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Civil Procedure Keyed to Subrin
Gonzalez v. Banco Cent. Corp.
Facts
In the 1970s, a group of real estate developers sold subdivided lots of undeveloped land to approximately 3,000 purchasers, most of who resided in Puerto Rico. The land was found to be Florida swampland, which was inappropriate for development. In 1982, a group of purchasers (“the Rodriguez plaintiffs”) started a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. They sued the sellers, including Banco Central Y Economias. The Rodriguez plaintiffs alleged violations of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (“ILSFDA”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j, Rule 10b–5, and the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). In April of 1987, the Rodriguez plaintiffs tried to form a class action; however the district court did not allow them to. Thereafter, several plaintiffs formed a new group of claimants (“the Gonzalez plaintiffs”) whom were represented by the same attorney’s who represented the Rodriguez plaintiffs. They sued the same defendants and had a similar complaint. The Rodriguez plaintiffs ultimately lost their case. After comparing the Gonzalez plaintiffs' suit against the Rodriguez litigation, Judge Laffitte dismissed the Gonzalez action in its entirety on grounds of res judicata. The Gonzalez plaintiffs appealed.
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