USCA1 Opinion

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

United States Court of Appeals

For the First Circuit
____________________

No. 97-1393

JOSE F. RODRIGUEZ, ET AL.,

Plaintiffs, Appellees,

v.

PRUDENTIAL-BACHE SECURITIES, INC.,

Defendant, Appellee.

____________________

ANA M. MORALES,
Defendant, Appellant.

____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Salvador E. Casellas, U.S. District Judge]

___________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge,

___________
Lynch, Circuit Judge,
_____________
and Gierbolini,* Senior District Judge.
_____________________

_____________________

Jos Luis Gonz lez-Casta er was on brief for appellant.

___________________________
Carlos A. Bobonis-Gonz lez,
___________________________

with whom

Rodr guez Poventud was on brief for appellee.

__________________

____________________

Bobonis, Bobonis &

___________________

February 26, 1998

____________________

____________________

Of the District of Puerto Rico, sitting by designation.

Per Curiam.
Per Curiam.
___________

Plaintiff

Ana

M.

Morales

("Morales")

appeals the district court's

Securities,

Inc.'s

grant of defendant Prudential-Bache

("Prudential's")

cross-motion

judgment in this wrongful termination dispute.

On December

28, 1990,

Rodr guez ("Rodr guez"),

summary

We affirm.

Morales, her

and their conjugal

for

husband, Jos

F.

partnership filed a

complaint in the District Court of Puerto Rico against Rodr guez'

former employer, Prudential, seeking

the

brokerage firm's

subsidiary and

plaintiffs

Prudential's

February 1990 closing

its termination

asserted

alleged

redress in connection

seven

relationship with Rodr guez.

of Rodr guez'

causes

wrongful

of its

of

termination

Puerto Rico

employment.

action

arising

of its

Six of the seven

with

out

The

of

contractual

causes of action

were brought on behalf of Rodr guez and the conjugal partnership.

The remaining

cause of

action sought

behalf for damages she suffered as a

compensation on

Morales'

result of the direct injury

to her husband by Prudential.

The

arbitration

district court ordered the parties to proceed with

of

all

claims pertaining

arbitration panel of

district

the claims

pending the outcome

and the conjugal

Rodr guez

the New York Stock Exchange

court stayed

partnership

to

of Morales

before an

("NYSE").

and

The

the conjugal

of the arbitration.

Rodr guez

partnership arbitrated their claims

before the

NYSE, and the arbitration panel awarded him $1,014,250 plus costs

and attorney's fees

in full and final settlement

of all claims.

Thereafter, Prudential's petitioned the district court

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to vacate

the award, but

the court entered judgment for

other claimants.

See Rodr guez v. Prudential-Bache Sec., Inc.,

___ _________
____________________________

882 F. Supp. 1202 (D.P.R. 1995).

the district court's judgment.

Sec., Inc., 72
__________

Rodr guez and the

On appeal, this

court affirmed

See Rodr guez v. Prudential-Bache

___ _________
________________

F.3d 234 (1st Cir.

1995).

Prudential then

paid

Rodr guez his arbitration award.

In

her subsequent motion for partial summary judgment,

Morales argued

favor

that since the

of Rodr guez,

and

wrongful termination,

facts

necessary to

claims.

was the

since

The district

court

her claims

were

find

Prudential liable

to

find

damages and

dismissed

persuasive, and

Rodr guez
_________

January

v.

the

Morales'

We

her

on the grounds

write only

compensation.

complaint

and

granted

Morales appeals.

well-reasoned

opinion

stated therein.

Prudential-Bache Sec., Inc., No.

____________________________

23, 1997).

all the

Morales on

the corresponding

district court's

we affirm

his

appellant, the only issue remaining

Prudential's cross motion for summary judgment.

We

award in

based on

the arbitration panel adjudicated

Thus, according to

extent of

arbitrators rendered an

to emphasize

See
___

90-2659 (D.P.R.

that Morales'

claims arose directly from Prudential's termination of Rodr guez'

employment in

violation of

Law 80,

P.R. Laws

Ann. tit.

29,

185a, et seq., which provides an exclusive remedy for an employee

______
_________

who

has been

discharged without

just cause.

As

the district

court noted, "[h]er claims are directly derived, and inextricably

intertwined with the

her husband,

Jos

employment dispute

Rodr guez."

-3-

between Prudential

Consequently, her

and

attempts to

assert an

Rico's

independent cause of

general tort

action for damages

statute, Art.

1802

Puerto Rico, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 31,

Morales might have had a

alleged

Civil Code

5141, are unavailing.

viable cause of action if she

In Pujol v. Shearson/American Express, Inc., 829 F.2d

_____
_______________________________

Cir. 1987),

representatives

of

a husband and

their

district

court's

denial

judgment

against

an

conjugal

of their

employer.

wife, individually

partnership,

motion

This

for

court

and as

appealed

held

that

the husband's employment contract

as

respect

judicata

with

to

the

husband

partial summary

arbitration award under

res

of

tortious acts by Prudential independent of her husband's

dismissal.

1201 (1st

of the

under Puerto

and

an

stood

conjugal

partnership's claims, which were already arbitrated or could have

been raised at the arbitration proceeding.

However, the Pujol court

_____

direct injury to

See id. at 1206-08.

___ __

allowed the wife "to

her property and herself."

sue for

829 F.2d at

1209.

This court observed that "[i]f [the wife] can prove that personal

papers, documents and property belonging to her, as distinct from

________________

her husband or the conjugal partnership, were subjected

_________________________________________

treatment alleged, then she

at

1208 (emphasis

alleged

added).

has stated a cause of

In the

instant

to the

action."

case, any

Id.
__

injury

by Morales resulted from Prudential's conduct toward her

husband rather than from any acts committed directly against her.

Ultimately,

basis

Morales has failed to assert any independent factual

for recovery

distinct from

her

husband or

the conjugal

partnership.

-4-

Costs to be assessed against appellant.

Affirmed.
Affirmed
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