RICHARD J. LEON, District Judge.
Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, claims that she was sexually harassed by her former coworker at the Jacksonville Job Corps Center (JJCC), which provides "a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training" in Florida. Compl. ¶ 1, 10-15, ECF No. 1; About Us, Jacksonville Job Corps Center, http://jacksonville. jobcorps.gov/about.aspx (last visited Sept. 12, 2011). She commenced this action against the ATSI/Jacksonville Job Corps Center (ATSI/JJCC); Clark V. Hayes, who plaintiff alleges was the owner, the CEO, and an employee of ATSI/JJCC; and Marvin Owens, an employee of ATSI/ JJCC over whom plaintiff alleges Mr. Hayes exercised supervision. Compl. ¶¶ 5-7. She alleges: (1) discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by ATSI/JJCC; (2) a violation of her Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights by ATSI/JJCC and Mr. Owens; (3) battery by Mr. Owens; and (4) negligent retention and supervision by ATSI/JJCC. Id. ¶¶ 16-55. Nowhere does plaintiff specifically pray for relief against Mr. Hayes. See generally Compl.
Mr. Owens and Mr. Hayes (collectively, not including ATSI/JJCC, "defendants") have moved to dismiss the claims against them, arguing in relevant part that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over them. See Def. Marvin Owens' Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 7; Def. Marvin Owens' Mem. Supp. Mot. Dismiss at 2-5, ECF No. 7-1 [hereinafter Owens's Mem.]; Def. Clark V. Hayes' Special Appearance Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 8; Hayes's Mem at 3-6.
Plaintiff asks that "Defendants['] Motion[s] to Dismiss be stricken." Mot. to Strike at 2. In her motion, plaintiff points to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 7(a) and 12(f). Id. at 1. "The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f). Only the following are pleadings: "(1) a complaint; (2) an answer to a complaint; (3) an answer to a counterclaim designated as a counterclaim; (4) an answer to a crossclaim; (5) a third-party complaint; (6) an answer to a third-party complaint; and (7) if the court orders one, a reply to an answer." Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a). A motion to strike a motion is therefore not proper under Rule 12(f). See Structural Concrete Prods., LLC v. Clarendon Am. Ins. Co., 244 F.R.D. 317, 321 (E.D.Va.2007).
By the very text of the rules cited by plaintiff, then, this motion may not be granted: She asks that a motion be stricken, but a motion is not a pleading. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(b). A motion to strike a motion may be considered instead as an opposition. Fisherman's Harvest, Inc. v. United States, 74 Fed.Cl. 681, 690 (Fed.Cl. 2006); Goyal v. Thermage, Inc., No. 08-cv-20, 2010 WL 2651185, at *2, n. 12 (D.Md. July 1, 2010). Therefore, the Court will deny plaintiffs motion to strike, but will consider the substantive arguments made therein—that defendants have sufficient contacts with this forum, Mot. to Strike at 1—as supplementing her opposition to defendants' dispositive motions.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) provides for dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction. The plaintiff bears the burden of "establishing a factual basis for the [Court's] exercise of personal jurisdiction over the defendant." Crane v. N.Y. Zoological Soc'y, 894 F.2d 454, 456 (D.C.Cir.1990) (citation omitted). To meet this burden, the plaintiff "must allege specific acts connecting [the] defendant with the forum[.]" Second Amendment Found. v. U.S. Conference of Mayors, 274 F.3d 521, 524 (D.C.Cir.2001) (alterations in original) (citations omitted). When evaluating whether a plaintiff has met her burden, "factual discrepancies appearing in the record must be resolved in favor of the plaintiff." N.Y. Zoological Soc'y, 894 F.2d at 456 (citations omitted).
