J. RANAL HALL, District Judge.
Presently pending before the Court are Defendant Pineland Mental Health, Mental Retardation & Substance Abuse Services' ("Pineland") partial motion to dismiss (doc. no. 10) and Plaintiff's motion for leave to dismiss the complaint without prejudice (doc. no. 16).For the reasons set forth below, these motions are
This case arises from Plaintiff's termination from her position as a Social Services Technician with Pineland. As a Social Services Technician, Plaintiff assisted numerous clients suffering from mental disabilities and emotional disorders. Plaintiff herself suffers from a physical condition known as Ataxia, which causes a lack of muscle coordination during voluntary movements. According to the Complaint, Pineland was fully aware of Plaintiff's disability during the course of her employment. Indeed, in order to accommodate Plaintiff's Ataxia, Pineland did not require Plaintiff to write her reports and instead allowed other staff members to draft them.
On January 20, 2011, Pineland allegedly terminated Plaintiff on account of her Ataxia. At the time of her termination, Plaintiff had worked at Pineland for approximately six years. As a result of her termination, Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") and subsequently received a right to sue letter. On November 17, 2011, Plaintiff filed suit in this Court alleging that Pineland terminated her employment in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. ("ADA"), and the Georgia Fair Employment Practices Act ("FEPA").Additionally, she raised claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and breach of an implied contract of fair dealing.
On December 23, 2011, Pineland filed a partial motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b) (1), 12(b) (2), and 12(b) (6).(Doc. no. 10.) Specifically, Pineland seeks dismissal of the FEPA claim, as well as the state law claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and breach of an implied contract.
On January 13, 2012, the day after her response to the motion to dismiss was due, Plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice. (Doc. no. 15.) A week later, on January 20, 2012, Plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss the complaint without prejudice. (Doc. no. 16.) Pineland opposes Plaintiff's motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice on the ground that Plaintiff failed to provide any explanation as to why the complaint should be dismissed. Moreover, Pineland argues that the Court should rule on its pending motion to dismiss the claims with prejudice as opposed to dismissing the claims without prejudice.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a), a plaintiff may voluntarily dismiss a complaint under certain circumstances. A plaintiff, however, does not have an unfettered right to obtain voluntary dismissal without prejudice.
As an initial matter, Pineland's partial motion to dismiss does not seek dismissal of Plaintiff's ADA claim, and thus that claim is
In considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b) (6), the court tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint, not whether the plaintiff will ultimately prevail on the merits.
A complaint also must "contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, `to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'"
In her Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Pineland's actions violated the Georgia FEPA. Pineland, however, contends that in order to bring a FEPA claim, Plaintiff must first exhaust her administrative remedies by filing a complaint with the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity ("GCEO").Because there is no evidence that Plaintiff filed a complaint with the GCEO, Pineland contends that the FEPA claim must be dismissed.
The Court is inclined to agree with Pineland's argument. O.C.G.A. 45-19-36(a) "addresses the filing of administrative, rather than judicial complaints."
Plaintiff cites
The clear language of FEPA requires an adverse judgment by an administrator prior to the filing of a judicial claim. Plaintiff does not allege that she exhausted her administrative remedies prior to bringing her FEPA claim. Indeed, Plaintiff's Complaint only indicates that she received a right to sue letter from the EEOC; it says nothing regarding a claim filed with the GCEO. Because Plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies, her claim pursuant to Georgia's FEPA is
Pineland asserts that Plaintiff's claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress is barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The Court, however, need not resolve the sovereign immunity issue because Plaintiff failed to properly plead her claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 requires that a plaintiff plead "a short and plain statement of the claim that will give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it rests."
Plaintiff's Complaint lacks factual allegations supporting her claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Instead, Plaintiff's Complaint only sets forth legal conclusions. This method of pleading does not comply with the standard set forth in Rule 8, and therefore this claim should be dismissed. Had Plaintiff not filed her own motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice, the Court would have afforded her with an opportunity to amend the Complaint to provide proper factual support for this claim. Therefore, Plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim will be
Pineland asserts that, like the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, Plaintiff's fraud claim is barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. In the alternative, Pineland argues that Plaintiff failed to plead her fraud claim with requisite specificity.
"[I]n all averments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with particularity." Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). To sufficiently plead a claim for fraud, a plaintiff must establish five elements: "a false representation by a defendant, scienter, intention to induce the plaintiff to act or refrain from acting, justifiable reliance by plaintiff, and damage to plaintiff."
Here, Plaintiff's claim lacks the heightened level of specificity required by Rule 9. In fact, Plaintiff's Complaint only contains a passing reference to a fraud claim. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that the "Court has ancillary jurisdiction over Plaintiff's state law claims, which include.. . [the] fraud [claim]." (Compl. ¶ 2.) This general allegation of fraud does not alert Pineland to the misconduct with which it is charged. As with the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, the Court would ordinarily provide Plaintiff with the opportunity to amend her complaint to comply with Rule 9. However, because Plaintiff seeks to dismiss her Complaint without prejudice, the fraud claim will be
Pineland also contends that Plaintiff's claim for breach of the implied contract of fair dealing should be dismissed with prejudice. Under Georgia law, "[e]very contract implies a covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the contract's performance and enforcement."
Plaintiff's Complaint is wholly insufficient under the standard articulated above. As with the claims for fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress, Plaintiff's claim for breach of the implied contract of good faith and fair dealing appears as a passing reference in her statement of jurisdiction. Nowhere does Plaintiff plead a breach of contract claim that would support a claim for breach of the implied covenants that accompany the performance of that contract. As a result, this claim is
Based on the foregoing, Pineland's motion to dismiss (doc. no. 10) and Plaintiff's motion to dismiss (doc. no. 16) are