WILEY Y. DANIEL, Chief Judge.
Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint and Jury Demand ("Complaint") [ECF No. 53], on July 14, 2011. Plaintiff brings four claims for relief against his former employer: (1) Unfair Labor Standards; (2) Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy; (3) Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended in 2009(ADA); and, (4) Violation of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This matter is before the Court on Defendant's Partial Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss the Second and Fourth Causes of Action in Plaintiff's Amended Complaint [ECF No. 56], filed July 28, 2011. Plaintiff filed his Response [ECF No. 63] on September 6, 2011, and Defendant filed its Reply [ECF No. 68] on September 22, 2011.
This case arises from the events surrounding the termination of Plaintiff Patrick Kennedy by Defendant Riverstone Operating Company, Inc., ("Riverstone")
In October 2009, Mr. Kennedy was diagnosed with diverticulitis and potentially cancerous polyps. (Id., ¶ 11.) He underwent surgery in December 2009 to remove part of his colon. (Id., ¶ 13.) In anticipation of his medical leave, Mr. Kennedy requested short-term disability benefits from Riverstone. (Id., ¶ 13). Mr. Kennedy claims that Riverstone received a request for more information from the disability carrier regarding his request in early January 2010. (Id.) Mr. Kennedy returned to work on January, 11 2010, and submitted a physician-mandated work restriction that prohibited him from lifting more than 15 pounds. (Id., ¶ 14).
On January 21, 2010 the residents' personal files were stolen from an unlocked room and cabinet at CCC. (Id., ¶ 15). Mr. Kennedy alleges that his supervisor Trujillo instructed him to lie to the police by telling them the files were locked up. (Id., ¶ 16-17). Mr. Kennedy refused and Trujillo sent him home, stating that he was putting himself against the company. (Id., ¶ 19-20.) Rather than inform residents individually about the theft, Riverstone placed a note on the front desk explaining the files had been stolen. (Id., ¶ 22-24.)
The day after the theft, Mr. Kennedy alleges Trujillo assigned him tasks that
Mr. Kennedy claims that on February 1, 2010 he received a letter from the disability carrier rejecting his application for short-term disability benefits because Riverside had not completed the necessary paperwork. (Id., ¶ 40.) On February 10, 2010 Mr. Kennedy was terminated for "fraternization with residents" because he had shared information about the files. (Id., ¶ 41.) Mr. Kennedy claims this was a pretext and that he was actually terminated for refusing to lie to the police. (Id., ¶ 42.)
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that a defendant may move to dismiss a claim for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). "The court's function on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is not to weigh potential evidence that the parties might present at trial, but to assess whether the plaintiff's complaint alone is legally sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be granted." Dubbs v. Head Start, Inc., 336 F.3d 1194, 1201 (10th Cir.2003) (citations and quotation marks omitted). "A court reviewing the sufficiency of a complaint presumes all of plaintiff's factual allegations are true and construes them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1109 (10th Cir.1991).
"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Plausibility, in the context of a motion to dismiss, means that the plaintiff pled facts which allow "the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. If the allegations state a plausible claim for relief, the claim survives the motion to dismiss. Id. at 1950.
Riverstone asserts that no wrongful discharge claim may lie where the statute on which the claim is premised provides a remedy for wrongful discharge. Riverstone argues that because the ADA and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act ("CADA") provide a full measure of remedies, Kennedy may not bring a wrongful discrimination claim based on either statute.
Riverstone directs me to a line of cases holding that under Colorado law no wrongful discharge claim may lie where the statute on which the claim is premised provides a remedy. Gamble v. Levitz
In response, Mr. Kennedy argues that Brooke v. Restaurant Services, Inc., 906 P.2d 66 (Colo. 1995), supports a finding that wrongful discharge claims premised on the CADA are not barred. In Brooke, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the CADA is not the exclusive remedy for employment-related sex discrimination. Id. at 67. The Brooke court began its analysis by stating the general rule that federal and state remedies for civil rights violations are cumulative, not exclusive. Id. at 68. If the legislature wishes to bar preexisting common law rights with the creation of a statutory private right of action, "it must manifest its intent either expressly or by clear implication." Id. The court reasoned that because the CADA offers less than a comprehensive remedial scheme, such intent could not be found in the Act. Id. at 69-70. Specifically, the CADA provides no redress to an employee for discriminatory conduct that does not result in an employment-related decision, and damages are not available under the Act. Id. at 69. Moreover, remedies under the CADA "are only incidental to the Act's primary purpose of eradicating discriminatory practices by employers," and "the duties of the [Colorado Civil Rights Commission], in addition to enforcing the compulsory provisions of the Act, are geared toward eliminating discriminatory practices on a broad scale rather than addressing the harm such practices cause on a case-by-case basis." Id. The Brooke court concluded by noting that its analysis is applicable to all other forms of prohibited discrimination, including discrimination based on handicap. Id. at 70 n. 4.
