Haulde-Redin v. Betancourt

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Haulde-Redin v. Betancourt

Opinion

USCA1 Opinion




June 8, 1992 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]






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No. 92-1492

ALFREDO HUALDE-REDIN, MARIA
SUSANA COSTA AND THE LEGAL
CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP
CONSTITUTED BETWEEN BOTH PARTIES,

Plaintiffs, Appellants,

v.

ISMAEL BETANCOURT, SUPERINTENDENT
OF POLICE, ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.


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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO


[Hon. Carmen Consuelo Cerezo, U.S. District Judge]
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Before

Breyer, Chief Judge,
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Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,
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and Cyr, Circuit Judge.
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Alfredo Hualde-Redin on brief pro se.
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Maria Susana Costa on brief pro se.
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Per Curiam. We read plaintiffs' rather conclusory
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and rambling allegations, along with the documents they have

submitted, to claim the following. Plaintiffs Mr. and Mrs.

Hualde, citizens of Argentina, owned a boat. This boat was

"stolen" from them. Defendant Varaderos de Fajardo, Inc.

filed an action in Puerto Rico court against Mr. Hualde for

collection of money claimed owed. Plaintiffs told the

superior court judge that defendant Varaderos de Fajardo,

Inc. was not entitled to the boat, but a default judgment

entered against Mr. Hualde, and the boat was attached in

execution of the judgment. Mrs. Hualde, a part owner of the

boat, was not a party to the superior court action.

Plaintiffs sought to have criminal proceedings instituted

based on the "theft" of their sailboat, but to no avail.

Plaintiffs then instituted the present civil rights action

against the superintendent of police, various police officers

who had refused to assist with plaintiffs' complaints of

theft, Varaderos de Fajardo, Inc., the superior court judge

who entered the default judgment, and various other persons.

They claimed that the courts, police, and others

discriminated against them and denied them equal protection

because of their nationality and that they had been deprived

of their property (boat) without due process. They sought

damages, return of their boat, and declaratory and injunctive

relief staying the confiscation of their boat.



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We agree with the district court that plaintiffs'

action is in effect a collateral attack on the state court

judgment which authorized an execution on plaintiffs' boat.

Lower federal courts lack jurisdiction to review

constitutional or other challenges to such judgments.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S.
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462, 485-86 (1983); Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S.
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413 (1923); Lancellotti v. Fay, 909 F.2d 15, 17 (1st Cir.
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1990).

Affirmed.
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Reference

Status
Published