Sprague v. Kasa Industrial Controls, Inc.
Sprague v. Kasa Industrial Controls, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff Phyllis Sprague filed a Complaint against defendant Kasa Industrial Controls, Inc. (“Kasa”) alleging violations of the American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”). Defendant filed a Motion for Partial Dismissal of Plaintiffs Claims (Doc. 6) pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Plaintiff responded, asking the Court to deny the motion or, in the alternative, to grant leave to amend her Complaint. After considering the parties’ submissions, the Court denies defendant’s motion to dismiss without prejudice and grants plaintiff leave to amend, as explained more fully below.
I. Background
The following facts are alleged in the Complaint and the Court draws all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiff. Plaintiff began her employment with Kasa in December 1988 and was continuously employed by Kasa until she was fired in December 2005 at the age of fifty-six. In September 2005, plaintiff underwent back surgery and was placed on FMLA leave. She returned to work on November 8, 2005 on light duty and worked half days. On November 29, 2005, plaintiff was released to return to work full-time.
On December 14, 2005, after a verbal warning, an unsatisfactory or unacceptable Quarterly Performance Evaluation, and a written warning, Kasa terminated plaintiff, citing performance issues as the basis for her termination. Plaintiffs performance had not been an issue before taking FMLA leave. Plaintiff alleges Kasa used performance as a pretext to fire her and that she was actually fired because of her age, as retaliation for taking FMLA time, and because she was disabled, in violation of the ADEA, FMLA, and ADA. Kasa seeks dismissal of the ADEA and ADA claims for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 12(b)(6). Kasa argues that the Complaint lacks sufficient factual allegations to provide notice of the grounds on which plaintiffs ADA and ADEA claims rest.
II. Discussion
Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) provides that a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” A complaint must give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.
Previously, courts found a complaint sufficient “unless it appeared without a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.”
The Tenth Circuit recently interpreted the plausibility standard of Twombly, shedding light on a decision that is “less than pellucid.”
Plaintiff spends most of her response analyzing the Twombly decision and suggesting that the revised standard does not apply to her. Plaintiff misconstrues Twombly in her response when she states that “the language of the Court makes clear that the Court is addressing the proper standard for pleadings in an antitrust conspiracy case and more specifically, one that deals with allegations of conspiracy through allegations of parallel conduct.” Since Twombly, the Tenth Circuit and other appellate courts have consistently applied the standard enunciated in Twombly to cases outside the conspiracy context.
Moreover, to the extent plaintiff suggests tension between Twombly and Swierkiewicz, she is mistaken. First, the Court in Twom-bly explicitly stated that it was not abrogating Swierkiewicz.
Twombly simply revises the general standard on deciding a motion to dismiss based on the notice pleading standard set forth in Rule 8(a). Therefore, the state of the law posb-Twombly continues to provide that a prima facie case need not necessarily be alleged in employment discrimination eases, however the Complaint must still provide “fair notice of the basis for [plaintiffs] claims,”
A. ADA Claim
Plaintiff has alleged that as a result of her back injury or the residual effects of such injury, she meets the definition of a disabled person as defined by the ADA. Additionally, plaintiff alleges in paragraphs 66 and 69 of the Complaint that she “has an impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, and plaintiff was regarded by defendant as having such an impairment.” This is no more than a formulaic recitation of the definition of disability under the ADA that the Twombly court stated “will not do.”
The only non-conclusory factual averment to support plaintiffs claim that she is “disabled” is that she underwent back surgery for which she took FMLA leave in September 2005. However, she also alleges that she came back to work on light duty on November 8, 2005 and was released to return to work full time on November 29, 2005. The ADA enumerates three types of disability. Under subsection (A), a person has a disability under the ADA if he has “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual.”
B. ADEA Claim
The ADEA prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of age.
At the end of its response, plaintiff requests that she be allowed leave to amend her Complaint under Fed.R.Civ.P. 15, “if the Court believes that plaintiff is required to make an additional showing.” Because this request was made before the time expired for filing motions for leave to amend under the Scheduling Order, the Court is inclined to allow plaintiff the opportunity to file a motion for leave to amend her Complaint.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT that defendant’s Motion for Partial Dismissal of Plaintiffs Claims (Doc. 6) is denied without prejudice. Plaintiffs request for leave to amend the complaint is granted. Plaintiff shall file her motion for leave to amend the complaint no later than July 30, 2008. Defendant shall respond by August 13, 2008. No reply shall be filed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)).
. Id. at 512, 122 S.Ct. 992.
. Gibson, 355 U.S. at 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99.
. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, -U.S.-, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1968, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007).
. Id. at 1974.
. Ridge at Red Hawk, L.L.C. v. Schneider, 493 F.3d 1174, 1177 (10th Cir. 2007) (emphasis in the original).
. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965.
. 534 U.S. 506, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002).
. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1973-74.
. Robbins v. Oklahoma, 519 F.3d 1242, 1247 (10th Cir. 2008).
. Id. (quoting Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965).
. Id. (citing Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965).
. Id. at 1247-48.
. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965.
. See, e.g., Hollonbeck v. U.S. Olympic Comm., 513 F.3d 1191, 1194 (10th Cir. 2008) (applying Twombly in case under the Rehabilitation Act); Robbins, 519 F.3d at 1248 (applying Twombly to claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and explaining that the degree of specificity necessary to establish plausibility and fair notice depends on the type of case); Wilkerson v. New Media Tech. Charter Sch. Inc., 522 F.3d 315, 322 (3d Cir. 2008) ("The plausibility paradigm announced in Twombly applies with equal force to analyzing the adequacy of claims of employment discrimination”); Medlock v. Otsuka Pharm., Inc., No. 07-2013-JPO, 2008 WL 243674, at *9 (D.Kan. Jan.29, 2008) (applying Twombly to claims under Title VII and the ADEA).
. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1973-74.
. Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 512, 122 S.Ct. 992.
. Id. at 509, 122 S.Ct. 992.
. Id. at 513, 122 S.Ct. 992.
. Id.
. Id. ("His complaint detailed the events leading to his termination, provided relevant dates, and included the ages and nationalities of at least some of the relevant persons involved with his termination.”).
. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965; see 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2).
. 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(A).
. See generally, Aldrich v. Boeing Co., 146 F.3d 1265, 1269-70 (10th Cir. 1998) (discussing "substantially limits” as defined by 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)).
. 29 U.S.C. § 623.
. The Court is not inclined to consider the underlying briefs sufficient to convert into a motion for leave to amend.
. See, e.g., Watson ex rel. Watson v. Beckel, 242 F.3d 1237, 1239-40 (10th Cir. 2001); Huxall v. First State Bank, 842 F.2d 249, 250 n. 2 (10th Cir. 1988).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Phyllis SPRAGUE v. KASA INDUSTRIAL CONTROLS, INC.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published