RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, United States District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on defendants' motion to dismiss or Transfer [ECF No. 8] and plaintiff's motions to amend her complaint [ECF Nos. 20-21]. For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants the defendants' motion to dismiss.
Yolanda Bell, a former employee of the United States Department of the Interior, filed an employment discrimination complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
According to plaintiff, AUSA Boesch scheduled "an [IME] with Dr. Mark A. Mills at 0900 hours at 6635 Hillandale Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815" on August 21, 2013. Compl. at 3 ¶ 1 (page numbers designated by ECF; paragraph numbers designated by plaintiff). Plaintiff described the building as "an attached end unit townhouse in a residential community adjacent to the Clara Barton Historical Park." Compl. at 3 ¶ 3. The building did not appear to be "a medical or office building," and "there was no signage ... to indicate ... it was a business at all — medical or otherwise." Id. at 3 ¶ 3. She "called 411 information which revealed no number listed at that address in Chevy Chase for a Dr. Mark Mills, MD." Id. at 3 ¶ 5. Plaintiff also called the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, and the Maryland Board of Physicians, and "none ... had a Maryland address for Dr. Mills." Id. at 4 ¶ 5. Further, plaintiff alleged, "the Maryland Medical Board of Physicians showed no Maryland license having been issued to Dr. Mark. J. Mills, MD current or past." Id.
Plaintiff called AUSA Boesch to share her "safety concerns" about Dr. Mills and to express her willingness "to attend the IME at another location such as Dr. Mills['] office complex in the District of Columbia or another Business location." Id. at 4 ¶ 6. AUSA Boesch arranged a conference call for later that morning, id. at 4 ¶ 7, which the Court presumes was a telephone conference with the court, see Bell v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, No. 2:12-cv-1414, 2013 WL 4900607, at *2-3, 2013U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130078, at *6 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 11, 2013).
In plaintiff's view, defendants were "wrongfully and forcefully pressuring [her]
Plaintiff brings this action under the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"), see 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-80, against the United States, see Compl. at 1-2 ¶ 2.
A plaintiff need only provide a "short and plain statement of [her] claim showing that [she is] entitled to relief," Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), that "give[s] the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (per curiam) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167
A complaint survives a motion under Rule 12(b)(6) only if it "contain[s] sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Id. A claim is facially plausible "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the [C]ourt to draw [a] reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). "[A] complaint [alleging] facts that are merely consistent with a defendant's liability... stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955). Although a pro se complaint is "held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers," Erickson, 551 U.S. at 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), it too "must plead `factual matter' that permits the court to infer `more than the mere possibility of misconduct,'" Atherton v. District of Columbia Office of the Mayor, 567 F.3d 672, 681-82 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937), by the defendants.
The United States enjoys sovereign immunity, United States v. Sherwood, 312 U.S. 584, 586-87, 61 S.Ct. 767, 85 S.Ct. 1058 (1941), and it "may not be sued without its consent and ... the existence of consent is a prerequisite for jurisdiction," United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206, 212, 103 S.Ct. 2961, 77 L.Ed.2d 580 (1983). "The [FTCA] Act is a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, making the Federal Government liable to the same extent as a private party for certain torts of federal employees acting within the scope of their employment." United States v. Orleans, 425 U.S. 807, 813, 96 S.Ct. 1971, 48 L.Ed.2d 390 (1976); Tri-State Hosp. Supply Corp. v. United States, 341 F.3d 571, 575 (D.C. Cir. 2003). It confers on federal district courts "exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions on claims against the United States, for money damages ..., for injury or loss of property ... caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred." 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1).
For purposes of this Memorandum Opinion, the Court presumes without deciding that venue in this district is proper and that District of Columbia tort law applies. A plaintiff bringing a negligence claim must show: "that there was a duty
First, defendants contend that plaintiff "does not adequately allege that AUSA Boesch," who was opposing counsel in plaintiff's employment discrimination lawsuit, "owed her a legal duty." Id. The purported duties plaintiff identifies pertain to professional ethics and AUSA Boesch's obligations as an officer of the Court. For example, plaintiff refers in footnotes to three provisions of the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility. See Compl. at 6 ¶ 3. Not one is an obligation owed to an adverse party. Rather, because "there is no common law duty between a plaintiff and opposing counsel, [there is] no standard of care that could be breached." Ginsberg v. Granados, 963 A.2d 1134, 1141 (D.C. 2009). Accordingly, plaintiff's negligence claims "must fail because an attorney owes no duty to opposing counsel or an adverse party." Conservative Club of Washington v. Finkelstein, 738 F.Supp. 6, 9 (D.D.C. 1990); see Morowitz v. Marvel, 423 A.2d 196 (D.C. 1980) (finding that "a negligence action will not lie by a former defendant against adverse counsel ... primarily for the reason that there is an absence of privity of contract between counsel and an opposing party and for public policy reasons").
Second, defendants argue, even if AUSA Boesch owed a duty to plaintiff, the complaint fails to allege adequately an actionable breach of that duty. See Defs.' Mem. at 8-9. Review of the docket of plaintiff's employment discrimination case in the Eastern District of California reveals that the court ordered the IME. Specifically, the court order provided that "[p]laintiff shall appear for an independent medical examination by Dr. Mark Mills, M.D., on August 21, 2013, at 9:00 a.m., at 6635 Hillandale Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815[.]" Id., Ex. A (Order, Bell v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, No. 2:12-cv-1414 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 13, 2013)) at 14. Moreover, once plaintiff balked at attending the IME based on the exact concerns raised in this matter, the court did not reconsider its finding that there was "good cause for a Rule 35 examination because plaintiff's allegations that defendant's conduct caused her numerous physical and mental health-related injuries put her mental state genuinely in controversy."
Third, to the extent that plaintiff's complaint is interpreted as raising a claim of misrepresentation or fraud, see Compl. at 7 ¶ 8, the FTCA precludes it. Expressly
The 21-day period within which plaintiff could have amended her complaint as a matter of course under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1) has passed. At this juncture, amendment of the complaint is allowed "only with the [defendant's] written consent or the court's leave." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). "The court should freely give leave when justice so requires." Id. Defendant opposes the motion, see generally Opp'n to Pl.'s Mot. for Leave to File Am. Compl. at 3-6, and the Court denies leave to amend.
The Court notes that plaintiff's proposed amended complaint is substantially similar to the original pleading — and suffers its same defect. It is no more successful in alleging a viable negligence claim arising from the purported acts or omissions of AUSA Boesch. An amendment is futile if it merely restates the same facts as the original complaint in different terms, reasserts a claim on which the court previously ruled, fails to state a legal theory or could not withstand a motion to dismiss." Robinson v. Detroit News, Inc., 211 F.Supp.2d 101, 114 (D.D.C. 2002) (citation omitted); see also James Madison Ltd. v. Ludwig, 82 F.3d 1085, 1099 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (affirming denial of proposed amended complaint as futile). Where, as here, the proposed amended complaint would not survive a motion to dismiss, leave to amend appropriately is denied. See Hettinga v. United States, 677 F.3d 471, 480 (D.C. Cir. 2012) (citation omitted), cert. denied, 568 U.S. 1088, 133 S.Ct. 860, 184 L.Ed.2d 658 (2013).
The Court concludes that plaintiff's complaint fails to state an FTCA claim upon which relief can be granted. Accordingly, the Court grants defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint and denies as futile plaintiff's motion to amend the complaint. An Order is issued separately.
Bell, 2013 WL 4900607, at *3-4, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130078, at *7-9 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 11, 2013). The presiding district judge ultimately dismissed the case with prejudice due to plaintiff's failure to comply with court orders. Bell v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, No. 2:12-cv-1414 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 21, 2013).