Negrón-Santiago v. San Cristobal Hospital, 764 F. Supp. 2d 366

Negrón-Matos injures in Dec 2007 at PREPA facility; later ER visits at SCH; death Feb 2008; plaintiffs sue SCH, PREPA, UTIER and others in two consolidated cases; HIPAA and EMTALA claims are raised alongside Puerto Rico tort/constitutional claims; prior related suit against some defendants was voluntarily dismissed; SCH moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim and for fees; UTIER and PREPA seek dismissal for failure to state a claim and Rule 19 issues.
Plaintiffs allege injuries from coworker’s attack and subsequent medical care at SCH, seeking damages for EMTALA/ HIPAA violations and Puerto Rico tort claims; PREPA and UTIER are asserted to have retaliated or failed to protect, asserting Title VII, OSHA, HIPAA, §1983, and related claims.
Court consolidates cases 10-1287 and 10-1289, sets standard for Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, and reviews coconspiratorial and federal claim viability; court treats HIPAA/OSHA as non-private rights of action; considers EMTALA timeliness and tolling issues.
Court notes plaintiffs’ claims against federal-type protections are limited by statute; following analysis, federal claims are dismissed; court declines supplemental jurisdiction over Puerto Rico law claims; awards no attorney’s fees to plaintiffs, and grants defendants’ dismissal.
Conclusion: all federal claims dismissed; no fee shift against plaintiffs; supplemental jurisdiction declined; cases resolved via dismissal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
HIPAA private right of action	Negrón-Santiago argues HIPAA damages possible.	SCH contends HIPAA has no private right of action.	HIPAA provides no private right of action.
EMTALA timeliness and tolling	Equitable tolling should apply; delay caused by SCH preventing filing.	No tolling applicable; statute time-barred.	EMTALA claims time-barred; no equitable tolling recognized.
Whistleblower Act applicability	UTIER/PREPA allegedly violated WPA protections.	WPA not applicable to these parties; federal employee focus.	WPA claim patently meritless for federal WPA; sua sponte dismissal; Puerto Rico WPA reserved for later.
Constitutional/Title VII claims against UTIER and PREPA	Allege discrimination and constitutional rights violations.	No evidence of discrimination or state-action; no constitutional violations alleged.	Claims under Title VII and §1983 dismissed for lack of discriminatory basis and state-actor status.
Supplemental jurisdiction	Puerto Rico-law claims should be preserved via supplemental jurisdiction.	Federal claims disposed; no jurisdiction over state-law claims.	Declines supplemental jurisdiction over Puerto Rico claims.

Gagliardi v. Sullivan, 513 F.3d 301 (1st Cir.2008) (pleading must show plausible entitlement to relief under Twombly/Iqbal)
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) (pleading requires plausible grounds for relief)
Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89 (2007) (notice pleading standards; liberal construction)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009) (fraudulent pleading must show plausible claim)
Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408 (2005) (equitable tolling standard for nonjurisdictional statutes)
Neves v. Holder, 613 F.3d 30 (1st Cir.2010) (five-factor test for equitable tolling)
Gonzalez-Gonzalez v. United States, 257 F.3d 31 (1st Cir.2001) (sua sponte dismissals forpatently meritless claims)
Holland v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2549 (2010) (nonjurisdictional statutes carry presumption of tolling with extraordinary circumstances)
Irwin v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, 498 U.S. 89 (1990) (equitable tolling framework for nonjurisdictional statuts)
John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States, 552 U.S. 130 (2008) (nonjurisdictional statutes tolling analysis)
Jobe v. INS, 238 F.3d 96 (1st Cir.2001) (five-factor test cited by First Circuit for tolling)
Cruz v. Savage, 896 F.2d 626 (1st Cir.1990) (objective standard for §1927 sanctions)
United States v. Nesglo, Inc., 744 F.2d 887 (1st Cir.1984) (section 1927 sanctions standard)