Montgomery v. The Anson County Board of Education

Filing 20

ORDER denying 15 Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint in Part or, in the Alternative, to Strike. Signed by Senior Judge Graham Mullen on 1/30/2017. (eef)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
3:16CV309-GCM

DANNIE MONTGOMERY,

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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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THE ANSON COUNTY BOARD OF
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EDUCATION,
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Defendant.
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____________________________________)

ORDER

This matter is before the Court upon the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Amended
Complaint in Part or, in the Alternative, to Strike. This motion is fully briefed and ripe for
disposition.
Plaintiff, an African American woman over 40, is a teacher employed by the Defendant.
She originally filed her Complaint alleging retaliation in violation of her First Amendment rights,
as well as discriminatory failure to promote claims based upon race and age. The Defendant
moved to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim. The Court dismissed Plaintiff’s
retaliation claim. The Court also found that the failure to promote claims, as plead, were vague
and fell well short of the factual specificity required by Twombly and Iqbal and appeared to be
no more than a “formulaic recitation of the elements” of the claims. Rather than dismiss the
claims, however, the Court allowed Plaintiff an opportunity to amend her Complaint to address
its deficiencies with regard to her failure to promote claims.

Plaintiff amended her Complaint on November 3, 2016. The Amended Complaint
addresses the Court’s previous concerns by alleging specific instances of alleged discrimination.
The Defendant now seeks to dismiss or strike portions of Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint,
arguing that it still falls short on factual specificity. The Court finds that at this stage of the
litigation Plaintiff has alleged plausible claims.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Amended
Complaint in Part or, in the Alternative, to Strike is hereby DENIED.

Signed: January 30, 2017