Rosenfeld v. NV Energy, Inc.
Filing
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ORDER that 20 Defendant's Motion to Stay Discovery and the Early Neutral Evaluation Session Pending Ruling on Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED. Signed by Magistrate Judge Carl W. Hoffman on 3/13/2018. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - MMM)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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FRED ROSENFELD,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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NV ENERGY, INC.,
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Defendant.
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____________________________________)
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Case No. 2:17-cv-03041-JCM-CWH
ORDER
Presently before this court is Defendant NV Energy, Inc.’s Motion to Stay Discovery and
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the Early Neutral Evaluation Session (ECF No. 20), filed on February 21, 2018. Plaintiff Fred
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Rosenfeld filed a response (ECF No. 21) on February 22, 2018. Defendant filed a reply (ECF No.
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22) on February 27, 2018.
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I.
BACKGROUND
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This action arises out of an employment dispute between Plaintiff Fred Rosenfeld and
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Defendant NV Energy, Inc., his former employer. Plaintiff alleges he is 68 years old and was
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employed by Defendant from March 1983 to November of 2016. (Compl. (ECF No. 1) at ¶ 8.)
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Plaintiff alleges that he was discriminated against based upon his age because he was unfairly
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criticized for his work performance, which younger employees did not endure; that he was treated
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unequally regarding the terms and conditions of his employment as opposed to younger co-
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workers; that he was the victim of disparaging comments related to his taking retirement or that he
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should leave his employment due to his age; that he received unfounded discipline which was
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intended to cause harm due to his age; and that he was terminated based upon false allegations of
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misconduct. (Id. at ¶ 10.)
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Following his termination, Plaintiff brought suit in this court against Defendant asserting a
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claim for age discrimination and hostile environment. (Compl. (ECF No. 1).) Defendant moved to
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dismiss, arguing that the complaint did not satisfy the pleading standard under Iqbal and Twombly
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because the allegations are too speculative and conclusory . (Mot. to Dismiss (ECF No. 9).)
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Defendant argues that Plaintiff does not allege sufficient facts to infer a causal connection between
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his age and his termination. Defendant further argues that Plaintiff’s subjective speculation about
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his termination is insufficient to state a claim for discrimination. Additionally, Defendant argues
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that Plaintiff does not identify a similarly-situated co-worker outside of his protected class who was
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treated more favorably than Plaintiff was, or that he was replaced by a younger employee with
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equal or inferior qualifications.
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Regarding his hostile work environment allegations, Defendant argues that Plaintiff has
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only set forth a bare recitation of the elements, but does not allege even one disparaging comment,
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and that comments regarding Plaintiff taking retirement are insufficient to state a hostile work
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environment claim.
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Plaintiff opposed the motion to dismiss, arguing that the complaint sufficiently alleges
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plausible claims which will survive the motion to dismiss. (Opp’n (ECF No. 11).) Plaintiff also
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responds that the federal standard favors liberal leave to amend, so if the motion to dismiss is
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granted, he would nevertheless be allowed to amend his complaint. Plaintiff therefore indicates he
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will move to amend the complaint if the court finds greater factual content necessary. The motion
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to dismiss the complaint is pending before the United States district judge assigned to this case.
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Defendant now moves to stay discovery pending the ruling on the pending motion to
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dismiss, arguing the motion to dismiss is dispositive of the entire case and that discovery would be
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inefficient because Plaintiff does not state a cognizable claim. (Mot. to Stay (ECF No. 20).)
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Plaintiff responds that staying discovery would create unnecessary delay and prevent him from
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diligently preparing his case, and that the motion to dismiss is not dispositive of the entire case
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because he will be allowed to amend his complaint. (Opp’n Mot. to Stay Discovery (ECF No. 21).)
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II.
ANALYSIS
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Courts have broad discretionary power to control discovery, including the decision to stay
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discovery. See e.g., Little v. City of Seattle, 863 F.2d 681, 685 (9th Cir. 1988). When evaluating
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whether to stay discovery, the court considers the goal of Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure, which directs that the rule must be “construed and administered to secure the just,
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speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.” Tradebay, LLC v. eBay, Inc., 278 F.R.D.
