Bonnet vs Nevada, State of, et al

Filing 38

ORDER granting ECF No. 29 Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. Signed by Judge Howard D. McKibben on 10/22/2018. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - LH)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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4 Bobby Bonnet,
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Case No. 3:18-cv-159-HDM-WGC

Plaintiff
Order Granting Motion for Judgment on
the Pleadings (ECF 29)

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7 State of Nevada, Department of
Transportation Division and Does I-X,
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Defendants
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The State moves for judgment on the pleadings. It asserts that this Court lacks subject-

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matter jurisdiction over Bonnet’s second and third causes of action—both of which relate to age

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discrimination. ECF 29 at 2–3. Bonnet has filed a “non-opposition” to the stated motion. ECF

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34.

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This Court lacks jurisdiction over Bonnet’s second and third causes of action. States are

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immune from suit, under state or federal law, by private parties in federal court absent waiver or

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abrogation of that immunity. See U.S. Const. amend. XI; Seminole Tribe of Fla., v. Florida, 517

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U.S. 44, 54 (1996). Nevada has not waived its immunity. NRS 41.031(3). Nor did ADEA—the

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lone remedy for age discrimination, Ahlmeyer v. Nevada Sys. of Higher Educ., 555 F.3d 1051,

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1058 (9th Cir. 2009)—abrogate Nevada’s immunity, Kimel v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62,

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91 (2000).

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Because the Eleventh Amendment bars Bonnet’s age-discrimination claims, Bonnet’s

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second and third causes of action are dismissed with prejudice for lack of subject-matter

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jurisdiction.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: October 22, 2018

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_________________________________
Howard D. McKibben
Senior U.S. District Judge

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