COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge.
This action arises from the alleged sexual assault of Plaintiff Jaquia Buie by Defendant Darrell L. Best, who was at the time an employee of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department ("MPD"). Compl. ¶ 3. The following sequence of events is gleaned from the allegations of the complaint, which are accepted as true solely for purposes of the pending motion. On December 3, 2014, Defendant Best picked up Plaintiff at a Metro stop in an unmarked police-issued vehicle. Id. ¶ 30. Defendant Best then drove Plaintiff to a restaurant on 15th Street N.W. Id. At the time, he was in full police uniform and armed. Id. At the restaurant, Defendant Best made lewd comments to Plaintiff, and Plaintiff asked to go home. Id. ¶ 34. Although Plaintiff said she would rather take the Metro, Defendant Best insisted that he would drive her home. Id. Once back in the police vehicle, however, Defendant Best told Plaintiff that he needed to stop by MPD headquarters on business before returning her home. Id. ¶ 35. Once at police headquarters, Plaintiff tried to remain in the police vehicle, but was ordered by Defendant Best to exit the car. Id. ¶ 37. Plaintiff was then taken by Defendant Best from the secure underground garage, by use of a secure elevator, to his office at police headquarters. Id. ¶¶ 36, 38. There, he allegedly sexually abused her — a crime for which he has pled guilty and been sentenced to 18 years in prison. Id. ¶¶ 38, 42.
Presently before the Court is a [10] Partial Motion to Dismiss, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), filed by Defendant District of Columbia ("the District") and Defendant Muriel E. Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia (collectively, the "District Defendants").
The District Defendants contend that the complaint asserts no theory of liability as to Mayor Bowser, and that as a result, she should be dismissed from this case. Plaintiff does not respond to this argument, meaning it is conceded. See LCvR 7(b). In any event, because Mayor Bowser is sued only in her official capacity, and because the claims against her are merely duplicative of those against the District, her dismissal from this lawsuit is appropriate. Robinson v. District of Columbia, 403 F.Supp.2d 39, 49 (D.D.C. 2005) (Kollar-Kotelly, J.) ("Based upon the understanding that it is duplicative to name both a government entity and the entity's employees in their official capacity, courts have routinely dismissed corresponding claims against individuals named in their official capacity as `redundant and an inefficient use of judicial resources.'" (citations omitted)).
For its part, the District contends that in "counts four through eight of Plaintiff's complaint — Negligence, Negligent Entrustment, Negligent Retention, Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress — Plaintiff asserts claims which only survive as to defendant the District if defendant Best was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the alleged acts." Defs.' Mem. at 6. For the moment, the Court assumes that this proposition is true — that is, that these claims can proceed only under a theory of respondeat superior liability.
In defining scope of employment, the District of Columbia follows section 228 of the RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF AGENCY (1958) (the "Restatement"). See Council on Am. Islamic Relations v. Ballenger, 444 F.3d 659, 663 (D.C. Cir. 2006). With respect to the factual circumstances of this case, the most relevant authority is Boykin v. District of Columbia, 484 A.2d 560, 562 (D.C. 1984). There, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals found that a school teacher who sexually assaulted his student in the school cafeteria was not acting within the scope of his employment as a matter of law. Boykin, 484 A.2d at 564. Although the teacher's responsibilities included
Plaintiff does not challenge the District's contention that Defendant Best was acting outside the scope of his employment. Rather, Plaintiff contends that vicarious liability nevertheless attaches on the District pursuant to sections 219(2)(b) and 219(2)(d) of the Restatement. See Opp'n Mem. at 4-5. Because Plaintiff has plausibly alleged vicarious liability under section 219(2)(d), the Court reserves judgment with respect to the other section.
Section 219(2)(d) provides that "[a] master is not subject to liability for the torts of his servants acting outside the scope of their employment, unless ... the servant purported to act or to speak on behalf of the principal and there was reliance upon apparent authority, or he was aided in accomplishing the tort by the existence of the agency relation." (Emphasis added.) The District of Columbia has not expressly adopted this section of the Restatement, see Doe v. Sipper, 821 F.Supp.2d 384, 391 (D.D.C. 2011), but it has been relied upon by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ("D.C. Circuit").
Particularly, in Gary v. Long, the D.C. Circuit offered the following analysis of section 219(2)(d):
59 F.3d 1391, 1397 (D.C. Cir. 1995) (alteration and citations omitted). Although Plaintiff's position regarding section 219(2)(d) is thoroughly articulated, the District offers no response in its reply, and does not contest the applicability of the section. Furthermore, even reaching the issue, the Court finds that Plaintiff has plausibly alleged that the District is vicariously liable for the alleged sexual assault at issue pursuant to section 219(2)(d) under the narrow reading of that section espoused by the D.C. Circuit.
For the foregoing reasons, the [10] Partial Motion to Dismiss is