Gates v. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency

Filing 12

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER...IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant National Geospatial Intelligence Agencys Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Doc. 5 ) is GRANTED, in part and DENIED, in part. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall have t hirty (30) days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail to Plaintiff a copy of a blank Employment Discrimination Complaint form. The failure to timely comply with this order may result in the dismissal of this case, without prejudice and without further notice.. Signed by Magistrate Judge Noelle C. Collins on 3/22/2018. (Copy of blank Employment Discrimination Complaint form was mailed to Plaintiff.) (NEP)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
LINDA GATES,

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Plaintiff,
v.
NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY,
Defendant.

Case No. 4:17-CV-02320-NCC

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Defendant National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s
Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Doc. 5). Pro se Plaintiff Linda Gates filed a
letter to the Court that the Court has construed as a response (Doc. 9) and Defendant filed a reply
(Doc. 10).1 The parties have consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned United States
Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) (Doc. 8). For the following reasons,
Defendant’s Motion will be granted, in part and denied, in part, and Plaintiff will be given an
opportunity to file an amended complaint.
I. Background
On April 26, 2017, pro se Plaintiff Linda Gates (“Gates”) filed a one-page hand-written
“Employment Discrimination” Petition in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri against
Defendant National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (“NGA”) (Doc. 3). In her Petition, Ms.
Gates alleges that the NGA wrongfully terminated her for poor performance and that, in lieu of
termination, she retired (Id.). Plaintiff indicates that she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and as a

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The Court notes that Plaintiff also filed a second letter (Doc. 11) but, even if the Court
were to construe the second letter as a sur-reply, a sur-reply may not be filed without leave of

result she wore a defibrillator (Id.). Plaintiff claims that her supervisors told her that she was not
given work due to “my being out ill” (Id.). Plaintiff also alleges that both supervisors bullied and
harassed her because of her need to wear a defibrillator (Id.). Plaintiff asserts that the NGA did
“absolutely nothing to prevent the discriminatory actions against me” (Id.). On August 28, 2017,
NGA removed this action to this Court (Doc. 1) and subsequently filed a Motion to Dismiss
(Doc. 5).
II. Discussion
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires “a short and plain statement of the claim
showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides
for a motion to dismiss based on the “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
To survive a motion to dismiss a complaint must show “‘that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in
order to ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it
rests.’” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson,
355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by
mere conclusory statements, do not suffice” to defeat a motion to dismiss. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). “[O]nly a complaint that states a
plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679 (citing Twombly,
550 U.S. at 556). “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks
for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
(citation omitted). The pleading standard of Rule 8 “does not require ‘detailed factual
allegations,’ but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me

court. See E.D. Mo. L.R. 4.01(C). As such, the Court will disregard this filing.
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accusation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). “When ruling on a
defendant's motion to dismiss, a judge must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained
in the complaint.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007). All reasonable references from
the complaint must be drawn in favor of the nonmoving party. Schaaf v. Residential Funding
Corp., 517 F.3d 544, 549 (8th Cir. 1999).
The Court finds that Ms. Gates has not pled sufficient facts which, if taken as true, would
entitle her to relief. Ms. Gates fails to include any relevant dates in her Petition regarding the
alleged employment discrimination nor does she request any relief. However, in her letter
response, as well as her associated exhibits, Plaintiff appears to provide significantly more detail
regarding the alleged discrimination. Therefore, the Court finds, in the interests of justice, that
Plaintiff shall be allowed to file an amended complaint. Ms. Gates is warned that the filing of an
amended complaint replaces her Petition and so it must include all claims she wishes to bring.
E.g., In re Wireless Telephone Federal Cost Recovery Fees Litigation, 396 F.3d 922, 928 (8th
Cir. 2005).
III. Conclusion
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s
Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Doc. 5) is GRANTED, in part and DENIED, in
part.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall have thirty (30) days from the date of
this order to file an amended complaint.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail to Plaintiff a copy of a

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blank Employment Discrimination Complaint form.
The failure to timely comply with this order may result in the dismissal of this case,
without prejudice and without further notice.
Dated this 22nd day of March, 2018.

/s/ Noelle C. Collins
NOELLE C. COLLINS
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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