Orden Fuste Adjuntas Agosto 1 2011

8/6/2019 Orden Fuste Adjuntas Agosto 1 2011

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

LUIS A. ACEVEDO-GARCA, et al.,

Plaintiffs

v.

MUNICIPIO DE ADJUNTAS, et al.,

Defendants

CIVIL NO. 97-2639 (JP)

MEMORANDUM TO MAYOR BARLUCEA AND

THE MUNICIPALITY OF ADJUNTAS

This Memorandum supplements the Courts Order granting

Plaintiffs motion for execution of judgment (No. 712). In 1997,

eighty-two (82) individuals sued the Municipality of Adjuntas

(Adjuntas), Roberto Vera-Monroig as Mayor of Adjuntas, and Irma M.

Gonzalez-Delgado as Personnel Director of Adjuntas alleging that they

were dismissed from their employment based on their political

affiliation. A jury awarded a sample of twenty (20) of the Plaintiffs

$6,956,400.00. Acevedo-Garcia v. Vera-Monroig, 368 F.3d 49, 50 (1st

Cir. 2004). The other Plaintiffs settled on the basis of the figure

returned by the jury in the first trial.

On November 14, 2006, the Court entered Final Judgment pursuant

to the settlement agreement between Defendants and the remaining

sixty-two (62) Plaintiffs. The Final Judgment was signed by: (1) U.S.

District Court Judge Jaime Pieras Jr.; (2) Israel Roldan-Gonzalez,

counsel for Plaintiffs; (3) Ana Margarida-Julia, counsel for

Case 3:97-cv-02639-JP Document 715 Filed 08/01/11 Page 1 of 5


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Defendants Roberto Vera-Monroig and Irma Gonzalez-Delgado; (4) Harry

Segarra-Arroyo, counsel for Adjuntas; and (5) the Honorable Jaime

Barlucea, Mayor of Adjuntas (Barlucea). See Appendix 1. Under the

terms of the voluntary agreement, Plaintiffs would receive the amount

of $12,500,000.00 within 120 days from the entry of judgment (Nos.

489 and 490).

Thereafter, Defendants failed to comply with the settlement

agreement they voluntarily entered into. In an effort to collect on

the money owed to them, Plaintiffs over the last few years have filed

numerous motions requesting execution of judgment and/or the entry

of a finding of contempt against Defendants (Nos. 491, 497, 505, 559,

570, 580, 582, 583, 603, 605, 627, 641, 644, 660, 689, 702). The

Court has also met with the parties on numerous occasions in order

to assist Defendants in finding a way to comply with the judgment(Nos. 503, 520, 546, 599, 616, 640, 675, 709).

Even though over four (4) years have passed from the entry of

judgment, Defendants have still not complied with the obligations

they voluntarily accepted. They have made various sporadic payments

and a $6,000,000.00 payment (No. 695). At the same time Defendants1

have failed to comply with their obligations, Adjuntas, through its

Mayor, has undertaken numerous non-essential expenditures such as

1. It is worth noting that most of the payments made, if not all, have requiredsome form of Court intervention. It is incredible how Adjuntas simply cannotfollow through on its commitment to Plaintiffs. The Court has even had toresort to warning Adjuntas that failure to make a payment would result in theappointment of a trustee (No. 591).



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student group trips to Alaska, Spain and, most recently, China (Nos.

660). Also, instead of complying with its obligations, Defendants

have apparently obtained loans for other purposes in the amount of

over $4,000,000.00 (No. 702).

At this point, the Court has been left with no other options but

to grant the order for execution of judgment. No further non-

compliance from Barlucea and Adjuntas can be tolerated. Barlucea and

Adjuntas have no one to blame but themselves for the position they

are in. While it is true that Roberto Vera-Monroig was the Mayor of

Adjuntas when Plaintiffs were dismissed, it is also true that

Barlucea was the one who voluntarily entered into a settlement

agreement with Plaintiffs and who signedthe judgment itself.2

Also, Adjuntas seems to be under the impression that the

Department of Justice of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is obligatedto bail them out by paying for the settlement. This request has been

denied numerous times. It is time for Adjuntas to step up and accept

their obligation. If Adjuntas did not have $12,500,000.00 in 2006,

then Barlucea should not have agreed to pay said amount in order to

settle the case. For whatever reason, Adjuntas bound itself to pay

an amount of money it apparently did not have. Said behavior is

unacceptable and against the best interest of the people of Adjuntas.

2. If Adjuntas feels that Roberto Vera-Monroig should contribute financially, ashe probably should, then Adjuntas should sue him directly, or seekindemnification remedies against Vera-Monroig for the judgment amount, inasmuchas he was the one who became personally liable for violation of civil rights.



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Throughout this case Defendants have gone out of their way to

delay payment of their obligations and, in a sense, we have aided

them by delaying the inevitable. The First Circuit Court of Appeals

has accurately explained the behavior of Adjuntas and its Mayor with

regard to the payment of the verdict owed to twenty (20) of the

Plaintiffs:

The defendants have now had nearly thirty months since the

district courts December 2001 judgment to plan how to

meet their obligations should the judgment be affirmed.

They have not done so. On the contrary, they have engaged

in what appears to be a deliberate strategy of obstruction

and delay. The consequences of defendants initial

illegality and continuing irresponsibility should fall on

them. If there are ramifications under Puerto Rico law for

the defendants failure to meet their obligations under

federal law, so be it-it is not the function of the

federal courts to extricate defendants from a mess of

their own making. Had defendants applied themselves with

diligence to addressing the problem, rather than engaged

in willful blindness, we doubt this matter would be before

us for the fourth time.

Acevedo-Garcia, 368 F.3d at 59 (emphasis added). It appears that the

First Circuits admonishment has fallen on deaf ears. Adjuntas has

inexcusably failed to comply with its obligation under the November

14, 2006 Final Judgment. At every turn, Barlucea and Adjuntas have

sought to point the finger at everyone but themselves, including at

the undersigned. Unfortunately for Defendants, in the end, there is

a Final Judgment in this case which was agreed to and signed by

Defendants and Barlucea. The Court will not continue to waste its

time helping Adjuntas escape the mess it has created. It is in the



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public interest that Adjuntas and its Mayor be held responsible for

their own decisions.

I must note that my family is originally from Adjuntas. Nothing

saddens me more than having to grant an execution order against

Adjuntas. However, it is completely unacceptable to allow Adjuntas

or any other municipality, person or entity to escape its obligations

and to provide it with special treatment which the law does not

provide. Over four (4) years is more than sufficient time for

Adjuntas and Barlucea to comply with its obligations. They have not.

It is time for Barlucea and Adjuntas to accept the obligations they

chose to undertake when they settled this case.

In sum, it is about time that Mayor Barlucea stops his ay

bendito conferences, trying to gain support and public pity for

something that is Adjuntas own making. It is time for Barlucea to

stop his whining attacks and finger-pointing at the presiding judge

as if we had engaged in some sort of illegal act by simply doing what

the law says should be done to enforce a judgment that Barlucea

agreed to. Consider bankruptcy protection if available. Enough is

enough put up, act intelligently as a public official should, or

shut up!

IT IS SO ORDERED.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 1 day of August, 2011.st

S/JOSE ANTONIO FUSTEJOSE ANTONIO FUSTE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE


Orden Fuste Adjuntas Agosto 1 2011

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