A court may exercise two forms of personal jurisdiction: specific and general. Specific jurisdiction exists where a claim arises out of the defendant's contacts with the forum. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall, 466 U.S. 408, 414 n. 8, 104 S.Ct. 1868, 80 L.Ed.2d 404 (1984) (citations omitted). First, specific jurisdiction must comport with the forum's
D.C.Code § 13-423(a). Second, specific jurisdiction must comport with constitutional guarantees of due process: A defendant must have "certain minimum contacts [with the forum state] such that the maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice." Int'l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) (internal quotations and citations omitted). Those guarantees are satisfied "if the defendant has purposefully directed his activities at residents of the forum," and "the litigation results from alleged injuries that arise out of or relate to those activities." Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472-73, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985) (internal citations and quotations omitted).
General jurisdiction, by contrast, exists where a defendant maintains sufficiently systematic and continuous contacts with the forum state, regardless of whether those contacts gave rise to the claim. Helicopteros, 466 U.S. at 414 n. 9, 104 S.Ct. 1868. First, general jurisdiction must comport with D.C.Code § 13-422, which provides that a "District of Columbia court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person domiciled in, organized under the laws of, or maintaining his or its principal place of business in, the District of Columbia as to any claim for relief." § 13-422; Cornell v. Kellner, 539 F.Supp.2d 311, 314 n. 7 (D.D.C.2008). Second, general jurisdiction must also comport with constitutional guarantees of due process. Int'l Shoe Co., 326 U.S. at 316, 66 S.Ct. 154. Those guarantees are satisfied if a defendant has such continuous and systematic contacts with the forum that the defendant could reasonably foresee being hauled into court in that forum. World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 297, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980).
Plaintiff has not met her burden to show that this Court has specific jurisdiction over defendants. Mr. Owens resides and works for the ATSI/JJCC in Jacksonville, Florida. Decl. of M. Owens ¶¶ 2-3, ECF No. 7-2. His only contact with the District of Columbia was one visit approximately 10 to 12 years ago—a contact out of which plaintiffs claims plainly
Concerning general jurisdiction, plaintiff has similarly not pled any jurisdictional facts to show that defendants fall under any category of D.C.Code § 13-422 or have any systematic and continuous contacts with this forum. See Compl.; Opp'n. Plaintiffs only argument to the contrary is that "the defendants have engaged in contractual business with the federal government (e.g., United States Department of Labor)." Opp'n at 2; see also Compl. ¶ 3 (contending that "Defendants transacts [sic] contractual business in this district with the United States Department of Labor"); Mot. to Strike at 1 (contending that Mr. Owens "has entered into contracts with the federal government"). This argument fails for several reasons. First, plaintiff collapses Mr. Hayes and Mr. Owens with ATSI/JJCC in her conclusory assertion that all three "defendants" have engaged in such business. Opp'n at 2. Second, even if Messrs. Owens and Hayes have engaged in such business, such that they would be subject to the District's long-arm statute for "transacting any business in the District of Columbia," D.C.Code § 13-423(a)(1), or "contracting to supply services in the District of Columbia," D.C.Code § 13-423(a)(2), plaintiffs claims have nothing to do with that business. Specific jurisdiction, therefore, cannot be based on those contacts. Finally, as to general jurisdiction, plaintiff provides no specific allegations from which the Court could examine whether these alleged contractual contacts are systematic or continuous, and those contacts still fail to bring Messrs. Owens and Hayes under any provision of D.C.Code § 13-422. See Compl.; Opp'n.
Finally, plaintiff seeks leave to discover "facts evidencing purposeful activity by Defendants within the District of Columbia." Disc. Mot. at 1. Such discovery "would aid the plaintiff in acquiring contracts entered into by the defendants with the federal government," plaintiff states. Opp'n at 3. Plaintiff thus seeks to bolster her argument that defendants have conducted business with the U.S. Department of Labor sufficient to support personal jurisdiction.
"[W]hile jurisdictional discovery is liberally granted, a plaintiff is not entitled
For the reasons discussed above, the Court will deny the motion to strike, deny the motion for leave to conduct discovery, and grant the motions to dismiss. Separate orders consistent with this Memorandum Opinion shall issue this date.
In accordance with the Memorandum Opinion issued this date, it is hereby
In accordance with the Memorandum Opinion issued this date, it is hereby