Roosevelt Cayman Asset Company II v. Morales-Rodriguez et al
Filing
28
OPINION AND ORDER granted 23 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Carmen C. Cerezo on 3/6/2019. (mld)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
ROOSEVELT CAYMAN ASSET
COMPANY II
Plaintiff
vs
ESTATE OF ALEXIS MORALES
RODRIGUEZ, composed by
minor M.M.M.; JOHN DOE and JANE
DOE, as unknown members of the
ESTATE OF ALEXIS MORALES
RODRIGUEZ
Defendants
CIVIL 16-2265CCC
OPINION AND ORDER
This is an action for collection of monies and foreclosure of a mortgage
filed by plaintiff Roosevelt Cayman Asset Company II (RCAC-II) against the
Estate of Alexis Morales Rodríguez composed by minor M.M.M. and John Doe
and Jane Doe as unknown members of said Estate. Before the Court now is
the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by plaintiff RCAC-II on July 26, 2018
(d.e. 23), which remains unopposed by defendants.
The following are undisputed facts, established by plaintiff’s Statement
of Uncontested Facts (d.e. 23-1), the documents filed in support (d.e. 23-2
through d.e. 23-5), and the record of this action.
On November 30, 2004, decedent Alexis Morales Rodríguez received a
mortgage loan from RG Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, which repayment
obligation he evidenced with a mortgage note in the amount of eighty thousand
dollars ($80,000.00), repayable with an annual interest rate of six point three
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2
hundred seventy five percent (6.375%). As guarantee of the repayment
obligation, evidenced by the mortgage note, said decedent executed on
December 4, 2004 Mortgage Deed number 508 before Notary Public José
Enrique Amadeo, encumbering Property No. 15935, Puerto Rico Property
Registry, Section of Humacao, which property is owned by decedent Alexis
Morales Rodríguez.
Property number 15935, owned by decedent Morales Rodríguez and
encumbered by the mortgage note, is described in the Spanish language at
page 55 of volume 255 of Yabucoa, Registry of the Property of Humacao, as
follows:
URBANA: Solar radicado en la URBANIZACIÓN VILLAS DE
BUENAVENTURA, situado en el Barrio Aguacate del término
municipal de Yabucoa, con el No. P-11 de la Calle No. 3, con
cabida de 307.870 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, en
distancia de 13.50 metros, con el solar No. P-12 de la Calle
No. 11; por el Sur, en una distancia de 10.45 metros, con la Calle
No. 3; por el Este, en una distancia de 22.25 metros, con el solar
No. P-10 de la Calle No. 3; y por el Oeste, en distancia de
18.75 metros, con la Calle No. 3. La esquina formada por los
lindes Sur y Oeste en semi-curva e irregular. Enclava una casa
para una familia.
Plaintiff RCAC-II is the current owner and holder of the mortgage note in
the amount of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000.00), originally issued to the
order of RG Premier Bank of Puerto Rico. Morales Rodríguez defaulted on the
repayment obligation to RCAC-II and, for said reason RCAC-II accelerated the
debt and declared due the obligation under the mortgage note.
As of
March 12, 2018, defendants owed plaintiff the amount of $76,587.82, accrued
interest since January 1, 2016, at annual interest rate of six point three
hundred seventy five percent (6.375%), accrued late charges in the amount of
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$1,490.68, and expressly agreed-upon attorneys’ fees and legal costs in the
amount of $8,000.00, for a total of $86,078.50, which continues to accrue at
the contractual interest rate.
On July 1, 2016, RCAC-II filed this foreclosure of mortgage action based
on defendants’ non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the
aforementioned mortgage loan. On October 12, 2016, RCAC-II filed “Notice
of Filing of Amended Complaint to include minor M.M.M. as a member of the
Estate of Alexis Morales-Rodríguez” and “Amended Complaint” (d.e. 4 and
d.e. 5). On October 13, 2016, summons as to minor M.M.M. were issued by
the Court. Minor M.M.M. was served with summons and the complaint on
October 27,2016, as established by RCAC-II on the return of service filed on
October 31, 2016 (d.e. 7). On November 14, 2016, RCAC-II filed “Motion
Requesting Appointment of Guardian Ad Litem and Summons by Publication”
(d.e. 8). On April 27, 2017, the Court appointed the minor’s mother, Marisol
Moreno Navarro, as his guardian ad litem and granted her until May 31, 2017
to answer the complaint or otherwise plead on behalf of the minor (d.e. 12).
On November 22, 2017, summons by publication as to Jane Doe and John
Doe was issued (d.e. 22). On January 31, 2018, the summons was published
and notified by certified mail to both defendants. Despite all defendants having
been duly served, no answer was ever filed by any of them.
Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c), summary judgment is appropriate when
". . . [t]he pleadings, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file together
with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material
fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." The
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procedure authorized by Rule 56 "is a method for promptly disposing of actions
in which there is no genuine issue as to any material fact as in which only a
question of law is involved." 10 Wright, Miller & Kane, Federal Practice and
Procedure, Civil 2d, Sec. 2712 at p. 563. In order to grant summary judgment,
the trial court must determine if there are any "material" factual issues which
are identified depending on the substantive law that should be resolved and
also, whether such issues are also "genuine." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
477 U.S. 242, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 2510 (1986). The function of the summary
judgment is "to pierce the boilerplate of the pleadings and examine the parties'
proof to determine whether a trial is actually necessary." Vega-Rodriguez v.
Puerto Rico Telephone Co., 110 F.3d 174, 178 (1st Cir. 1997).
In light of the established uncontested facts and for the reasons
discussed below, RCAC-II is entitled to the entry of summary judgment
pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. This is so because defendants are indebted to
RCAC-II for the loan granted on November 30, 2004, which is past due and
payable.
Defendants herein have breached the repayment obligation
with RCAC-II under the Puerto Rico Civil Code, and the Puerto Rico Mortgage
Law. Accordingly, the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by plaintiff RCAC-II
on July 26, 2018 (d.e. 23) is GRANTED. Plaintiff RCAC-II is entitled to
judgment as a matter of law against the owner of the encumbered property, i.e.
defendant Estate of Alexis Morales Rodríguez, composed by minor M.M.M.;
John Doe and Jane Doe, as unknown members of said Estate, in the amount
of $86,078.50, as of March 12, 2018, which will continue to accrue interest at
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the contractual rate of six point three hundred seventy five percent (6.375%).
Judgment shall be entered accordingly.
SO ORDERED.
At San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 6, 2019.
S/CARMEN CONSUELO CEREZO
United States District Judge
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