Stein v. Johnson City School District

Filing 20

MEMORANDUM-DECISION & ORDER: It is ordered that defendant's # 13 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is GRANTED. Plaintiff's counsel shall file an affidavit (with an optional Memorandum of Law) by October 11, 2013 showing cause why the Court should not sanction plaintiff's attorney Douglas W. Drazen. Signed by Senior Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr on 10/7/2013. (jmb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
_____________________________________________
KELLI A. STEIN,
Plaintiff,
v.

3:12-CV-1510
(FJS/DEP)

JOHNSON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT,
Defendant.
_____________________________________________
APPEARANCES

OF COUNSEL

OFFICE OF DOUGLAS W. DRAZEN
2 Hawley Street, Suite 111
Binghamton, New York 13901
Attorneys for Plaintiff

DOUGLAS W. DRAZEN, ESQ.

THE LAW FIRM OF FRANK
W. MILLER
6575 Kirkville Road
East Syracuse, New York 13057
Attorneys for Defendant

FRANK W. MILLER, ESQ.
J. RYAN HATCH, ESQ.

SCULLIN, Senior Judge
I. INTRODUCTION1
Currently before the Court is Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant
to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.2 The Court heard oral argument in support
of, and in opposition to, this motion on September 27, 2013. At the end of argument, the Court

1

For ease of reference, the Court's citations to specific page numbers reference the page
numbers that the Court's electronic filing system automatically generates.
2

Defendant refers to its motion as a motion to dismiss. However, because Defendant has
filed an answer to Plaintiff's amended complaint, this is, in fact, a motion for judgment on the
pleadings.

advised counsel that a written decision would be forthcoming. The following constitutes the
Court's written decision regarding the pending motion.

II. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff filed her original complaint in this action on October 4, 2012. See Dkt. No. 1.
Defendant filed an answer to that complaint on October 21, 2012. See Dkt. No. 6. On
November 19, 2012, Plaintiff filed her amended complaint. See Dkt. No. 10. On November 30,
2012, Defendant filed its answer to the amended complaint. See Dkt. No. 11. On January 9,
2013, Defendant filed the pending motion for judgment on the pleadings, see Dkt. No. 13, to
which Plaintiff filed opposition papers on February 5, 2013, see Dkt. No. 16. Finally, Defendant
filed a reply in further support of its motion on February 11, 2013. See Dkt. No. 17.
In her amended complaint, Plaintiff asserts seven causes of action under 42 U.S.C.
§ 2000e-2 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 29 U.S.C. § 1161(a), and state law. Specifically,
Plaintiff sates that she is complaining that Defendant terminated her employment in violation of
her civil rights, created a hostile work environment, and failed to provide her with the required
COBRA notice within the time prescribed under state and federal law. See Dkt. No. 10,
Amended Complaint at ¶ 5. In addition, Plaintiff asserts state-law claims sounding in
defamation, slander and libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. See id.

III. DISCUSSION
A.

Standard of review
A party may move for judgment on the pleadings after the pleadings are closed. See Fed.
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R. Civ. P. 12(c). "'The standard for granting a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings
is identical to that of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim.'" Myers v. Camden Cent.
Sch. Dist., No. 5:10-CV-1167, 2012 WL 2921574, *4 (N.D.N.Y. July 17, 2012) (quotation
omitted). In reviewing a motion for judgment on the pleadings, the court may consider the
pleadings, "(1) documents attached as an exhibit to the complaint or answer, (2) documents
incorporated by reference in the complaint (and provided by the parties), (3) documents that,
although not incorporated by reference, are 'integral' to the complaint, or (4) any matter of which
the court can take judicial notice for the factual background of the case." Id. (footnote omitted).
To withstand a motion for judgment on the pleadings, "'a complaint must plead "enough
facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face."'" Dotson v. City of Syracuse, No.
5:11-CV-620, 2013 WL 1293775, *6 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2013) (quoting Ruotolo v. City of N.Y.,
514 F.3d 184, 188 (2d Cir. 2008) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.
Ct. 1955, 167 L. Ed. 2d 929 (2007))). Thus, the plaintiff "'must provide the grounds upon which
[her] claim rests through factual allegations sufficient "to raise a right to relief above the
speculative level."'" Id. (quoting ATSI Commc'ns, Inc. v. Shaar Fund, Ltd., 493 F.3d 87, 98 (2d
Cir. 2007) (quoting Bell, 550 U.S. at 555)). "A claim has facial plausibility when the pleaded
factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for
the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 663 (2009) (citation omitted). Thus,
"[w]here a complaint pleads facts that are 'merely consistent with' a defendant's liability, it 'stops
short of the line between possibility and plausibility of "entitlement to relief."'" Id. (quoting
[Twombly, 550 U.S.] at 557, 127 S. Ct. 1955).

