Lofton v. FTS International Manufacturing LLC

Filing 11

ORDER denying 6 Motion to Dismiss. The motion to dismiss is hereby denied without prejudice to seeking dismissal of Plaintiffs amended complaint once filed. Plaintiff shall file his amendment within five days of entry of this Order. Signed by Honorable David L. Russell on 4/12/17. (jw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
CHRIS L. LOFTON,
Plaintiff,
v.
FTS INTERNATIONAL
MANUFACTURING
Defendant.

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CIV-17-242-R

ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss, filed by Defendant
FTS International Manufacturing. (Doc. No. 6). Plaintiff responded in opposition to the
motion and Defendant filed a Reply in support of its position. Having considered the
parties’ submissions, the Court orders as follows.
Plaintiff filed this action in the District Court of Oklahoma County. Although he
does not directly allege his race or color, he alleges that during the time of his employment
at FTS International Manufacturing he was subject to racial epithets by co-workers. He
asserts claims for race discrimination, including the creation of a hostile work environment,
and retaliatory termination, allegedly in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and
42 U.S.C. § 1983. Doc. No. 1-1, ¶ 3. Plaintiff concedes in response to the motion that he
intended to plead a claim under § 1981 not § 1983, because Defendant is a private, not
state, actor. Plaintiff also seeks leave to amend should the Court conclude that his
allegations are deficient, either factually or legally. (Doc. No. 8, p. 11).The Court finds that
at this juncture and given the allegations in the Petition, which present a confusing timeline,

that amendment is appropriate. Although Defendant contends amendment would be futile,
the Court disagrees. Plaintiff filed his EEOC charge on October 29, 2015, and thus claims
accruing after January 2, 2015 would be timely. Plaintiff’s counsel should ensure that in
amending the pleading, the timeline of events and the basis for Plaintiff’s claims is
sufficiently clear as to give notice to Defendant of the contours of Plaintiff’s claims.
Accordingly, the motion to dismiss is hereby denied without prejudice to seeking dismissal
of Plaintiff’s amended complaint once filed. Plaintiff shall file his amendment within five
days of entry of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 12th day of April 2017.

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