TED STEWART, District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Dixie State University's ("DSU") Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings.
Plaintiff Dallas Hyland brings claims against DSU and five of its officials for First and Fourteenth Amendment violations as well as for state-law defamation. Plaintiff's claims arise out of his suspension from DSU after he was accused of sexually harassing another student and intimidating a faculty member.
DSU seeks judgment on Plaintiff's pleadings by asserting governmental immunity.
"A motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) is treated as a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6)."
In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6), all well-pleaded factual allegations, as distinguished from conclusory allegations, are accepted as true and viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff as the nonmoving party.
"The court's function on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is not to weigh potential evidence that the parties might present at trial, but to assess whether the plaintiff's complaint alone is legally sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be granted."
Plaintiff fails to state plausible claims for relief against DSU because DSU is protected under the Eleventh Amendment from the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims and protected under the Utah Governmental Immunity Act ("UGIA") against the state-law defamation claim.
The Tenth Circuit and this Court have held that Utah state universities are arms of the State of Utah and entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.
Plaintiff argues that Defendants and the Court must engage in a factual analysis to determine whether DSU is an arm of the State. However, Plaintiff fails to adequately address those cases where the Tenth Circuit and this Court have upheld Eleventh Amendment immunity for state universities.
The GAIU immunizes DSU from Plaintiff's state-law defamation claim. To determine whether the GAIU applies to DSU, the Court considers "(1) whether the activity undertaken is a governmental function; (2) whether governmental immunity was waived for the particular activity; and (3) whether there is an exception to that waiver."
In this case, the GAIU applies because DSU is an arm of the State of Utah and its operation as a university is a governmental function. The GAIU does not waive immunity for defamation claims.
Plaintiff argues that DSU waived its governmental immunity by appearing and answering the Complaint. DSU's appearing and answering the Complaint do not constitute waiver of immunity.
In this case, DSU has not expressly and unequivocally waived immunity. While DSU appeared, answered the Complaint, and consented to the Court's jurisdiction, it preserved its immunity defenses under the GIAU and Eleventh Amendment.
For the reasons set forth above, the Court will grant Defendant DSU's Motion and dismiss Plaintiff's claims against DSU.
It is therefore
ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings (Docket No. 41) is GRANTED.