## Facts

- Carmen Gabriella Szendrey-Ramos served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of FirstBank Puerto Rico and as corporate secretary to relevant boards; Rafael Ernesto Bonnin-Suris is her husband.
- A law firm delivered to Szendrey-Ramos a report alleging ethical and legal violations by bank officials relating to accounting for bulk purchases of mortgage loans.
- Szendrey-Ramos conducted an internal investigation, concluded there were irregularities and Code of Ethics violations, and reported her findings to outside counsel, bank officials, and the board.
- In October 2005, the bank terminated Szendrey-Ramos, allegedly attributing blame to her for matters connected to the investigation.
- Plaintiffs sued asserting federal claims under Title VII (discrimination and retaliation) and Puerto Rico–law claims including wrongful discharge, constitutional violations, defamation, and tortious interference.
- Litigating the Puerto Rico–law claims would likely require disclosure of confidential information obtained while Szendrey-Ramos acted as the bank’s lawyer, raising questions under Puerto Rico’s Canon 21.

## Issues

1. Whether the court should decline supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(1)–(2) over Puerto Rico–law claims that implicate unresolved questions under Puerto Rico Canon 21 regarding an attorney’s disclosure of client confidences to pursue personal claims.
2. Whether the Puerto Rico–law claims substantially predominated over the federal Title VII claims, supporting discretionary dismissal under § 1367(c)(2).
3. Whether the amended complaint stated plausible Title VII discrimination and retaliation claims sufficient to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion.

## Decision

- The court granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss the Title VII claims; core aspects of the federal discrimination/retaliation case proceeded.
- The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over all Puerto Rico–law claims under § 1367(c)(1) and (2).
- The Puerto Rico–law claims were dismissed without prejudice for possible refiling in Puerto Rico courts.

## Legal Principles

- Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c), a federal court may decline supplemental jurisdiction when state-law claims raise novel or complex issues of local law or when those claims substantially predominate over claims within original federal jurisdiction.
- When resolving state-law claims would require a federal court to decide unsettled questions of local attorney-ethics law and public policy, comity concerns may support dismissal under § 1367(c)(1).
- State-law claims can “substantially predominate” when they would comprise the bulk of the litigation and shift the case’s center of gravity away from the federal claim, supporting dismissal under § 1367(c)(2).
- On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court accepts well-pleaded facts as true and dismisses only if the complaint fails to state a plausible claim for relief; conclusory assertions do not suffice.

## Conclusion

The court kept the case in federal court only to the extent of viable Title VII claims and dismissed the Puerto Rico–law causes of action without prejudice, reasoning that those claims both predominated and required resolution of novel, locally controlled confidentiality questions under Puerto Rico’s attorney-ethics rules.


Szendrey-Ramos v. First Bancorp, 512 F. Supp. 2d 81 (D.P.R. 2007)