WILLIAM F. KUNTZ II, District Judge.
Victor Coureau ("Plaintiff) commenced this action pro se against Bill Granfield ("Defendant"), President of Local 100 UNITE HERE (the "Union"), alleging various wrongs and injustices related to, inter alia, personal injuries, termination of benefits, fraudulent inducement, and discrimination on the basis of race. The Court construes Plaintiff's allegations to arise from the Union's duty of fair representation and/or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Defendant now moves to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion is granted in its entirety and Plaintiff's complaint is dismissed with prejudice.
Because the Plaintiff is pro se, the Court has liberally construed the record in this case, including Plaintiff's handwritten Complaint and Opposition Affidavit, and Plaintiff's two handwritten letters to the Court, dated February 22, 2013 (Dkt. No. 6) and March 6, 2013 (Dkt. No. 7), respectively.
The Complaint asserts an assorted list of allegations, which include:
Plaintiff supplements these allegations with additional allegations by letter to the Court dated February 22, 2013 (Dkt. No. 6):
Defendant's statement of facts clarifies some of the above-listed allegations. Defendant
Defendant asserts, and Plaintiff does not dispute, neither Defendant nor the Union has had any contact with Plaintiff concerning the allegations asserted in the Complaint since the parties' execution of the Settlement. Id. On November 26, 2012, Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, brought this action in New York State Supreme Court, Kings County. Id. Defendant removed Plaintiffs action to this Court on January 16, 2013 on the ground that Plaintiffs claims arise under Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act and federal common law. Id.; see also Notice of Removal at 2.
To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), each claim must set forth sufficient factual allegations, accepted as true, "to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). At this stage, the Court accepts all factual allegations in the complaint as true and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiff, the non-movant. Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 71 (2d Cir.2009). However, the Court need not credit "legal conclusions" in a claim or "threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements." Id. at 72 (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937) (internal quotation marks and alteration omitted).
When determining the sufficiency of a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court may consider only the allegations on the face of a pleading. Roth v. Jennings, 489 F.3d 499, 509 (2d Cir.2007). Nevertheless, "[d]ocuments that are attached to the complaint or incorporated in it by reference are deemed part of the pleading and may be considered." Id.; see also Intl Audiotext Network, Inc. v. Am. Tel. & Tel. Co., 62 F.3d 69, 72 (2d Cir.1995) ("[T]he complaint is deemed to include any written instrument attached to it as an exhibit or any statements or documents incorporated in it by reference."). The Court may consider documents outside of the pleading if the documents are integral to the pleading or subject to judicial notice. Global Network Commc'ns, Inc. v. City of New York, 458 F.3d 150, 156 (2d Cir.2006).
Courts are particularly hesitant to dismiss actions filed by pro se litigants, as pro se complaints are held to "less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted
Many of Plaintiff's allegations do not appear, on their face, to raise any legal causes of action. However, this Court's subject matter jurisdiction is premised on federal-question jurisdiction because Defendant construes Plaintiffs claims to primarily arise from Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act and federal common law. See Notice of Removal at 2 (Dkt. No. 1). Moreover, in Defendant's Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, Defendant elaborates that many of Plaintiff's allegations stem from the Union's role as Plaintiffs exclusive bargaining representative and therefore a state claim for breach of Defendant's duty of fair representation. See Def.'s Br. at 3-5 (noting Plaintiff alleged, inter alia, Defendant "[f]ailed to take Plaintiff to the Union Hall for the filing of [his] benefit in August 2010," "[f]ailed to take some unspecified action related to Plaintiffs work-related injuries in 1999, 2004 and 2008," and "[e]ngaged in racial discrimination by refusing to respond every time [Plaintiff had] a problem for the past 20 years") (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Because Defendant's interpretation construes Plaintiffs complaint to assert a legitimate cause of action, which reasonably flows from Plaintiffs allegations, and because Plaintiff does not object to this proposed interpretation, the Court will analyze Defendant's motion as it applies to this cause of action. See, e.g., Gorham v. Transit Workers Union of Am., AFL-CIO, Local 100, NYCTA, No. 98 CIV. 313, 1999 WL 163567, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 24, 1999) (Kochi, J.) (analyzing motion to dismiss cause of action for breach of duty of fair representation based on defendant's unopposed interpretation of the pro se plaintiffs complaint). Accordingly, the Court will determine whether Plaintiff has stated a plausible claim for breach of the duty of fair representation.
The duty of fair representation stems from a union's status as the exclusive bargaining agent of its employees, which authority is derived from the National Labor Relations Act. See Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 177, 87 S.Ct. 903, 17 L.Ed.2d 842 (1967); see also Arteaga v. Bevona, 21 F.Supp.2d 198, 204 (E.D.N.Y. 1998) (Gleeson, J.). "A union breaches the
A claim for breach of the duty of fair representation is subject to a six-month statute of limitations. DelCostello v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 462 U.S. 151, 169-72, 103 S.Ct. 2281, 76 L.Ed.2d 476 (1983). In the Second Circuit, the cause of action "accrues no later than the time when plaintiffs knew or reasonably should have known that such a breach of the duty of fair representation had occurred, even if some possibility of nonjudicial enforcement remained." Cohen v. Flushing Hosp. & Med. Ctr., 68 F.3d 64, 67 (2d Cir.1995) (quoting Santos v. Dist. Council, 619 F.2d 963, 969 (2d Cir.1980)) (internal editing and quotation marks omitted). At the latest, "[i]t is beyond dispute that" the limitations period begins to run on the date of filing an NLRB charge that alleges the same misconduct charged in the judicial complaint. Kavowras v. New York Times Co., 328 F.3d 50, 55 (2d Cir.2003).
Plaintiff filed the complaint in this action on November 26, 2012. See generally, Notice of Removal, Ex. A (Complaint and Request for Judicial Intervention). Therefore, in order for his claim to proceed as timely, Plaintiff must show that he either did not know or reasonably should not have known that a breach of the union's duty of fair representation had occurred until May 26, 2012, at the earliest. However, as discussed, Plaintiff filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, alleging the Union failed to process a grievance on his behalf, on August 30, 2010. Therefore, the six-month limitations period for Plaintiffs claim of Defendant's failure to process his grievance began to run on that date and expired on February 28, 2011. To the extent Plaintiff alleges conduct outside the scope of the NLRB charge, the Court finds that Plaintiff nonetheless must have been aware of these alleged breaches before May 26, 2012 because Plaintiff had not been a union member since July 2010, see Decl. of Lia Fiol-Matta, at ¶ 7, and Plaintiff had no contact with the Union or with Defendant between August 23, 2010 and the filing of the complaint in this action. Id. at ¶ 14. Accordingly, Plaintiffs claim for breach of the duty of fair representation is dismissed as barred by the six-month statute of limitations.
Where a breach of a duty of fair representation was allegedly motivated by race, the claim may also be brought under Title VII. Gorham, 1999 WL 163567, at *3 (citations omitted). However, "a finding that the union breached its duty of fair representation is essential to the existence of a Title VII claim." Id. Having already
Defendant's motion to dismiss is granted in its entirety, and Plaintiffs claims are dismissed with prejudice. Because no claims in this case survive summary judgment, the Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of Defendant and close the case.