SUE E. MYERSCOUGH, District Judge.
This cause is before the Court on Defendant State Retirement System of Illinois' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Motion) (d/e 12). For the reasons that follow, the Motion is granted because the Complaint and Amended Complaint fail to state a claim.
On September 19, 2011, Plaintiff, proceeding
Attached to the Complaint are numerous documents, including the Charge of Discrimination filed by Plaintiff on June 28, 2010 asserting that the State Retirement System of Illinois discriminated and retaliated against Plaintiff on the basis of sex, age, and disability. In the charge, Plaintiff named the State Retirement System of Illinois as the respondent. Plaintiff asserted that she began employment with the State Retirement System of Illinois in January 1986 and that during her employment, she had been subjected to, among other things, intimidation and denial of disability benefits. Plaintiff received a Right to Sue letter on August 11, 2011.
Plaintiff also attached the Recommendation of the Executive Committee of the State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois which recommended that Plaintiff's appeal be denied. The Recommendation indicated that Plaintiff was employed by the Department of Revenue and had applied for disability benefits. The Committee found that Plaintiff had "not substantiated a disabling condition so as to warrant the payment of non-occupational disability benefit at any time after September 28, 2009."
On September 29, 2011, Plaintiff filed a letter which she identified as an Amended Complaint.
The State Retirement System of Illinois filed the Motion at issue herein asserting (1) this Court should enter judgment on the pleadings on the grounds that Plaintiff did not file her Charge of Discrimination against her employer and, therefore, has not exhausted her administrative remedies; and (2) Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because Plaintiff has pleaded (a) "no facts which suggest a violation of federal law against her employer" or (b) facts indicating that the decision of the State Retirement System of Illinois constituted discrimination or retaliation against Plaintiff. Plaintiff has not filed a response to the Motion. Therefore, it is presumed Plaintiff has no opposition to the motion.
This Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Therefore, this Court will not address the State Retirement System of Illinois' exhaustion argument.
Under Rule 12(b)(6), dismissal is proper where a complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). To state a claim upon which relief can be granted, a complaint must provide a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). That statement must be sufficient to provide the defendant with "fair notice" of the claim and its basis.
Plaintiff's Complaint, Amended Complaint, and the documents attached thereto suggest Plaintiff is bringing a claim against the State Retirement System of Illinois for violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (29 U.S.C. § 621
Although Plaintiff's Charge of Discrimination listed the State Retirement System of Illinois as the respondent and asserted that Plaintiff was employed by the respondent, Plaintiff's Complaint alleges Plaintiff was employed by the Illinois Lottery, her Amended Complaint alleges she was employed by the State of Illinois, and all the other attached documents that reference Plaintiff's employment indicate Plaintiff was employed by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Where the exhibits conflict with the allegations of the complaint, the exhibits generally control.
Here, one of the exhibits-the Charge of Discrimination purportedly drafted by Plaintiff-contradicts the rest of the exhibits and the allegations in the Complaint and Amended Complaint. Considering the purpose, source, and reliability of the exhibits, this Court accepts the allegations in the Complaint and Amended Complaint that Plaintiff's employer was either the Illinois Department of Revenue, the State Lottery and/or the State of Illinois but not the State Retirement System of Illinois. Because the pleadings and documents attached thereto indicate that the State Retirement System of Illinois was not Plaintiff's employer, and because Plaintiff has not opposed the Motion, this Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim under the ADEA, ADA, or Title VII.
For the reasons stated, the State Retirement Defendant's Motion (d/e 12) is GRANTED. The Complaint and Amended Complaint are DISMISSED without prejudice.