Tax-Free Fixed Income Fund for Puerto Rico Residents, Inc. v. Ocean Capital LLC

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO Tax-Free Fixed Income Fund for Puerto Rico Residents, Inc., et al. Civil No. 22-1101(GMM) Plaintiffs v. Ocean Capital LLC, et al. Defendants. OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court is Magistrate Judge’s Giselle López-Soler (“MJ”) August 9, 2023 Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) (Docket No. 187) regarding various claims arising under the Securities Exchange Act raised in two pending motions (Docket Nos. 122-124). For the following reasons, the Court ADOPTS the R&R. I. BACKGROUND After presiding over an argumentative hearing on August 26, 2022 (Docket No. 88) and undertaking a careful review of the record before her, the MJ issued a comprehensive and well-reasoned R&R. (Docket No. 187). The R&R recommends that Defendant’s Motion for Judgement on the Pleadings and Request for Hearing and Motion for Failure to State a Claim (Docket Nos. 122-124) be granted given that Plaintiffs: (1) failed to advance convincing arguments that Defendant’s amendments to their SEC filings did not render Plaintiff’s claims moot, thereby stripping this Court of jurisdiction; and (2) failed to provide material evidence, required under a Rule 9 heightened pleadings standard, that Defendants engaged in fraud or misrepresentation. (Docket No. 187). On August 24, 2023, Plaintiffs collectively filed an objection to the R&R. (Docket No. 190). II. DISCUSSION In overseeing a case, the Court may refer motions to a Magistrate Judge for review and recommendation. See 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(B); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b); Loc. R. 72). Parties adversely affected by an R&R are then invited to “serve and file specific written objections to the proposed findings and recommendations” within fourteen days of receiving a copy of an R&R. Id. Upon submitting a timely objection, the Court is required to review de novo “those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendation to which specific objection is made.” Total Petroleum Puerto Rico Corp. v. Fonseca-Marrero, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197986 , 2018 WL 6131777 , at *1 (D.P.R. 2018) (quotation omitted); see also United States v. Valencia-Copete, 792 F.2d 4 (1st Cir. 1986). In conducting this review, the Court may “accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636 (a)(b)(1). In cases, like the one before the Court, where the MJ “produced a first-rate work product, a reviewing tribunal should hesitate to wax longiloquent simply to hear its own words resonate. Chen v. I.N.S., 87 F.3d 5, 7 (1st Cir. 1996) (quoting In re San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litig., 989 F.2d 36, 38 (1st Cir. 1993)). Thus, after completing an independent review of the record, the MJ’s R&R, and the Plaintiff’s objections to the Magistrate’s recommendations, the Court ADOPTS the MJ’s determinations and recommendations for resolving issues presented at Docket Nos. 122124. V. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated above, Defendant’s Motion for Judgement on the Pleadings and Request for Hearing (Docket No. 122) is GRANTED, and Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Docket No. 123) is also GRANTED. IT IS SO ORDERED. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 8, 2023. s/Gina R. Méndez-Miró GINA R. MÉNDEZ-MIRÓ UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE