Ruiz-Sanchez v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. 12-1694 (1st Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseWhen a tire company closed its plant in Puerto Rico, it offered its employees severance pay contingent upon the execution of general releases. Plaintiff, a former employee of the company, accepted the severance package and signed the proffered release. Almost one year later, Plaintiff sued the company, asserting claims for unjust dismissal under Puerto Rico law. The district court dismissed the case. Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his claim under a protective Puerto Rico statute, P.R. Laws Ann. Tit. 29, 185a-185m, known as Law 80. The First Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the order of dismissal as to the Law 80 claim and remanded, holding that, in the interests of comity and federalism, the antecedent issue about whether Law 80 applied at all to Plaintiff's discharge should be decided before the question of statutory interpretation raised by the parties.
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