JANE TRICHE MILAZZO, District Judge.
Before the Court is Defendants Daniel Real, Matthew Robicheaux, and Kristin Westberg's (collectively "Individual Defendants") Motion to Dismiss Individual Defendants (Doc. 10). For the following reasons, the Motion is GRANTED.
Defendant Jazz Casino Company, LLC ("Jazz Casino") hired Plaintiff Deanna Broussard as a Senior Executive Host at Harrah's Casino in April 2006. On May 14, 2014, Jazz Casino discharged Plaintiff for alleged misconduct. Plaintiff's unemployment benefits hearing, in which Defendants allegedly sought to block the Plaintiff's Unemployment Insurance Benefits, took place on August 7, 2014. Thereafter, Plaintiff, a sixty-five-year-old woman, filed a charge of discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In her EEOC charge, Plaintiff claimed that she was discriminated against because of her age and "discharged and replaced with someone younger." The charge also alleged that her manager, Defendant Matthew Robicheaux, made remarks about her age and alleged that she had poor hearing. Additionally, it alleged that another supervisor, Defendant Cain Myers, repeatedly asked if she was going to retire soon. On September 23, 2015, Plaintiff received a right to sue letter from the EEOC.
On December 20, 2015, Plaintiff brought this suit, adding additional allegations. Plaintiff's Complaint further alleges that Defendant Kristen Westburg defamed her by characterizing Plaintiff's termination as based on "misconduct," making it difficult for Plaintiff to obtain Unemployment Insurance Benefits and harming her future job prospects. The Complaint also alleges that defendant Daniel Real did not properly train or monitor the employees he supervised and did nothing to prevent the allegedly wrongful termination.
Plaintiff's Complaint brings an ADEA claim, a state law employment discrimination claim, a hostile work environment claim, a defamation claim, a breach of contract claim, and an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. Defendants include Jazz Casino, and its employees, Cain Myers, Matthew Robicheaux, Kristen Westburg, and Daniel Real. Plaintiff claims Myers, Robicheaux, Westburg, and Real individually discriminated against her. This Court has previously dismissed petitioner's Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED) claim against Defendant Jazz Casino on the ground that its conduct was not sufficiently outrageous to support a finding of IIED.
Defendants Real, Robicheaux, and Westburg filed the instant Motion to Dismiss Individual Defendants on the grounds that as individuals they cannot be liable under the ADEA and that Plaintiff's state law claims are time barred by liberative prescription.
To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must plead enough facts "to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face."
Plaintiff's Complaint alleges claims against the Individual Defendants for wrongful termination, discrimination, and hostile workplace on the basis of age, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. The Individual Defendants have moved for dismissal of the claims against them on two grounds: (1) the ADEA does not apply to individual employees, and (2) Plaintiff's state law claims have prescribed. This Court will address each of Individual Defendants' arguments for dismissal in turn.
The Individual Defendants first argue that Plaintiff cannot file suit against individual supervisory employees under the ADEA. Movants cite Stults v. Conco, Inc. in which the Fifth Circuit held that "the ADEA provides no basis for individual liability for supervisory employees."
Individual Defendants next move for dismissal of Plaintiff's state law claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation and slander on the ground that those claims are prescribed. In support of this argument, the Individual Defendants cite Louisiana Civil Code article 3492, which states that "delictual actions are subject to a liberative prescription of one year." Plaintiff's employment terminated on May 14, 2014 and her unemployment compensation benefits hearing took place on August 7, 2014. Therefore, at the latest, Plaintiff's state law claims prescribed on August 7, 2015. The Complaint against Individual Defendants was filed on December 20, 2015. Accordingly, Plaintiff's state law tort claims have prescribed, and Individual Defendants' request for dismissal is granted.
The Fifth Circuit has stated that "leave to amend pleadings `shall be freely given when justice so requires.'"
For the foregoing reasons, the Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's claims against Defendants Daniel Real, Matthew Robicheaux, and Kristin Westberg are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.