MARCO A. HERNÁNDEZ, District Judge.
Plaintiff Kumar Naharaja graduated from medical school and gained clinical experience in India prior to applying and enrolling in the Graduate Medical Education residency and fellowship program at Oregon Health and Science University ("OHSU") in August of 2011. Pl. Response at 17. Dr. Naharaja's residency at Doernbecher Children's Hospital specializing in child neurology was terminated in June of 2013 before he could complete the program. Pl. Response Exhibit ("Ex.") 35 at 40. Dr. Narahaja filed this suit against eighteen individuals associated with OHSU, alleging discrimination in violation of Titles IV, VI, and VII of the Civil Rights Act and Oregon's Unlawful Employment Discrimination Law (ORS 659A.030).
Defendants now move to dismiss the complaint, primarily because Dr. Naharaja brought claims against individual defendants and the relevant federal statutes do not provide for individual liability for co-workers or supervisors. Defendants' Memo in Support of Motions to Dismiss and Strike ("Def. Memo") at 3. Defendants also move to strike from the complaint and related documents redundant, immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous matters. Def. Memo at 9.
For the reasons explained below, Defendants' motion to dismiss is granted with leave to amend, meaning Dr. Naharaja can file an amended complaint, should he choose to do so. Defendants' motion to strike is also granted, in part.
At oral argument, the court stressed to Dr. Naharaja that his pleadings must comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 8, specifically that his complaint must include a "
A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) asks the court to test the sufficiency of the plaintiff's claims.
To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint "must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face," meaning the plaintiff must plead "factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged."
Courts have a duty to liberally construe a
Defendants' primary attack on the sufficiency of Dr. Naharaja's complaint is that the named defendants cannot be individually liable as a matter of law under the statutes upon which Dr. Naharaja relies. Dr. Narahaja's response mostly fails to address Defendants' motions in any meaningful way. He calls the motions and declaration in support "outrageously misleading, deceptive, and . . . made in bad faith" and counters that the "Defendants cite and rely on case laws and other statutes . . . that are either wholly irrelevant . . . or do nothing to justify defendants' outrageous acts." Pl. Response at 11. Over the next approximately 55 pages, he expands on the factual allegations in his complaint with citations spanning the nearly 2,000 pages of "evidentiary exhibits" included with his response.
Each section below analyzes Defendants' motion to dismiss as it relates to the separate statutory provisions Dr. Naharaja named in his complaint.
Defendants move to dismiss the Title VI claims because the individual defendants are not "recipients" of federal funds. Def. Memo at 4. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act ("Act") prohibits racial discrimination in any program or activity receiving federal funds. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d (2014). Accordingly, Title VI actions must be brought against an entity, not an individual.
Defendants' motion to dismiss the Title VI claim is granted, with leave to amend. Should Dr. Naharaja file an amended complaint, he must bring suit against the proper entity.
Similarly, Defendants move to dismiss the Title VII claims against the individual defendants because they are not "employers" under the Act. Def. Memo at 5. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or gender.
Defendants move to dismiss Dr. Naharaja's Title IV claim because he does not allege racial segregation in public schools. Dr. Naharaja responds that he was the "sole foreign national student-employee in the whole of Doernbecher Children's Hospital." Pl. Response at 12. He also suggests that he was isolated and not provided appropriate support or training. See Pl. Compl. Ex. 2 at 14-15. The parties' briefing on Title IV is nearly devoid of legal analysis; without more from the parties, it is difficult to properly analyze the defendants' motion on this claim. The court is hesitant to allow the Title IV claim to move forward at this time because there are several complex legal issues, such as whether Title IV provides for an individual cause of action, that the parties have not addressed. Accordingly, defendants' motion to dismiss the Title IV claim is granted, with leave to amend.
Next, Defendants urge the court to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Dr. Naharaja's state law claims. A "district court may decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a [state law] claim . . . if . . . the district court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction . . . ." 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3) (2014);
Since all of Dr. Naharaja's federal claims are dismissed with leave to amend, the court agrees that the state law claims should also be dismissed without prejudice. Dr. Naharaja is free to file an amended complaint, should he so choose, that includes both state and federal claims.
Finally, Defendants move to strike Dr. Naharaja's "numerous allegations in the Complaint (and Appendices) that are redundant, impertinent, immaterial, and scandalous." Def. Memo at 9. The court may strike from a pleading any insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent or scandalous matter. FED. R. CIV. P. 12(f). Granting a motion to strike is within the broad discretion of the district court.
Dr. Naharaja's allegations regarding "labor exploitation," "involuntary servitude," "labor trafficking," "human trafficking," "white collar crime," "possible EMTALA [Emergency Medical Treatment And Labor Act] violations," and "patient harm" are scandalous and have no relevance to his discrimination claim. Accordingly, those portions of the complaint Defendants identified in Exhibit 1 attached to the Declaration of Andrea Thompson [49] are ordered stricken.
Defendants' request to strike the entirety of Document [23-2] is also granted. As explained previously, it is unnecessary for Dr. Naharaja to include evidentiary exhibits at this time. The court only requires a
For the reasons stated, Defendants' motion to dismiss is granted, with leave to amend. Dr. Naharaja shall file an amended complaint within 30 days of the date below. Defendants' motion to strike is granted; Document 23-2 is stricken in its entirety, and Document 23-1 is stricken as set forth in Exhibit 1 attached to the Thompson Declaration [49].
IT IS SO ORDERED.