I agree with Kennedy that a wrongful discharge claim premised on the CADA may lie. As I have previously found, the Brooke court "clearly addressed whether CADA may form the basis for a claim of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, holding that it may." Bronikowski v. Dish Commc'ns, No. 01-D-0457, at 4 (D.Colo. Sep. 12, 2001) (unpublished order); see also Van DeWege v. Storage Tech. Corp., No. 97-B1599 (D.Colo. Oct. 8, 1998) (unpublished order) (in light of Brooke, denying motion to dismiss wrongful discharge claim premised on the CADA). Thus while Gamble and its progeny state the general rule that wrongful discharge claims are unavailable when premised on a statute that provides a remedy, Brooke states that wrongful discharge claims premised on the CADA are an exception to the general rule. See 906 P.2d at 70.
Riverstone contends that reliance on Brooke is misplaced because the decision did not address the tort of wrongful discharge. I reject this contention. The first holding of Brooke — that the CADA does
Riverstone also contends that the 2007 decision of Crow v. Penrose-St. Francis Healthcare System, 169 P.3d 158, 168 (Colo.2007), indicates that Brooke would have been decided differently had a CADA-based wrongful discharge claim been at issue. I disagree. The Crow decision is inapposite because it dealt with ripeness and examined the second holding of Brooke — that the CADA requires exhaustion of administrative remedies only before filing claims pursuant to the Act — not the first holding, which is relevant to this case. See id. Accordingly, I find no reason to conclude that Crow in some way limited the first holding of Brooke.
Riverstone also directs my attention to Endahl v. Vinnell Corp., No. 04-CV-00426-MSK-PAC, 2006 WL 57496, at *10 (D.Colo. Jan. 10, 2006), where Judge Krieger found that the tort of wrongful discharge is barred when premised on the CADA because the Act establishes a remedy for such prohibited discrimination. This finding was based on the Gamble line of cases. Id. However, Endahl did not address Brooke at all, and I have previously found that "the Brooke case's holding is directly contrary to Gamble[.]" Bronikowski, No. 01-D-0457 at 4. My prior reliance and interpretation of Brooke in Bronikowski applies with equal force today.
Riverstone further argues that the rationale underlying the tort of wrongful discharge is incompatible with the assertion of CADA rights under the guise of wrongful discharge. The Caspar court noted that "the concept of a wrongful discharge evolved as an exception to the at-will employment doctrine and is designed to provide a remedy for unlawful adverse employment actions where no cause of action for breach of contract would lie." 280 F.Supp.2d at 1249. Riverstone thus contends that because the CADA contains remedy provisions, the tort of wrongful discharge no longer serves any purpose. Yet this contention does not address Brooke's findings regarding the CADA. The Brooke court found no legislative intent to abrogate common law causes of action, and the court pointed to the incompleteness of remedies (such as the unavailability of damages) under the CADA. 906 P.2d at 68-70. Thus I find that the purpose of wrongful discharge claims as described in Caspar is not eliminated when a wrongful discharge claim is premised on the CADA.
Finally, Riverstone argues that recognizing a claim of wrongful discharge premised on the CADA will encourage an end-run around the limitations within the CADA, such as the statute of limitations. I find this argument inconsistent with the reasoning and first holding of Brooke. See id. Therefore, I conclude that Brooke is
I agree with Riverstone that Mr. Kennedy's wrongful discharge claim is barred to the extent it is premised on the ADA. Mr. Kennedy did not address this issue in his Response so I conclude that Mr. Kennedy confesses Riverstone's argument regarding the ADA. In addition, a review of the issue reveals that Riverstone's argument has merit. Unlike with the CADA where the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that non-CADA remedies are available for discrimination claims, I know of no comparable authority regarding non-ADA remedies. Moreover, the comprehensiveness of the ADA stands in contrast to that of the CADA. An enumerated purpose of the ADA is to "provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities[.]" 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b)(1). Remedies available under the ADA include the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages, 42 U.S.C. § 1981 a(a)(2), as well as recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of a charge. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(3)(B). Accordingly, because the ADA has statutory remedies for wrongful discharge and because I know of no authority comparable to Brooke, Kennedy's wrongful discharge claim is barred to the extent it is premised on the ADA. See Gamble, 759 P.2d at 766.
Riverstone contends that Kennedy's ERISA 510 claim is barred by the sixth-month statute of limitations set forth in Colo.Rev.Stat. § 24-34-403. Riverstone argues that the Tenth Circuit's decision in Held v. Manufacturers Hanover Leasing Corp., 912 F.2d 1197, 1204-05 (10th Cir. 1990), mandates that I apply the state law limitations period applicable to Colorado employment discrimination claims, and Riverstone asserts that § 24-34-403 is the only limitations period applicable to such claims.
