## Facts

- J.C. Penney filed a Puerto Rico debt-collection action against the actual credit customer (Hector L. Reyes-Díaz), Isabel Díaz de Reyes, and a purported conjugal partnership, based on an assumption that Isabel was the customer’s wife.
- The assumption arose from a credit application listing “Isabel Díaz de Reyes” as an authorized user without specifying her relationship to the applicant; Penney mistakenly inferred she was the applicant’s spouse rather than his mother.
- After Isabel was served, Penney learned Isabel was not the customer’s wife and voluntarily withdrew the complaint against her before she filed an answer.
- Isabel, her husband (Hector Emilio Reyes-Cardona), and their conjugal partnership later filed a federal diversity action for damages under Puerto Rico tort law.
- Plaintiffs alleged the mistaken naming of Isabel in the collection suit caused Hector Emilio severe psychiatric and emotional injury and caused Isabel suffering.
- The district court granted Penney summary judgment, concluding the alleged facts did not state a cognizable damages claim under Puerto Rico law.

## Issues

1. Under Puerto Rico Civil Code Article 1802, can plaintiffs recover tort damages for emotional/mental injury allegedly caused by filing a civil lawsuit based on a reasonable mistake and brought in good faith, absent proof comparable to malicious prosecution (e.g., malice and lack of probable cause)?
2. Did the undisputed record create a triable issue that Penney’s conduct met the heightened standard applicable to tort claims based on instituting civil proceedings?

## Decision

- The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Penney.
- The court held that Puerto Rico law applies a standard stricter than ordinary negligence to damages claims premised on the institution of a civil suit.
- Because the record showed, at most, a reasonable mistake promptly corrected by voluntary dismissal, plaintiffs could not satisfy the required showing, and no genuine issue of material fact existed.

## Legal Principles

- Article 1802 does not permit recovery based solely on ordinary negligence when the alleged tortious act is the filing of a civil action.
- Puerto Rico law requires a malicious-prosecution-type showing for such claims, generally demanding more than a mistaken filing, including elements akin to lack of probable cause and bad faith or malice.
- A reasonable error in naming a party, followed by prompt withdrawal upon discovery of the mistake, is insufficient as a matter of law to support damages for harms attributed to the filing of the suit.
- Limiting liability for mistaken civil filings serves the policy of preserving free access to courts and avoiding tort exposure for routine litigation errors.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that a damages action based on the filing of a civil lawsuit in Puerto Rico requires proof comparable to malicious prosecution, and that Penney’s reasonable, promptly corrected mistake in naming Isabel as a defendant could not support liability under Article 1802.


Reyes-Cardona v. J.C. Penney Co., 694 F.2d 894 (1st Cir. 1982)