Cáceres v. García Dones
Cáceres v. García Dones
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Eight workmen filed in the District Court of San Juan a claim for wages against José García Dones, under Act No. 10 of 1917 (Vol. II, p. 216), as amended, and Act No) 84 of May 12, 1943 (p. 196). They alleged that they had been discharged without just cause and claimed one month’s salary. The defendant answered denying that the discharge had not been for just cause and on the contrary alleged that the plaintiffs were constantly playing card and dice within the bakery and that on August 22, 1948, they moistened a bag of flour, failed to treat it, and quitted work without any motive, for which reason he was compelled to close his shop for three days, which caused him a great loss in his business-. After a trial on the merits, the lower court entered judgment sustaining the complaint as to six of the eight workmen.
To support both appeals the defendant alleges first, that the lower court erred in not rendering a written opinion substantiating its judgment in accordance with the law. Likewise, it did not render any opinion in support of its original judgment in connection with the rights of six of the eight workmen, nor to substantiate its ruling on the motion filed by them in the name of Felipe González Soto. On both occasions it merely entered separate judgments. The Rules of Civil Procedure by express provision of the statute
“It would be of considerable aid to us if the district courts followed the method contemplated by the Rules and used in the Federal Courts of setting out separately each finding of fact and conclusion of law.”
See also Ramírez v. District Court, 65 P.R.R. 330; Varela v. Fuentes and Pérez v. Cruz, 70 P.R.R. 838 and 890 respectively.
In the second place, the defendant charges the lower court with having entered judgment in favor of Felipe González Soto after the appeal was taken. It is true that subsequent to the filing of the notice of appeal the court entertained a document labelled “Motion for Reconsideration of Judgment.” However, such document did not have the scope of a motion for reconsideration, since strictly speaking, it only contained the request that the court, like in the case of the other six workmen, render judgment in favor of Felipe González Soto, who was one of the claimants and in support of whose claim, evidence was introduced similar to that offered in the other cases. Indeed it was not a question of several actions being joined, therefore losing their’ individuality. On the contrary, in the proceeding under consideration, eight workmen who had worked for the defendant and who maintained that they had been discharged without just cause, were
The weighing of the evidence is the object of the third assignment of error. Although we think that both judgments are supported by the evidence, for the purpose of greater clearness we shall make a summary of the evidence introduced. That for the claimants tended to show that each workman was paid a certain sum for each sack of flour treated; that nine or twelve sackfuls were treated daily and that usually each workman worked four days one week and three days the next. Also that shortly before their discharge, they had unionized and that pursuant to the decree applicable to bakeries they had to be paid a daily wage of $4 for eight hours; that the employer insisted that he was losing money and that he could only pay them $3.50; and that when they alleged that they were entitled to the mini
The lower court had before its consideration all the evidence introduced and complying with its duty, it settled the conflict. It believed the evidence for the claimants and not that for the defendant. As to the sums to be paid by the latter, it computed the average of what according to the workmen they earned weekly and, calculated what they would have received for one month. We do not think that in so doing •it committed any error. Its finding, we repeat, was supported by the evidence.
The judgments appealed from will be affirmed.
Felipe González Soto was one of the eight claimants. Likewise the judgment did not state anything regarding the claim of José Ramón Oca-sio Collazo, but the record shows that no evidence was introduced in this respect and that said workman was at that time confined in an Insane Asylum. •
See $ 2 of Act No. 10 of 1917, as amended by Act No. 182 of May 12, 1948 (Sess. Laws, p. 470).
Act No. 10 of 1917, supra, as amended by Act No. 17 of April 11, 1945 (Sess. Laws, p. 44) and Rule 20(a).
The decision in Guilhon & Barthelemy v. District Court, 64 P.R.R. 289, is not in point. In this case we held that “an appeal from a judgment or order ousts the jurisdiction of the lower court to pass on a pending motion for reconsideration thereof.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.