FRANK D. WHITNEY, Chief District Judge.
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendants Schneider Electric USA, Inc. ("Schneider") and Amy Blendinger's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 14) and Defendant Peter Schulz's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 16). Plaintiff has timely responded. (Doc. No. 24). The Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES AS MOOT IN PART the pending Motions to Dismiss. For the reasons below, as to Plaintiff's remaining claims, the Court sua sponte GRANTS Plaintiff leave to amend and DIRECTS Plaintiff to file an Amended Complaint as explained herein
On March 13, 2017, pro se Plaintiff, Robert Johnson, Jr., filed suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"). Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. No. 1), supplemental filings (Doc. No. 5; Doc No. 7), Response (Doc. No. 24), and six Charges of Discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC")
On December 16, 2012, Plaintiff was hired by Schneider as an Electrical Technician. Although Plaintiff's Complaint states that the discriminatory acts occurred on or about July 14, 2015, Plaintiff's six Charges of Discrimination portray harassment starting in July 2015 and continuing to his termination in October 2016. Plaintiff's Charges further indicate that the harassment he faced was both retaliatory and discriminatory in nature.
Plaintiff bases Count 1 of his Complaint on a written warning he received on July 14, 2015 for unsafely performing his job. He supports his claim by asserting another coworker acted in the same way and did not receive disciplinary action.
Plaintiff bases Count 2 of his Complaint on another written warning he received for unsafely performing his job on July 14, 2016. Plaintiff asserts the act he was written up for is part of the normal process at Schneider and states that the incident as described by Schneider in its response to the EEOC Charges is an inaccurate depiction of the events that took place. Plaintiff further describes the incident and explains his justification in his filed Addendum. (Doc. No. 7).
Although Plaintiff does not explicitly state Count 3 of his Complaint, his Complaint identifies his termination as a "discriminatory" act for which his suit is based. (Doc. No. 1). Construing all the pleadings liberally, plaintiff seems to assert his termination was based on a fictitious psychological disorder, fabricated by Schneider in retaliation for Plaintiff's six EEOC Charges. Plaintiff's Addendum (Doc. No. 7) and Response (Doc. No. 24) provides a summary of alleged events leading up to his termination from his perspective.
On March 14, 2017, Plaintiff's Motion to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. No. 2) was granted. However, the U.S. Marshals Service failed to complete timely service as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) with respect to the Defendants. On January 2, 2020, Defendants Schneider and Amy Blendinger filed their Motion to Dismiss and Memorandum in support of their Motion. (Doc. No. 14; Doc No. 15). Likewise, on January 6, 2020, Defendant Peter Schulz filed his Motion and Memorandum in support of his Motion to Dismiss. (Doc. No. 16; Doc. No. 17).
In response to Defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Doc. No. 14; Doc. No. 16), this Court, in its Order filed January 31, 2020, denied the motions to the extent Defendants relied on Rules 12(b)(2) and (b)(5). This Court, in accordance with the principles under
"When considering a motion to dismiss involving pro se parties, the court construes the pleadings liberally to ensure that valid claims do not fail merely for lack of legal specificity."
Courts have an "independent duty to ensure that jurisdiction is proper and, if there is a question as to whether such jurisdiction exists, [they] must `raise lack of subject-matter jurisdiction on [their] own motion.'"
Title VII and the ADA do not provide liability as to individual defendants.
To bring a claim under Title VII, Plaintiff must prove he has properly exhausted his administrative remedies. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1); 29 U.S.C. § 626(d)(1)(A);
Here, Plaintiff has failed to exhaust his administrative remedies with respect to Count 1 of his Complaint. As discussed above, Count 1 of Plaintiff's Complaint portrays a discrete incident involving Plaintiff's coworker, Jamal Adams, that occurred in July of 2015 and a written warning that ensued on July 15, 2015, as a result of the incident. Although Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC on March 16, 2016, alleging misconduct for the timeframe including July 2015, Plaintiff failed to mention the Jamal Adams incident in any EEOC Charges. A blanket charge of racial discrimination from the dates of July 1, 2015, to April 13, 2016, does not sufficiently encompass an incident not specifically mentioned, especially when Plaintiff's Complaint fails to assert discrimination based on race or any other protected class and does not provide any allegations to suggest the alleged discrimination arising out of the July 2015 alleged misconduct was an ongoing matter. Because Plaintiff failed to file a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC within 180 days from the incident with Jamal Adams, Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies and Count 1 of his Complaint must be dismissed. For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' Motions to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Doc. No. 14; Doc. No. 16) are GRANTED with respect to Count 1.
Turning to the remainder of Defendants' Motions to Dismiss, the Court finds that an opportunity to amend is more appropriate under the record before the Court. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 applies to the amendment of pleadings and allows a party to amend once as a matter of course within 21 days after serving, or "if the pleading is one to which a responsive pleading is required, 21 days after service of a responsive pleading or 21 days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f), whichever is earlier." Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(1). Rule 15 further provides:
Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2).
Under Rule 15, a "motion to amend should be denied only where it would be prejudicial, there has been bad faith, or the amendment would be futile."
The Court is not persuaded there is sufficient evidence of prejudice, bad faith, or futility to outweigh the policy favoring granting leave to amend, particularly given Plaintiff's pro se status. In order to make clear the allegations that have been set forth over multiple documents, the Court directs Plaintiff to file,
This Court, in its Order filed January 31, 2020 (Doc. No. 19), denied Defendants' Motions to Dismiss to the extent Defendants relied on Rules 12(b)(2) and (b)(5).
For the same reasons stated in the Court's January 31, 2020 Order, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 14) is DENIED to the extent Defendants rely on Rule 12(b)(4).
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Doc. No. 14; Doc. No. 16) are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED AS MOOT IN PART. The Court sua sponte grants Plaintiff leave to amend the complaint and
This Order is