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B.

Plaintiff's Title VII claims
Plaintiff's counsel conceded at oral argument that Plaintiff had not filed an administrative

complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights or the United States Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission prior to filing her complaint. Her failure to do so is fatal
to her Title VII claims. See Tanvir v. N.Y. City Health & Hosps. Corp., 480 F. App'x 620, 621
(2d Cir. 2012) (stating that "[e]xhaustion of administrative remedies through the EEOC is an
essential element of the Title VII . . . statutory scheme[] and, as such, a precondition to bringing
such claims in federal court" (quoting Leqnani v. Alitalia Linee Aeree Italiane, S.P.A., 274 F.3d
683, 686 (2d Cir. 2001) (per curiam))). Therefore, the Court grants Defendant's motion for
judgment on the pleadings with respect to Plaintiff's Title VII claims.

C.

Plaintiff's § 1983 claims
In order to state a claim against a municipality under § 1983, a plaintiff must plead "that

an official policy or custom, . . . caused the [her] to be subjected to . . . a denial of a
constitutional right." Nicholas v. City of Binghamton, N.Y., No. 10-CV-1565, 2012 WL
3261409, *15 (N.D.N.Y. Aug. 8, 2012) (citation omitted). "The 'mere assertion . . . that a
municipality has such a custom or policy is insufficient in the absence of allegations of fact
tending to support, at least circumstantially, such an inference.'" Id. (quotation omitted). In this
case, Plaintiff has not alleged any facts in her amended complaint from which the Court could
infer that any policy or custom of Defendant caused the alleged violation of her constitutional
rights. Therefore, the Court grants Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings with
respect to Plaintiff's § 1983 claims.
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D.

The remainder of Plaintiff's claims
As the Court noted at oral argument, Plaintiff has not set forth sufficient facts in her

amended complaint to state a claim that is plausible on its face. Plaintiff attempted to remedy
this deficiency in her pleadings by submitting an affidavit and more than 200 pages of exhibits in
opposition to Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings. However, as the Court advised
Plaintiff's counsel, the Court cannot consider this information when resolving a motion for
judgment on the pleadings. Furthermore, as the Court noted, most of the information that
Plaintiff submitted would not cure the defects in her amended complaint. Therefore, the Court
grants Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings with respect to the remainder of
Plaintiff's claims.

E.

Sanctions
At the close of oral argument, the Court advised Plaintiff's counsel that, because

Plaintiff's amended complaint fell so far short of the pleading standard under the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure and relevant case law, the Court opined that counsel could not have believed in
good faith that Plaintiff had sufficiently pled her claims. Therefore, the Court ordered Plaintiff's
counsel, within two weeks, to show cause, through a written affidavit and any memorandum of
law that he wanted to submit, why the Court should not sanction him.

IV. CONCLUSION
Having reviewed the entire record in this matter, the parties' submissions and oral
arguments, and the applicable law, and for the above-stated reasons, the Court hereby
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ORDERS that Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED;3 and
the Court further
ORDERS that Plaintiff's counsel shall file an affidavit and, if he wishes, a memorandum
of law, showing cause why the Court should not sanction him on or before October 11, 2013.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 7, 2013
Syracuse, New York

3

The Court will not enter judgment at this time. After the Court has had the opportunity
to review Plaintiff's counsel's submissions regarding the issue of sanctions and has resolved that
issue, the Court will enter a final judgment at that time.
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