Olga Hernández Padilla v. Gretchen Pérez, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss Olga Hernández Padilla’s claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Puerto Rico Law 100. The court held that monetary-damages claims against the Commonwealth, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, and an official-capacity defendant were barred by the Eleventh Amendment, and that the claims were untimely under the applicable one-year limitations period. The court also concluded that the pleadings failed to state viable Fourteenth or First Amendment claims and directed entry of judgment.

Holdings

1. The Eleventh Amendment bars Plaintiff's claims for monetary damages against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, and Gretchen Pérez in her official capacity because those defendants are the Commonwealth or arms and instrumentalities of the Commonwealth.
2. Plaintiff's Section 1983 claims were subject to Puerto Rico's one-year limitations period for tort actions and were untimely because the alleged violations occurred in or around August 2023 while the complaint was filed on July 23, 2025.
3. Plaintiff's Puerto Rico Law 100 employment-discrimination claims were subject to a one-year statute of limitations and were untimely.
4. Plaintiff failed to state plausible procedural due process, substantive due process, or equal protection claims under the Fourteenth Amendment.
5. Plaintiff failed to state a viable First Amendment claim because her allegations of retaliation, public defamation, exclusion from a public forum, and threats of legal action were conclusory and did not identify facts showing a violation of a protected First Amendment right.
6. The Federal Tort Claims Act did not apply because Plaintiff sued state government defendants rather than federal government employees.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Eleventh Amendment barred Plaintiff's claims for monetary damages against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, and an official sued in her official capacity.
2. Whether Plaintiff's Section 1983 and Puerto Rico Law 100 claims were barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitations.
3. Whether Plaintiff's allegations stated plausible due process, equal protection, or First Amendment claims.
4. Whether the Federal Tort Claims Act applied to claims against Puerto Rico government defendants.

Disposition

dismissed