Gianfrancisco v. School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of Colorado

Filing 16

ORDER Denying 9 Motion to Dismiss, by Judge Richard P. Matsch on 5/28/2014.(jsmit)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Senior District Judge Richard P. Matsch
Civil Action No. 14-cv-00687-RPM
CAROL GIANFRANCISCO,
Plaintiff,
v.
SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1 IN THE COUNTY OF DENVER AND STATE OF COLORADO,
Defendant.
_____________________________________________________________________________
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS
_____________________________________________________________________________
On April 21, 2014, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P
12(b)(6), [9], the plaintiff filed her response on May 15, 2014, [10]. There is no need to wait for
a reply from the defendant because the allegations of the complaint are sufficient to state a claim
against the defendant School District for relief from an alleged violation of the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution by taking adverse employment action against the plaintiff in
retaliation for protected speech. That speech is alleged to have been made in November, 2009
and the defendant asserts the bar of the two year statute of limitations. The plaintiff’s
allegations are sufficient to support her contention that the initial adverse action by terminating
her employment at Contemporary Learning Academy was intentionally covered up by giving her
a position at Florence Crittenton High School for a two year period which, essentially, was done
to prevent her from proceeding with the lawsuit. Whether under equitable tolling or a continuing
violation theory, the complaint may not be dismissed at this time based on the statute of
limitations. Additionally, the plaintiff has sufficiently pleaded official action by the School

District. It is therefore
ORDERED that the defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied.
DATED: May 28th, 2014
BY THE COURT:
s/Richard P. Matsch
_________________________________
Richard P. Matsch, Senior District Judge