Pratt v. Office of Civil Rights et al

Filing 41

ORDER, the motion to dismiss of Defendant Gateway 12 is granted; Defendant Gateway is dismissed, with prejudice, because the Complaint fails to state a claim against this Defendant; the Clerk shall not enter judgment at this time; on 7/10/13 at 2:3 0 p.m. Plaintiff shall appear and show cause why the two remaining Defendants (Office of Civil Rights and Colorado Department of Education) should not be dismissed for failing to serve; if Plaintiff fails to appear, or fails to show cause, judgment w ill be entered dismissing the Complaint against All Defendants; Gateway's motion for sanctions 29 is granted to the extent specified in this order; Gateway may file a motion for attorneys fees by 7/9/13; all other pending motions 13 , 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 31 , 34 , 36 are denied. Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 6/12/13. (REW)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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Office of Civil Rights, Colorado Dept. of)
Education, and Gateway Comm. College,)
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Defendants.
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Eddie Pratt,

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CV 12-1821-PHX-JAT
ORDER

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Pending before the Court are various motions, which the Court will address below.

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A.

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Gateway Community College (Gateway) seeks dismissal for two reasons: 1) the

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complaint fails to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), and 2)

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Gateway is a non-jural entity. Doc. 12. Gateway Community College has argued that it is

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a governmental entity. Doc. 12. However, Plaintiff has argued that it is a legal corporation,

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not a governmental entity. Doc. 13 at 2. Neither party has presented evidence to support their

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factual argument. Because the Court cannot resolve this dispute without evidence (which the

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Court could consider in the context of a 12(b)(1) motion), the Court will deny the motion to

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dismiss on this basis.

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Motion to Dismiss

Gateway has also argued that the Complaint fails to state a claim. The Complaint
(quoted in its entirety) alleges as follows:
I the plaintiff Eddie L. Pratt ask for a plea for relief and justice;
resulting from a perceived loss of integrity, humiliated [sic], stature, dignity,
harassment, abridged human rights, and slavery. That is why we need Titles’

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V, VI, VII of the Civil Rights Act, HR, 7152 to prevent [sic] where Federal
Funds are involved. Title VI, and the Title VII is sound; it is [sic]
constitutional right. Now, what will it accomplish? It will guarantee that the
money collected by colorblind tax collectors will be distributed by Federal and
State administrator [sic] who are equally colorblind, eliminate [sic]
discrimination.
I file [sic] a complaint with both [sic] Office of Civil Rights - Attorney
Thomas Rock and EEOC Rayford Irvin; “hostile environment” wrongful
termination, and discrimination. They did not follow policy and procedure.
[citation omitted]. The agencies didn’t investigate my case; which violated my
civil rights [citation omitted]; unlawful basis; none [sic] white [sic] get less
hours, less pay, while whites get more hours and more pay. In fact, they
dismiss [sic] my case and never gave me an appeal, and also denied a waiver.
[citation omitted].
Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares that no state
may not [sic] “deny” to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protect [sic]
of the laws. [citation omitted].
Doc. 1.

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Rule 8(a)(2) requires a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

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pleader is entitled to relief,” so that the defendant has “fair notice of what the . . . claim is and

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the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555

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(2007)(quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). Here, Defendant Gateway is

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never mentioned in the Complaint. Accordingly, the Complaint fails to state a claim against

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this Defendant under Twombly and the motion to dismiss will be granted. To the extent

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Plaintiff responded to this motion by a motion (Doc. 13), Plaintiff’s motion will be denied.

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B.

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Defendant Gateway has also moved for sanctions under Rule 11(b) against Plaintiff

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for her various filings, including her continuous efforts to seeks default against Defendant

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Gateway while its motion to dismiss is pending. Doc. 29. Defendant Gateway argues that

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these motions are for the purposes of harassment and to increase the costs of the litigation.

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The Court agrees. Therefore, Defendant Gateway may file a motion for attorneys fees for

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the time expended in responding to Plaintiff’s five pending motions relating default (Docs.

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21, 22, 23, 25, and 31). To the extent Plaintiff has opposed the request for sanctions by a

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motion (Doc. 34), Plaintiff’s motion is denied. Further, all the pending motions for default

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Motion for Sanctions

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will be denied.

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C.

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Also pending are two motions to amend and one motion for sanctions filed by

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Plaintiff. The motion for sanctions has failed to establish an entitlement to sanctions and will

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be denied. The two motions to amend are called, “motion to amend - substitution of a

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misnomer correction to party served.” Docs. 5 and 6. They appear to be the same document

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filed twice. Further, they are virtually identical copies of the original complaint. Re-filing

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the same document three times does not justify granting leave to amend. Therefore, these

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motions will be denied.

Other Pending Motions

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Accordingly,

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IT IS ORDERED that the motion to dismiss of Defendant Gateway (Doc. 12) is

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granted. Defendant Gateway is dismissed, with prejudice, because the Complaint fails to

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state a claim against this Defendant. The Clerk of the Court shall not enter judgment at this

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time.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 2:30 p.m.,

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Plaintiff shall appear and show cause why the two remaining Defendants (Office of Civil

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Rights and Colorado Department of Education) should not be dismissed for failing to serve

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within the time limits of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). If Plaintiff fails to appear,

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or fails to show cause, judgment will be entered dismissing the Complaint against ALL

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Defendants.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Gateway’s motion for sanctions (Doc. 29) is

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granted to the extent specified above. Gateway may file a motion for attorneys fees

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(consistent with the procedures required by the Local Rules) by July 9, 2013.

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IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that all other pending motions (Docs. 13, 15, 16, 21,
22, 23, 25, 31, 34 and 36) are denied.
DATED this 12th day of June, 2013.

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