Filed: Feb. 07, 2000
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 99-10679 _ CINDY HILL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AMERICA GROUP, Defendant-Appellee. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Docket No. 5:98-CV-44-C _ February 4, 2000 Before KING, Chief Judge, and POLITZ and DENNIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-Appellant Cindy Hill (“Hill”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of her suit against Defendant-Appellee Research Institu
Summary: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 99-10679 _ CINDY HILL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AMERICA GROUP, Defendant-Appellee. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Docket No. 5:98-CV-44-C _ February 4, 2000 Before KING, Chief Judge, and POLITZ and DENNIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Plaintiff-Appellant Cindy Hill (“Hill”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of her suit against Defendant-Appellee Research Institut..
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UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
_____________________
No. 99-10679
_____________________
CINDY HILL,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AMERICA GROUP,
Defendant-Appellee.
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
Docket No. 5:98-CV-44-C
_________________________________________________________________
February 4, 2000
Before KING, Chief Judge, and POLITZ and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Plaintiff-Appellant Cindy Hill (“Hill”) appeals the district
court’s dismissal of her suit against Defendant-Appellee Research
Institute of America Group (“RIAG”). For the reasons stated
below, we AFFIRM.
Hill was employed as a salesperson by RIAG. She lived in
Lubbock, Texas, and covered the west Texas sales area for RIAG.
Hill alleges that RIAG violated the Family and Medical Leave Act
(“FMLA”), see 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654, when it denied her leave to
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
care for herself and her sick husband, and when it terminated her
employment. Hill relied on the FMLA to form the basis of the
district court’s jurisdiction. See 29 U.S.C. § 2617(a)(2). RIAG
moved for dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), claiming that
the district court did not have jurisdiction to hear Hill’s
complaint because she was not an “eligible employee” within the
definition of the FMLA. The district court agreed and dismissed
Hill’s complaint without prejudice. Hill timely appeals.
When a defendant’s motion for dismissal is based upon a lack
of jurisdiction, the burden lies with the party invoking the
court’s jurisdiction. See Thomson v. Gaskill,
315 U.S. 442, 446
(1942). Therefore, Hill bears the burden of showing that
jurisdiction does exist. See Menchaca v. Chrysler Credit Corp.,
613 F.2d 507, 511 (5th Cir. 1980). Because RIAG attacks the
factual base upon which jurisdiction is predicated, i.e., that
Hill is an eligible employee under the FMLA, Hill bears the
burden of submitting facts sufficient to support jurisdiction.1
See Irwin v. Veterans Admin.,
874 F.2d 1092, 1096 (5th Cir.
1989).
1
We note that the district court’s consideration of evidence
outside of the pleadings does not serve to transform RIAG’s Rule
12(b)(1) motion into a motion for summary judgment. A Rule
12(b)(1) motion attacking the facts that form the basis of the
court’s jurisdiction will not be converted into a motion for
summary judgment unless those facts are “inextricably
intertwined” with the merits of the case. Moran v. Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia,
27 F.3d 169, 171 (5th Cir. 1994); see also Stanley
v. Cent. Intelligence Agency,
639 F.2d 1146, 1158 (5th Cir.
1981); see generally 2 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal
Practice § 12.30 (3d ed. 1999).
2
A Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss should be granted “only if
it appears certain that the plaintiff cannot prove any set of
facts in support of [her] claim that would entitle [her] to
relief.” Home Builders Ass’n of Mississippi, Inc. v. City of
Madison,
143 F.3d 1006, 1010 (5th Cir. 1998). The district court
“may base its disposition of a motion to dismiss for lack of
subject matter jurisdiction on (1) the complaint alone; (2) the
complaint supplemented by undisputed facts; or (3) the complaint
supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court’s resolution of
disputed facts.” Robinson v. TCI/US West Communications, Inc.,
117 F.3d 900, 904 (5th Cir. 1997). While we review the district
court’s decision to dismiss de novo, see Hager v. NationsBank
N.A.,
167 F.3d 245, 247 (5th Cir. 1999), the court’s
“jurisdictional findings of fact” are reviewed for clear error.
Robinson, 117 F.3d at 904; see also Randel v. United States Dep’t
of the Navy,
157 F.3d 392, 395 (5th Cir. 1998).
Under the FMLA, only an employee who is an “eligible
employee” within the meaning of the act may pursue a private
cause of action against an employer. See 29 U.S.C. § 2611. An
eligible employee is an employee who has been employed for at
least twelve months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the last
twelve month period, and who reports to a worksite employing at
least fifty employees within seventy-five miles of the site. See
29 U.S.C. § 2611(2). RIAG argues that Hill is not an eligible
employee under the terms of the FMLA because she did not work at
a worksite that employed fifty employees within seventy-five
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miles of the site.
The regulations accompanying the FMLA state that in the case
of employees with no fixed worksite, such as regional
salespersons, the worksite is the office the salesperson reports
to and from which assignments are made. See 29 C.F.R.
§ 825.111(a)(2). RIAG argues that Hill’s worksite was in Dallas,
Texas, because her supervisor, Jim Vorlop (“Vorlop”), resided in
Dallas and he was responsible for assigning work to Hill,
reporting her sales, and supervising her progress. Hill argues
that her real worksite was one of two locations in New York,
because “her principal assigned work” came from RIAG’s New York
offices.
The district court determined that Dallas was Hill’s
worksite for the purpose of determining whether she was an
eligible employee under the FMLA. We can not say this
determination was clearly erroneous. Although there is some
evidence indicating that Hill had periodic contact with RIAG’s
offices in New York, Hill’s deposition testimony indicates that
she reported her sales to Vorlop in Dallas, that her territory
was within his managerial region, that he monitored her sales,
and that he was responsible for monitoring her during
probationary employment periods. Additionally, RIAG submitted
the affidavit of its human resources manager, who stated that
Hill was assigned work by, and reported her sales to, Vorlop.
The district court further found that RIAG did not employ
fifty or more employees within seventy-five miles of Dallas. An
4
affidavit submitted by RIAG indicated that the company did not
have fifty or more employees within seventy-five miles of Dallas,
and Hill did not introduce any evidence that the requisite number
of employees worked within the Dallas area.
Lastly, Hill argues that the district court erred by not
treating RIAG as an “integrated employer” as defined by the
FMLA’s accompanying regulations. See 29 C.F.R. § 825.104(c)(2).
Because RIAG is an integrated part of another company, Hill
argues that the question of whether she was an eligible employee
should have been evaluated in light of her relationship with the
parent company. However, given that Hill bears the burden of
showing that she was an eligible employee, her argument must
fail. The record is wholly void of any evidence indicating that
RIAG is an integrated employer or that Hill was an eligible
employee of any company of which RIAG may be a part.
The district court’s factual findings were not clearly
erroneous. Because the district court’s findings meant Hill was
not an eligible employee within the meaning of the FMLA, she
could not sue for relief and the district court had no
jurisdiction to hear her claim. Therefore, the district court
properly granted RIAG’s motion to dismiss. We AFFIRM.
5