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597, 602 (D. Nev. 2011) (citation omitted). But the Rules do not provide for an automatic stay of
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discovery when a potentially dispositive motion is pending. Id. at 600–01. Thus, a pending
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dispositive motion “is not ordinarily a situation that in and of itself would warrant a stay of
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discovery.” Turner Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Tracinda Corp., 175 F.R.D. 554, 556 (D. Nev. 1997)
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(quotation omitted). Nor does the fact that “discovery may involve some inconvenience and
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expense” automatically warrant a stay of discovery. Id.
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In determining whether to stay discovery, the court considers whether (1) the pending
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motion is potentially dispositive of the entire case, or at least of the issue on which discovery is
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sought; and (2) the potentially dispositive motion can be decided without additional discovery.
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Ministerio Roca Solida v. U.S. Dep’t of Fish & Wildlife, 288 F.R.D. 500, 506 (D. Nev. 2013). This
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analysis requires the court to take a “preliminary peek” at the potentially dispositive motion.
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Tradebay, 278 F.R.D. at 603. This assessment is meant not to prejudge a motion’s outcome but,
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rather, to accomplish the cost- and time-saving objectives of Rule 1 by evaluating the justice of
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either permitting or delaying discovery. Id. A court may stay discovery when it is convinced that
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the plaintiff will be unable to state a claim for relief. Turner, 175 F.R.D. at 555. Ultimately, the
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party seeking the stay “carries the heavy burden of making a ‘strong showing’ why discovery
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should be denied.” Id. at 556 (quotation omitted).
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The court now takes a “preliminary peek” at the merits of Defendant’s motion to dismiss to
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determine whether it is potentially dispositive of the entire case and whether it can be decided
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without additional discovery. Plaintiff’s “first claim for relief” includes a claim for age
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discrimination which the court understands to be disparate treatment and hostile work environment
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claims. (See Compl. (ECF No. 1).)
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To survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must allege enough facts to state a claim
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that is “plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “The
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plausibility standard . . . asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted
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unlawfully.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). When pleading facts that do no more
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than infer the possibility of misconduct, a complaint has alleged, but not shown, that the plaintiff is
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entitled to relief. Id. at 679. Properly pled allegations contain “more than labels and conclusions.”
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Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. While courts must accept as true all factual allegations in a complaint,
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legal conclusions do not receive the same treatment, even if couched as factual allegations. Iqbal,
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556 U.S. at 678.
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In order to state a prima facie case of age discrimination, Plaintiff must show that (1) he is a
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member of a protected class (at least age 40), (2) he was performing his job satisfactorily; (3) he
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suffered an adverse employment action, and (4) he was replaced by a substantially younger
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employee with equal or inferior qualifications. Coleman v. Quaker Oats Co., 232 F.3d 1271, 1281
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(9th Cir. 2000).
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Plaintiff alleges that he is a member of a protected class. He does not claim that he was
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performing his job satisfactorily or that he was replaced by a younger employee with equal or
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inferior qualifications. He alleges in conclusory fashion that he suffered adverse employment
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actions, including unfair criticisms of his work, unequal treatment by managers regarding the terms
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and conditions of his employment, and disparate treatment as opposed to younger employees.
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Plaintiff’s complaint consists of legal conclusions and broad generalities, but insufficient facts to
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state a plausible age discrimination claim.
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Additionally, Plaintiff fails to allege any facts which would allow the court to draw the
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inference that Defendant is liable for creating a hostile work environment. Plaintiff does not
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include specific dates, details, or frequency of comments made to him, or of the unequal treatment
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or discipline he received.
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Given that Plaintiff has failed to allege sufficient facts in support of his claims, the court
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finds that Defendant’s motion to dismiss at this stage is dispositive of this case. The court further
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finds that the motion to dismiss can be decided without additional discovery.
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If Defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted, Plaintiff may be given leave to file an amended
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complaint to cure any pleading defects under Rule 15’s liberal standard. At this stage, Plaintiff has
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not moved to amend or provided any information indicating there are additional facts to support the
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complaint, and so the court is convinced that Defendant’s motion to dismiss will succeed. The
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court therefore will grant Defendant’s motion to stay discovery. Moreover, absent a complaint
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which sufficiently alleges supporting facts, the Early Neutral Evaluation Session is not likely to be
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productive. To accomplish the cost- and time-saving objectives of Rule 1, it also should be stayed.
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III. CONCLUSION
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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Stay Discovery and the Early
Neutral Evaluation Session Pending Ruling on Motion to Dismiss (ECF NO. 20) is GRANTED.
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DATED: March 13, 2018
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______________________________________
C.W. Hoffman, Jr.
United States Magistrate Judge
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