Middleton v. U.S. Dep't of Labor
Middleton v. U.S. Dep't of Labor
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Evelyn L. Middleton, pro se , has sued the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") alleging negligence and breach of fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") and the Federal Tort Claims Act ("FTCA"). The DOL seeks to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint under, among other defenses, the doctrine of res judicata . Because there has already been exhaustive litigation between the same parties involving the same cause of action and there has been a final, valid judgment on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction, res judicata precludes further litigation of Ms. Middleton's claims related to her retirement account. As a separate basis for dismissal, her claims fail to state a claim on which relief can be granted.
I.
Ms. Middleton filed a complaint with the DOL in June 2001 alleging that her former employer, Centra Health, and her retirement benefits planning company, American General Company, mishandled her retirement account. Second Am. Compl. ("SAC") 2, ¶ 1, ECF No. 22. She contends that, as a result of her complaint, DOL won a $19 million claim against American General in 2002 and that she never received those funds. Id. at 4, ¶ 9. Ms. Middleton also asserts that she subsequently dealt with several DOL officials who allegedly made "verbal and written misrepresentations" regarding her complaint. Id. at 13 at "Bases for Injury" ¶¶ 2, 4. She bases her claims on ERISA,
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States Department of Labor , 4:06-cv-00072 (E.D. Va.) (Dismissed pursuant to motion by Friedman, J.);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States Department of Labor et al. , 4:07-cv-00080 (E.D. Va.) (Voluntary dismissal);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service , 4:10-cv-00072 (E.D. Va.) (Dismissed sua sponte by Friedman, J.);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America and Department of Treasury , 4:10-cv-00088 (E.D. Va.) (Dismissed sua sponte by Friedman, J.);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America and Department of Treasury , 4:11-cv-00029 (E.D. Va.) (Dismissed sua sponte by Davis, J.);
*85Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America , 4:11-cv-00059 (E.D. Va.) (FTCA claim dismissed pursuant to motion by Davis, J.);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America , 4:11-cv-00142 (E.D. Va.) (Originally filed in Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court as Evelyn Middleton v. Lawrence R. Leonard and Jerome Friedman and removed to federal court; dismissed pursuant to motion by Davis, J. and imposed pre-filing restrictions);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America , 4:12-cv-00129 (E.D. Va.) (Dismissed pursuant to motion by Davis, J.);
Evelyn Middleton v. United States of America , 6:12-cv-00022 (W.D. Va.) (Dismissed pursuant to motion by Moon, J.);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America , 6:12-cv-00041 (W.D. Va.) (Dismissed pursuant to motion by Moon, J.);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America , 6:13-cv-00002 (W.D. Va.) (Dismissed pursuant to motion by Moon, J. and imposed pre-filing restrictions);
Evelyn Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:13-mc-00002 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed August 16, 2013 and denied August 22, 2013);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:15-mc-00004 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed June 8, 2015 and denied July 16, 2015);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:15-mc-00005 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed July 31, 2015 and denied August 3, 2015);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:15-mc-00006 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed August 20, 2015 and denied September 16, 2015);
Evelyn Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:17-mc-00001 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed April 10, 2017 and denied April 12, 2017);
Evelyn Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:17-mc-00004 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed April 18, 2017 and denied April 21, 2017);
Evelyn L. Middleton v. U.S. Department of Labor , 6:17-mc-00005 (W.D. Va.) (Motion to File Complaint filed April 26, 2017 and denied May 2, 2017).
Ms. Middleton filed her complaint in this District on May 10, 2017 and amended her complaint twice, once as of right and once with leave of the Court. See Compl., ECF No. 11; Minute Orders (Aug. 30, 2017 and Dec. 7, 2017). The DOL filed a motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 25. The DOL asserts that (1) relief is barred by the doctrines of sovereign immunity and res judicata , (2) Ms. Middleton failed to state a claim under ERISA and the FTCA, and (3) the action is barred by the ERISA statute of limitations.
II.
A party may move to dismiss a complaint, or a specific count therein, on the ground that it "fail[s] to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires that a complaint contain "a short and plain statement of the *86claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." This requires the complaint to contain sufficient factual allegations that, if true, "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly ,
In evaluating a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and accept as true all reasonable factual inferences drawn from well-pled factual allegations. See In re United Mine Workers of Am. Emp. Benefit Plans Litig. ,
"Res judicata may be raised in a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim when the defense appears on the face of the complaint and any materials of which the court may take judicial notice." Sheppard v. District of Columbia ,
"A final judgment on the merits of an action precludes the parties or their privies from relitigating issues that were or could have been raised in that action." Federated Dep't. Stores, Inc. v. Moitie ,
To determine whether the prior litigation involved the same claims or cause of action under the first prong of Smalls , a court reviews whether the actions "share the same 'nucleus of facts.' "
*87Page v. United States ,
III.
