Filed: Sep. 10, 2014
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-2302 WENDELL E. WHYE; WILLIAM H. TROUT, Individually and on behalf of a class of persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs – Appellants, v. CONCENTRA HEALTH SERVICES, INC., Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Ellen L. Hollander, District Judge. (1:12-cv-03432-ELH) Submitted: August 29, 2014 Decided: September 10, 2014 Before KING and AGEE, Circuit Judge
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-2302 WENDELL E. WHYE; WILLIAM H. TROUT, Individually and on behalf of a class of persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs – Appellants, v. CONCENTRA HEALTH SERVICES, INC., Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Ellen L. Hollander, District Judge. (1:12-cv-03432-ELH) Submitted: August 29, 2014 Decided: September 10, 2014 Before KING and AGEE, Circuit Judges..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 13-2302
WENDELL E. WHYE; WILLIAM H. TROUT, Individually and on
behalf of a class of persons similarly situated,
Plaintiffs – Appellants,
v.
CONCENTRA HEALTH SERVICES, INC.,
Defendant - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Baltimore. Ellen L. Hollander, District Judge.
(1:12-cv-03432-ELH)
Submitted: August 29, 2014 Decided: September 10, 2014
Before KING and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Cyril V. Smith, William K. Meyer, Adam B. Abelson, ZUCKERMAN
SPAEDER LLP, Baltimore, Maryland; Julie C. Janofsky, FEDDER &
JANOFSKY LLC, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants. Catherine A.
Hanrahan, David M. Ross, WILSON ELSER MOSKOWITZ EDELMAN & DICKER
LLP, Washington, D.C.; Shadonna E. Hale, WILSON ELSER MOSKOWITZ
EDELMAN & DICKER LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Wendell Whye and William Trout (“Plaintiffs”),
individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated
individuals, filed a putative class action lawsuit in Maryland
circuit court against Concentra Health Services, Inc.
(“Concentra”), asserting Maryland tort claims for intrusion upon
seclusion and fraud based on allegedly unlawful breath alcohol
testing Concentra conducted on Plaintiffs and other class
members. After Concentra removed the case to federal district
court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, the district court
granted Concentra’s motion to dismiss the complaint for failure
to state a claim. Plaintiffs now appeal, challenging the
dismissal of both claims. For the reasons that follow, we
affirm.
We review de novo a district court’s dismissal of a
complaint for failure to state a claim. Philips v. Pitt Cnty.
Mem. Hosp.,
572 F.3d 176, 179-80 (4th Cir. 2009). In ruling on
a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the court is
required to “accept as true all of the factual allegations
contained in the complaint and draw all reasonable inferences in
favor of the plaintiff.” Kensington Volunteer Fire Dep’t,
Inc. v. Montgomery Cnty., Md.,
684 F.3d 462, 467 (4th Cir. 2012)
(internal quotation marks omitted). A motion to dismiss “does
not resolve contests surrounding facts, the merits of a claim,
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or the applicability of defenses.” Tobey v. Jones,
706 F.3d
379, 387 (4th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). To
survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the complaint must allege
sufficient facts “to raise a right to relief above the
speculative level” and “to state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly,
550 U.S.
544, 555, 570 (2007). However, the court need not consider
“legal conclusions, elements of a cause of action, and bare
assertions devoid of further factual enhancement,” or accept
“unwarranted inferences, unreasonable conclusions, or
arguments.” Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc.,
591 F.3d 250, 255 (4th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks
omitted).
Under Maryland law, the tort of intrusion on seclusion
is defined as “[t]he intentional intrusion upon the solitude or
seclusion of another or his private affairs or concerns that
would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.” Mitchell v.
Balt. Sun Co.,
883 A.2d 1008, 1022 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2005)
(internal quotation marks omitted); see Restatement of Torts 2d,
§ 652B (1977). “[T]he gist of the offense is the intrusion into
a private place or the invasion of a private seclusion that the
plaintiff has thrown about his person or affairs.” Pemberton v.
Bethlehem Steel Corp.,
502 A.2d 1101, 1116 (Md. Ct. Spec. App.
1986). An actionable tort requires both that “the intrusion
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must be something which would be offensive or objectionable to a
reasonable man,” and that “the thing into which there is
intrusion or prying must be, and be entitled to be, private.”
Hollander v. Lubow,
351 A.2d 421, 426 (Md. 1976) (internal
quotation marks omitted) (relying on W. Prosser, The Law of
Torts 807-08 (4th ed. 1971)), superseded on other grounds as
stated in Hartford Ins. Co. v. Manor Inn of Bethesda, Inc.,
642
A.2d 219 (Md. 1994).
Plaintiffs first assert that the district court erred
in dismissing their intrusion upon seclusion claim after
determining that they could neither establish a reasonable
expectation of privacy in their breath, nor that the breath
testing was highly offensive to a reasonable person. We have
reviewed the district court’s careful discussion of this issue
and find no reversible error. Importantly, even accepting,
without deciding, Plaintiffs’ argument that they had a
reasonable expectation of privacy in their breath, we conclude,
for the reasons stated by the district court, that Plaintiffs
cannot establish that the breath testing was highly offensive to
a reasonable person as a matter of law. Thus, we conclude the
district court did not err in dismissing this claim.
Turning to the fraud claim, a plaintiff must plead the
circumstances constituting fraud with particularity. See Fed.
R. Civ. P. 9(b). To establish a claim for fraudulent
4
misrepresentation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that (1) “the
defendant made a false representation to the plaintiff,” (2) the
defendant knew the misrepresentation was false, or made the
misrepresentation with reckless indifference to its truth or
falsity, (3) the defendant made the misrepresentation “for the
purpose of defrauding the plaintiff,” (4) the plaintiff relied,
and had a right to rely, on the misrepresentation, and (5) the
plaintiff suffered compensable damages resulting from the
misrepresentation. Hoffman v. Stamper,
867 A.2d 276, 292 (Md.
2005). A “false representation” is defined as “a statement,
conduct, or action that intentionally misrepresents a material
fact.” Sass v. Andrew,
832 A.2d 247, 260 (Md. Ct. Spec. App.
2003); see also Fowler v. Benton,
185 A.2d 344, 349 (Md. 1962)
(defining false representation as “anything short of a warranty
which produces upon the mind a false impression conducive to
action”). A fact is material if a reasonable person would rely
upon it in making a decision or if the maker knows the specific
recipient of the fact would likely consider it important.
Gross v. Sussex Inc.,
630 A.2d 1156, 1161 (Md. 1993).
“A statement that is vague and indefinite in its
nature and terms cannot support a cause of action for fraud.”
Lasater v. Guttmann,
5 A.3d 79, 103 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2010)
(internal quotation marks omitted). “[M]ere vague, general, or
indefinite statements . . . should, as a general rule, put the
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hearer upon inquiry, and there is no right to rely upon such
statements.” Goldstein v. Miles,
859 A.2d 313, 332 (Md. Ct.
Spec. App. 2004) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Plaintiffs assert that the district court erred in
concluding that they failed to adequately plead any of the four
elements of fraud. We find Plaintiffs’ arguments unpersuasive,
in light of the district court’s thorough treatment of the
issue. Moreover, even assuming, without deciding, that the
district court incorrectly determined that Plaintiffs failed to
adequately plead scienter, we conclude that they failed to
adequately allege the remaining elements of fraud, for the
reasons stated by the district court. Therefore, the district
court did not reversibly err in dismissing this claim.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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