Clements v. Comprehensive Security Services, Inc. et al

Filing 76

ORDER ADOPTING 71 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. IT IS ORDERED that: 1. Plaintiff's oral motion to dismiss TSA and the Department of Homeland Security as parties in this matter is GRANTED. The Transportation Security Administration is DISMISS ED. The Department of Homeland Security is DISMISSED.2. FirstLine's 29 Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is GRANTED as itrelates to Counts I-III of the 19 Amended Complaint.Counts I-III of the 19 Amended Complaint are DISMISSED with pr ejudice. 3. The individual defendants' 60 Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim is GRANTED as it relates to Counts I-III of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19)and DENIED as it relates to Counts IV of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19), Coun ts I-III of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19) are DISMISSED with prejudice.4. The individual defendants' 60 Motion to Dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is GRANTED as it relates to Count IV of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19). Count IV of the Amend ed Complaint (Doc. 19) is DISMISSED without prejudice.5. All deadlines and hearings in this case are VACATED. The matter is remandedback to Montana's Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, Montana. Signed by Judge Brian Morris on 11/19/2020. (ACC)

Case 2:19-cv-00045-BMM Document 76 Filed 11/19/20 Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
BUTTE DIVISION
BECKY CLEMENTS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY
SERVICES, INC., a Montana registered
foreign corporation; FIRSTLINE
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY, INC., a
Montana registered foreign corporation
GARY SMEDILE, individually; TERESA
BULLINGTON, individually; ZOE
HAUSER, individually;
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION; HOMELAND
SECURITY ADMINISTRATION;
TRINITY TECHNOLOGY GROUP, INC.,
a Montana registered foreign corporation;
ABC Corporation, ABC LLCs, and JOHN
DOES 1-10,

CV-19-45-BU-BMM
ORDER ADOPTING JUDGE
DESOTO’S FINDINGS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Defendants.
Plaintiff Becky Clements filed a Complaint (Doc. 19) alleging federal
constitutional claims and a state law claim for blacklisting against her former
employer, FirstLine Transportation Security, Inc. (“Firstline”), three FirstLine
employees (“individual defendants”), and various other defendants. FirstLine filed
a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c). Doc. 29. The

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individual defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim under
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and, alternatively, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction
under Rule 12(b)(6) and (1). Doc. 60. United States Magistrate Judge Kathleen L.
DeSoto held a hearing on these motions on October 30, 2020. Doc. 70.
Judge DeSoto entered Findings and Recommendations in this matter on
November 5, 2020. Doc. 71. Neither party filed objections. When the parties do
not file objections, the Court need not review de novo the proposed Findings and
Recommendations. Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 150-51 (1986). The Court will
review Judge DeSoto’s Findings and Recommendations (Doc. 71) for clear error.
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Commodore Bus. Mach., Inc., 656 F.2d 1309, 1313
(9th Cir. 1981).
Judge DeSoto recommended the following: (1) Clements’s oral motion to
dismiss TSA and the Department of Homeland Security be granted; (2) FirstLine’s
Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 29) as to Counts I-III (federal
constitutional claims) be granted; (3) the individual defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
Clements’s Counts I-III (federal constitutional claims) be granted; (4) the individual
defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Clements’s Count IV (blacklisting) under Fed. R.
Civ. P. 12(b)(6) be denied but their alternative Motion to Dismiss Clements’s Count
IV (backlisting) for lack of jurisdiction under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) be granted;
and, (5) the matter be remanded to state court. Doc. 71.
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The Court finds no clear error in Judge DeSoto’s proposed Findings and
Recommendations. Clements’s federal constitutional claims fail as a matter of law
because they do not fall within the categories of claims previously recognized under
Bivens and there exists no basis for recognizing a new implied cause of action.
Clements’s blacklisting claim proves sufficient to survive the defendants’ motions
to dismiss. Without Clements’s federal constitutional claims, the Court lacks
jurisdiction to hear this case. Clements would be barred by the statute of limitations
from bringing the remaining blacklisting claim again in state court. As a result, the
Court will remand the remaining blacklisting claim to state court rather than
dismissing the claim.
ORDER
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff’s oral motion to dismiss TSA and the Department of Homeland Security
as parties in this matter is GRANTED.
 The Transportation Security Administration is DISMISSED.
 The Department of Homeland Security is DISMISSED.
2. FirstLine’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 29) is GRANTED as it
relates to Counts I-III of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19).
 Counts I-III of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19) are DISMISSED with
prejudice.
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3. The individual defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim
(Doc. 60) is GRANTED as it relates to Counts I-III of the Amended Complaint
(Doc. 19) and DENIED as it relates to Counts IV of the Amended Complaint
(Doc. 19).
 Counts I-III of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19) are DISMISSED with
prejudice.
4. The individual defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for lack of jurisdiction (Doc. 60)
is GRANTED as it relates to Count IV of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19).
 Count IV of the Amended Complaint (Doc. 19) is DISMISSED without
prejudice.
5. All deadlines and hearings in this case are VACATED. The matter is remanded
back to Montana’s Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, Montana.
Dated the 19th day of November, 2020.

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