “the
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Miller Act preempts state law (with exceptions)” and asserted “this Court lacked diversity
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jurisdiction while having Federal Question Jurisdiction.” (Docket 52, at 2.) R&T’s motion for
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leave to amend did not present substantial evidence to show that leave to amend was warranted.
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Civil No. 15-2955 (GAG)
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Throughout this litigation, R&T missed numerous court deadlines without explanation.
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Perhaps even worse, R&T repeatedly waited for the deadline to lapse before seeking any extension
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or other relief. This strategy is plainly ineffective. The Court, in its discretion, found that leave to
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amend the complaint was not warranted under the circumstances of this case. (Docket No. 60.)
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R&T’s second attempt arguing for leave to amend—now under the rubric of reconsideration—
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does not persuade the Court that the initial ruling was in error.
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III.
Conclusion
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For the foregoing reasons, R&T’s motion for reconsideration is DENIED. As ordered
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previously, R&T shall oppose Defendants’ pending motion for summary judgment on or before
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December 16, 2016.
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SO ORDERED.
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In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on this 9th day of December, 2016.
s/ Gustavo A. Gelpí
GUSTAVO A. GELPI
United States District Judge
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