Apolinario v. United Healthcare Workers-West Service Employees International Union, CTW, CLC et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Vince Chhabria granting 33 Motion to Dismiss (knm, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/10/2014)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RICARDO APOLINARIO,
Case No. 13-cv-04219-VC
Plaintiff,
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v.
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
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UNITED HEALTHCARE WORKERSWEST SERVICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION, CTW, CLC, et
al.,
Re: Dkt. No. 33
Defendants.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Defendant United Healthcare Workers-West Service Employees International Union ("the
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union") moves to dismiss Plaintiff Ricardo Apolinario's claim for breach of the duty of fair
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representation. The motion is granted.
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To the extent Apolinario's claim is based on events related to his suspension (see Compl.
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¶¶ 11-19), his claim is time-barred. The statute of limitations for claims against a union for breach
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of the duty of fair representation is six months, and Apolinario was suspended more than nine
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months before filing his complaint. See, e.g., Stone v. Writer's Guild of Am. West, 101 F.3d 1312,
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1314 (9th Cir. 1996).
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With respect to his termination, Apolinario has failed to plead sufficient facts to support a
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plausible claim that the union's conduct was "arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith," Beck v.
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UFCW, Local 99, 506 F.3d 874, 879 (9th Cir. 2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).
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complaint alleges that the union initially filed a grievance on Apolinario's behalf, withdrew the
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grievance, informed him of the withdrawal, and permitted him to appeal it. These specific
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allegations contradict Apolinario's more general statement that the union "clearly ignored" his
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claim (Compl. ¶ 27). Furthermore, Apolinario fails to provide any factual allegations that would
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support his contention that the union "failed to conduct even a minimal investigation of [his]
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grievance," a contention that is also undermined by the complaint's more specific allegations about
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the union's conduct. (Id.). Apolinario's remaining allegations—for example, that the union's
The
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actions were "clearly . . . arbitrary and in bad faith" (Compl. ¶ 26)—are even more conclusory and
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therefore do not aid him in stating a plausible claim. Accordingly, the union's motion to dismiss is
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granted. Given that Apolinario has already had an opportunity to amend his complaint to address
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the same deficiencies at issue here, his claim against the union is dismissed with prejudice.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: July 10, 2014
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VINCE CHHABRIA
United States District Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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