A.
All prongs of the Smalls test are satisfied here. As to the first prong, Ms. Middleton's allegations arise from the same "nucleus of facts" as the allegations in Evelyn Middleton v. United States of America , No. 6:12-cv-00041,
In the E.D. Va. Dismissal, Judge Davis' Rule 12(b)(6) order noted that Ms. Middleton argued fraud and the use of fictitious names by DOL officials, which is repeated in this action. Compare E.D. Va. Dismissal Order at 2 (Sept. 14, 2012), ECF No. 6 with SAC 6, ¶ 15; id. at 13, ¶4 (alleging that DOL official Jane Smith falsely identified herself as Virginia Smith). Ms. Middleton's factual assertions clearly arise out of the same nucleus of facts as the W.D. Va. and E.D. Va. Dismissals. And to the extent that Ms. Middleton tweaks her legal basis for relief from previous cases-which does not appear to be the case-her ability to litigate this matter still is foreclosed because she had the opportunity to raise those legal entitlements in past actions. See NRDC v. Thomas ,
The only event that occurred subsequent to the W.D. Va. and E.D. Va. Dismissals and therefore could not have been previously raised was Ms. Middleton's correspondence with DOL benefits adviser Shofall *88Jindal. This, however, does not save her action because she has not sufficiently pled any misconduct by Mr. Jindal. As Ms. Middleton describes the events, Mr. Jindal attempted to assist her in finding her alleged lost money by directing her to the Virginia Unclaimed Property program. SAC 9-10, ¶ 34. These references to Mr. Jindal, therefore, do not form any cognizable cause of action. The only facts alleged in the Second Amended Complaint upon which Ms. Middleton's claim is based are "related in time, space, origin, or motivation" to the previously dismissed lawsuits in the Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia. See Stanton ,
The other prongs of the res judicata test are easily satisfied. Ms. Middleton brought both the W.D. Va. and E.D. Va. Dismissals against the United States, and since a federal agency is in privity with the United States for purposes of res judicata , the second prong is fulfilled. See Mervin ,
Finally, under the fourth prong of the Smalls test, the previous court must have had "competent jurisdiction" to decide the case. The Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia are unquestionably competent courts with full subject matter jurisdiction to decide a dispute between a federal agency and a citizen alleging violations of ERISA and the FTCA. See, e.g., Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila ,
Notably, Ms. Middleton offers no response to the DOL's res judicata defense in her opposition to the DOL's motion. See generally Mot. in Opp'n to Def.'s Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 26. Her only comment about the DOL's argument perfunctorily stated that she "is not asking the [Court] to relitigate any cases from the Eastern District of Virginia." Id. at 6. She does not refer or acknowledge any of the multiple closed cases in the Western District of Virginia, nor submits any substantive argument as to why this case differs from any of the previous cases. Even construing her Second Amended Complaint liberally given her status as a pro se litigant, Ms. Middleton alleges no additional facts or claims that have not been covered by the prior final judgments.
B.
Even if her case was not doomed by res judicata , it must be dismissed because Ms. Middleton has failed to state a claim under both ERISA and the FTCA. See SAC 1, ¶ 11. ERISA is a federal statute that provides protections for individuals enrolled in employee benefit plans by imposing certain standards and fiduciary duties on the administrators of those plans. Aetna Health ,
The DOL also owes no fiduciary duties to Ms. Middleton under ERISA. The statute defines fiduciaries as only those persons who exercise authority or control with respect to an ERISA investment plan.
Ms. Middleton also fails to state a claim under the FTCA, which "remove[s] the sovereign immunity of the United States from suits in tort" and "render[s] the Government liable in tort as a private individual would be under like circumstances." See Richards v. United States ,
IV.
Ms. Middleton has an extensive history of filing repetitive lawsuits in other districts. As a result, both the Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia have imposed pre-filing review requirements. Evelyn L. Middleton v. United States of America , No. 6:13-cv-00002,
*90This Court, therefore, will order the following pre-filing restrictions. Ms. Middleton is not permitted to file any actions in the District Court for the District of Columbia related to this matter (i.e. , her retirement account or the handling of her complaints about the account by any individual, the Department of Labor, or the United States), without pre-authorization from a judge in this District upon a finding that the case could be meritorious rather than repetitive. See Middleton ,
V.
For the foregoing reasons, the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss will be granted and the Second Amended Complaint will be dismissed with prejudice. The Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment will be dismissed as moot, and pre-filing restrictions will be implemented. A separate order will issue.
Because Ms. Middleton's claims are barred, at minimum, on the independent bases of res judicata and failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted, it is not necessary to address the DOL's sovereign immunity and statute of limitations defenses.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Evelyn L. MIDDLETON, pro se v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
- Cited By
- 11 cases
- Status
- Published