Held is the leading case on determining which limitations period applies to ERISA 510 actions. In Held, the Tenth Circuit began its analysis by noting the general rule that where a federal statute does not state a limitations period, statutes of limitations are to be borrowed from state law. 912 F.2d at 1200. Finding that section 510 of ERISA gave rise to the possibility of declaratory and injunctive relief under 29 U.S.C. § 1132, the court concluded that "the most analogous claim for relief under New York law is a claim for employment discrimination[.]"
Assuming that Held mandates that I use a statute of limitations applicable to employment discrimination, I disagree that Colo.Rev.Stat. § 24-34-403 provides the limitations period applicable to all employment discrimination claims in Colorado. Section 24-34-403 states, "Any charge alleging
Further, I find Murphy v. American Home Products Corp., 58 N.Y.2d 293, 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 448 N.E.2d 86 (1983), instructive in determining the proper limitations period for employment discrimination claims in Colorado. Murphy was the only case the Held court cited when it concluded that under New York Law employment discrimination is the most analogous claim to ERISA 510 actions. Held, 912 F.2d at 1205. In Murphy, the trial court had looked to New York's Human Rights Law — which is similar to the CADA, see N.Y. Exec. § 290-301 — for a limitations period to apply to an employment discrimination claim filed in state court, thus choosing the one-year statute of limitations applicable to complaints filed with New York's Division of Human Rights. 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 448 N.E.2d at 92. Overturning the lower court, the Court of Appeals found that "there are persuasive reasons why provision should be made for different periods of time within which claims for unlawful discrimination may be made-one for administrative relief, the other for judicial remedy." Id. Noting the radical difference of perspective between administrative intervention and judicial adjudication, the court ruled that employment discrimination claims filed in court are "governed by the three-year period of limitations ... applicable to `an action to recover upon a liability, penalty or forfeiture created or imposed by statute[.]'" Id., 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 448 N.E.2d at 93 (quoting N.Y.C.P.L.R. 214 (McKinney 2003)).
Additionally, the Tenth Circuit has indicated that claims for wrongful discharge are the most appropriate analogue to ERISA 510 actions. See Myers v. Colgate Palmolive Co., 26 Fed.Appx. 855, 864 (10th Cir.2002) (holding that under Kansas law a wrongful discharge claim is the most appropriate analogue to ERISA 510 claims and applying a two-year limitations period); Woods v. Halliburton Co., 49 Fed. Appx. 827, 829 (10th Cir.2002) (finding that retaliatory discharge, as a variant of employment discrimination, could serve as an analogue to ERISA 510 claims). Many other courts agree that wrongful discharge claims are most analogous to ERISA 510 actions. See, e.g., Hinton v. Pac. Enters., 5 F.3d 391, 394 (9th Cir.1993) (applying California's statute of limitations for wrongful termination); Byrd v. MacPapers, Inc., 961 F.2d 157, 159 (11th Cir. 1992) (finding that action for discharge in retaliation for filing workers' compensation claim is best analogue); Teumer v. Gen. Motors Corp., 34 F.3d 542, 549-50 (7th Cir.1994) (applying statute of limitations for retaliatory discharge actions); Myers v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., 102 F.Supp.2d 1208, 1225 (D.Kan.2000) (finding wrongful discharge to be the most appropriate analogue in Kansas law).
In light of these cases, I find wrongful discharge to be the most appropriate analogue to ERISA 510 claims. See Myers, 26 Fed.Appx. at 864; Woods, 49 Fed.Appx. at 829; see also Hinton, 5 F.3d at 394. Wrongful discharge in Colorado is characterized as a tort. See Martin Marietta Corp. v. Lorenz, 823 P.2d 100, 115 (Colo.1992) (applying statute of limitations for tort claims to wrongful discharge claim); see also Woods, 49 Fed.Appx. at 829 (noting that retaliatory discharge is characterized as a civil tort under Oklahoma law). As a tort, these claims are subject to the two-year limitations period found in Colo.Rev.Stat. § 13-80-102(1)(a). Therefore, a two-year limitations period is appropriate for Mr. Kennedy's ERISA 510 claim.
Mr. Kennedy was terminated on February 10, 2010, and he raised his ERISA 510 claim on February 14, 2011, well within the two-year period set forth in Colo.Rev.Stat. § 13-80-102. Accordingly, I find that Riverstone's Motion should be denied as to Kennedy's ERISA 510 claim.
Based on the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that Defendant's Partial Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss the Second and Fourth Causes of Action in Plaintiff's Amended Complaint is