André R. Gómez López Del Valle, Andrés Ricardo Gómez López Del Valle, and Roxanna Lopez Del Valle v. Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, Antilles Insurance Company, and Mapfre Praico Insurance Company

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico denied PRASA’s motion to dismiss negligence claims arising from the failure of fire hydrants to provide adequate water during a residential fire. The court held that PRASA’s statutory immunity for damages arising from insufficient water did not bar claims based on failure to maintain fire hydrants, and that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged a ministerial duty, design defect, and timely filing. The court ordered PRASA’s answer due April 17, 2026.

Holdings

1. The Organic Act's immunity for damages arising from the impurity, irregularity, or insufficiency of water supplied by PRASA does not bar a negligence claim alleging that PRASA failed to maintain fire hydrants.
2. Plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that PRASA had and breached a ministerial duty relating to the maintenance and repair of fire hydrants; at minimum, discovery was necessary to determine whether PRASA received notice from the Puerto Rico Fire Department triggering a repair duty.
3. Plaintiffs sufficiently alleged a design defect in the fire hydrants, and the additional specificity required to evaluate the claim could be obtained through discovery.
4. The claim was not time-barred because Puerto Rico's one-year tort limitations period begins when the injured party becomes aware of the damages and the likely tortfeasor, and plaintiffs filed within one year of the fire and resulting deaths.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority's statutory immunity for damages arising from impurity, irregularity, or insufficiency of supplied water barred plaintiffs' negligence claim based on failure to maintain fire hydrants.
2. Whether plaintiffs adequately alleged that PRASA had a ministerial duty to inspect, maintain, or repair the fire hydrants.
3. Whether plaintiffs adequately pleaded a design-defect theory despite not identifying a specific hydrant defect.
4. Whether plaintiffs' defective-design claim was barred by Puerto Rico's one-year tort statute of limitations.

Disposition

other