Thompson et al v. City of Memphis et al

Filing 57

ORDER Affirming Order Denying 51 Motion to Sever and Granting 42 Motion to Dismiss; Adopting Report and Recommendations re 55 Report and Recommendations. Signed by Judge Bernice B. Donald on 8/15/2011. (Donald, Bernice)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
WESTERN DIVISION
RANDALL THOMPSON,
FRED BARNES, DON MCCOMMON
and PETER ALFONSO

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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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09-2658
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CITY OF MEMPHIS,
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LORENE ESSEX, DWAN GILLIAM,
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Defendants.
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________________________________________________________________________
ORDER AFFIRMING ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SEVER AND
GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion to sever its complaint to allege individual
claims of discrimination and the city’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint pursuant to
Fed. R. Civ. 12(b)(6).

The matters were referred to the magistrate judge for

determination as to the severance issue and for report and recommendation as to the
motion to dismiss. The magistrate judge found that the motion to sever was really a
motion to amend by restating conclusory allegations which fall short of the Twombly
pleading standards. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 1964-65 (2007).
Upon complete review of the record, the Court finds that severance would be a nullity
and the complaint would be deficient as to viable claims under applicable law.
Moreover, Plaintiffs’ complaint is merely a restatement of Plaintiffs’ conclusory
allegations coupled with a formulaic recitation of the statutory elements.

This is

insufficient to meet the threshold Rule 12(b)6) standard. Accordingly, for the reasons

and analysis set forth in the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, which this
Court adopts, Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this the 15th day of August 2011.
s/Bernice Bouie Donald
BERNICE BOUIE DONALD
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE