Bacon-Dorow v. Prescott Unified School District No. 1
Filing
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ORDER granting Defendant's 10 Motion to Dismiss. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment for Defendant and terminate this action. (See document for further details). Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 11/10/14. (LAD)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Jalynn Bacon-Dorow,
Plaintiff,
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ORDER
v.
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No. CV-14-08096-PCT-DGC
Prescott Unified School District No. 1,
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Defendant.
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Defendant Prescott Unified School District No. 1 moves to dismiss Plaintiff Jalynn
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Bacon-Dorow’s complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Doc. 10. Defendant first asserts
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that Plaintiff’s complaint is barred by res judicata. Id. at 3. In the alternative, Defendant
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argues that Plaintiff is not a qualified individual under the ADA. Id. The motion is fully
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briefed and no party has requested oral argument. Docs. 10, 16, 17. The Court will grant
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Defendant’s motion.
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I.
Background
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Defendant employed Plaintiff as an art teacher from January 1995 through
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June 30, 2012. Doc. 1, ¶ 9. Plaintiff suffers from a physical impairment in her back that
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substantially limits activities such as walking, standing, sitting, lifting, bending, and
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raising her arms. Id., ¶ 10-11. Plaintiff underwent back surgery in June 2011. Id., ¶ 12.
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In July 2011, Plaintiff met with her supervisors and requested accommodation for
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her disability. Id. at 13. Plaintiff’s proposed accommodation would have modified her
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schedule to half days and required Defendant to hire a second part-time art teacher for
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the rest of the day. Id., ¶ 13. Defendant initially agreed to attempt the accommodation
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with the understanding that if Defendant did not find a second part-time teacher during
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the first semester, Plaintiff would be required to take leave during the second semester.
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Id., ¶ 14.
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Plaintiff worked the reduced schedule for roughly one month, beginning with her
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return to work in late July 2011 through August 31, 2011. Id., ¶¶ 16, 24. Plaintiff claims
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that Defendant did not accommodate her disability to the extent they had agreed, and
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instead required a more rigorous schedule including demands that Plaintiff perform
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morning duties once a week, grade papers from the afternoon classes, and work as many
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as six hours a day.
Id., ¶ 17. During the first week of August 2011, Defendant
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“interrogated” Plaintiff regarding the precise cause of her disability. Id., ¶ 21. On
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August 30, 2011, Defendant informed Plaintiff she would no longer be permitted to work
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half days, “threatened” terminating Plaintiff’s employment, and began “aggressive
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advertising” in search of a full time replacement. Id., ¶¶ 22-23. On about September 1,
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2011, Plaintiff began suffering panic attacks. Id. at 25. The frequency and severity of the
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attacks have prevented Plaintiff from returning to work. Id., ¶ 25-26.
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On September 8, 2011, Defendant sent a letter to staff and parents disclosing
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confidential medical information about Plaintiff’s disability and incorrectly claiming that
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Plaintiff intended to resign her position for medical reasons. Id., ¶ 27. In the following
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weeks, Defendant required that Plaintiff turn in her keys (id., ¶ 28), deleted or destroyed
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computer files containing Plaintiff’s teaching plans and instructional materials developed
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through years of teaching (id., ¶ 29), and denied Plaintiff access to her school email
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account and software (id., ¶ 30).
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On November 25, 2011, Plaintiff filed a charge with the Equal Employment
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Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), numbered 846-2012-04893 (the “Discrimination
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Charge”), alleging that Defendant engaged in unlawful disability-based discrimination in
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violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Doc. 16 at 1.
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In April 2012, at Plaintiff’s request, Defendant extended Plaintiff’s leave until
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June 30, 2012. Doc. 1, ¶ 31. In May of 2012, Defendant made Plaintiff’s temporary
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replacement a permanent employee to fill Plaintiff’s position, and disposed of numerous
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works of art Plaintiff had either created or collected throughout her career as a teacher to
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be used as instructional aids, lesson plans, projects, and samples. Id., ¶¶ 32-33. In June
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2012, Defendant chose not to extend Plaintiff’s contract of employment for the 2012,
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2013 school year. Id., ¶ 35.
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On June 15, 2012, Plaintiff filed a second charge with the EEOC, numbered 540-
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2012-02411 (the “Retaliation Charge”). Doc. 16 at 1. On November 29, 2012, the
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EEOC issued Plaintiff a right-to-sue letter (the “Retaliation Letter”) regarding her
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Retaliation Charge. Id.
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On February 27, 2013, Plaintiff brought suit in this Court against Defendant based
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on her Discrimination Charge, using the Retaliation Letter to establish jurisdiction. Id. at
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1-2; Doc. 10 at 2. On October 30, 2013, Judge Wake held that Plaintiff’s lawsuit
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regarding her Discrimination Charge was premature because the EEOC had not issued a
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right-to-sue letter for the Discrimination Charge. Bacon-Dorow v. Prescott Unified Sch.
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Dist., No. CV-13-08039-PCT-NVW, 2013 WL 5837543, at *2 (D. Ariz. Oct. 30, 2013).
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Plaintiff submitted a proposed amended complaint, aiming to properly sue Defendant
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based on the Retaliation Charge and the Retaliation Letter. Id. at *3. The proposed
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amended complaint alleged Defendant engaged in unlawful retaliation against Plaintiff
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after she filed the Discrimination Charge. Id. Judge Wake held that none of Defendant’s
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alleged acts from the proposed amended complaint could be found to be unlawful
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retaliation against Plaintiff. Id. On December 24, 2013, after granting Plaintiff a second
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chance to file an amended complaint, Judge Wake held that Plaintiff failed to allege facts
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that would support a claim of unlawful retaliation against Defendant. Order, Bacon-
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Dorow v. Prescott Unified Sch. Dist., No. CV-13-08039-PCT-NVW, Doc. 21 (D. Ariz.
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Dec. 24, 2013).
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On March 13, 2014, Plaintiff received another right-to-sue letter (the
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“Discrimination Letter”) from the EEOC, this one regarding the Discrimination Charge.
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Doc. 1 at 1. On June 16, 2014, Plaintiff brought suit against Defendant alleging unlawful
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disability-based discrimination and asserting that the Discrimination Letter establishes
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jurisdiction. Doc. 1. Defendant filed the present motion to dismiss. Doc. 10.
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II.
Analysis
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Defendant argues that Plaintiff’s action is barred by res judicata. Doc. 10 at 3.
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“The doctrine of res judicata provides that ‘a final judgment on the merits bars further
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claims by parties or their privies based on the same cause of action.’” In re Schimmels,
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127 F.3d 875, 881 (9th Cir. 1997) (quoting Montana v. United States, 440 U.S. 147, 153
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(1979)). Thus, res judicata applies “whenever there is (1) an identity of claims, (2) a final
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judgment on the merits, and (3) privity between parties.” Tahoe-Sierra Pres. Council,
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Inc. v. Tahoe Reg’l Planning Agency, 322 F.3d 1064, 1077 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting
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Stratosphere Litig. L.L.C. v. Grand Casinos, Inc., 298 F.3d 1137, 1143 n.3 (9th Cir.
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2002)). Identity of claims exists when two suits “arise from the same transactional
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nucleus of facts.” Owens v. Kaiser Found. Health Plan, Inc., 244 F.3d 708, 714 (9th Cir.
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2001) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Dismissal for failure to state a
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claim is a dismissal on the merits for res judicata purposes. Stewart v. U.S. Bancorp, 297
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F.3d 953, 956 (9th Cir. 2002).
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Plaintiff does not dispute that her claim in this case arises from the same nucleus
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of facts as her previous action (Doc. 16 at 3) or that Judge Wake entered a final ruling on
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the Retaliation Charge (Doc. 16 at 4). Nor does she dispute that the parties in both
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actions are identical. Plaintiff instead argues that this action is not barred by res judicata
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because the EEOC had not resolved the Discrimination Charge or issued a right-to-sue
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letter when Judge Wake ruled, and the Court therefore could not render a binding
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judgment as to those claims. Doc. 16 at 3.
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The Ninth Circuit has held, however, that “Title VII Claims are not exempt from
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the doctrine of res judicata where plaintiffs have neither sought a stay from the district
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court for the purpose of pursuing administrative remedies nor attempted to amend their
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complaint to include their Title VII claims.” Owens, 244 F.3d at 714-15. Plaintiff did
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not attempt to stay her first action for the purpose of pursuing a right-to-sue letter on the
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Discrimination Charge, and her current claim is not shielded from res judicata simply
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because she had not exhausted her administrative remedies before resolving the previous
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action. See Id. at 715.
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Nor is Plaintiff’s action saved by the fact that Judge Wake addressed only the
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Retaliation Charge. “The doctrine of res judicata is motivated primarily by the interest in
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avoiding repetitive litigation, conserving judicial resources, and preventing the moral
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force of court judgments from being undermined.” Int’l Union of Operating Engineers-
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Employers Const. Indus. Pension, Welfare & Training Trust Funds v. Karr, 994 F.2d
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1426, 1431 (9th Cir. 1993) (citations omitted). “For this reason, res judicata bars not
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only all claims that were actually litigated, but also claims that ‘could have been asserted’
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in the prior action.” Id. Plaintiff’s prior lawsuit clearly arose out of the same nucleus of
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operative facts as this action, and the claims asserted in this action, although based on
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different legal theories, are therefore barred. See Owens, 244 F.3d at 714 (“Although the
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current action also alleges retaliation and hostile work environment, these are all grounds
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for recovery which could have been asserted, whether they were or not, in a prior suit
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between the same parties . . . on the same cause of action.”) (citation omitted); Gregory v.
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Widnall, 153 F.3d 1071, 1074 (9th Cir.1998) (holding that res judicata bars consideration
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of a hostile work environment claim that could have been raised in a prior action between
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the same parties).1
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IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s motion to dismiss (Doc. 10) is granted. The
Clerk is directed to enter judgment for Defendant and terminate this action.
Dated this 10th day of November, 2014.
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Because this case is barred by res judicata, the Court will not reach the question
of whether the complaint states a claim for relief under the ADA.
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