Benson v. University of Maine System

857 F. Supp. 2d 171, 2012 WL 1415715, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57350
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedApril 24, 2012
DocketNo. 2:11-cv-00183-JAW
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 857 F. Supp. 2d 171 (Benson v. University of Maine System) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Benson v. University of Maine System, 857 F. Supp. 2d 171, 2012 WL 1415715, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57350 (D. Me. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION TO AMEND AMENDED COMPLAINT AND ON MOTION TO DISMISS AMENDED COMPLAINT

JOHN A. WOODCOCK, JR., Chief Judge.

Concluding that the Plaintiffs have properly stated a claim against the Chancellor of the University of Maine System for injunctive relief that relates back to the date of the original filing, the Court allows the Plaintiffs to amend their pending Complaint to add the Chancellor as a Defendant in his official capacity. The Court also allows the Plaintiffs to amend their Complaint to assert a violation of the Rehabilitation Act. Without objection from the Plaintiffs, the Court dismisses their Maine Human Rights Act claim against the University of Maine System because it violates the Eleventh Amendment.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Procedural History

On May 4, 2011, the Plaintiffs, former employees of the University of Southern Maine, filed a- complaint in this Court, alleging that the University of Maine System 1 (University) discriminated against [173]*173them in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA) by refusing to hire them because of their age. Compl. (Docket # 1). On August 16, 2011, before the University had answered, the Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint.2 First Am. Compl. (Docket #4) (First Am. Compl.) On September 19, 2011, the University answered the First Amended Complaint. Def.’s Ans. and Affirmative Defenses (Docket # 6). On October 21, 2011, the Plaintiffs moved to amend the First Amended Complaint. Pis. ’ Mot. for Leave to Amend Compl. Pursuant to FRCP 15(a) (Docket #12) (Pis.’ Mot.). On November 14, 2011, the University objected to the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend. Def.’s Opp’n to Pis.’ Mot. for Leave to Amend the Compl. (Docket #15) (Def.’s Opp’n). On the same day, the University moved to dismiss the First Amended Complaint. Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss Pis.’ First Am. Compl. (Docket # 16) (Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss). On December 5, 2011, the Plaintiffs replied to both the University’s opposition to their motion to amend and to its motion to dismiss. Pis.’ Reply to Def.’s Opp’n to Pis.’ Mot. for Leave to Amend (Docket # 19) (Pis. ’ Reply); Pis. Resp. to Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss (Docket # 20) (Pis.’ Resp.).

B. The Second Amended Complaint

With its motion to amend, the Plaintiffs filed a proposed Second Amended Complaint. Pis.’ Mot. Attach. 1 Pis.’ Proposed Second Am. Compl. Injunctive Relief Sought (Docket #20) (Second Am. Compl.). In the Second Amended Complaint, the Plaintiffs seek to add as a Defendant Richard Pattenaude, in his official capacity as Chancellor of the University of Maine System.3 Id. ¶¶ 11-15. They allege three statutory causes of action arising under: (1) the ADEA, (2) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Rehabilitation Act), and (3) the MHRA. Id. ¶ 1. They claim that the Plaintiffs, ranging in age from 55 to 65, had worked for the University of Southern Maine between three and twenty-seven years and were well qualified to perform their positions. Id. ¶¶ 29-59. They assert that in the summer of 2009, the University of Maine System informed them that it was going to restructure the Career Development/Student Advising/Student Success Departments where they worked and that they would be terminated but would be allowed to apply for positions in the new Student Success Center. Id. ¶¶ 60-61. They claim that when they applied for these positions, the University used a discriminatory hiring process and passed over each of the Plaintiffs, hiring younger, less qualified, less experienced applicants. Id. ¶¶ 62-83.

The Second Amended Complaint would also add a claim for disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act. One Plaintiff, Louise Nisbet, alleges that in addition to being 62, she has a diagnosed disability — attention deficit disorder (ADD), a record of disability, and was regarded by the University as being disabled. Id. ¶ 38-45. She claims that during her employment her supervisor mentioned her memory problems, that she consequently obtained multiple neuropsychological evaluations, that her supervisor asked her about the results of these tests, [174]*174that Ms. Nisbet informed her supervisor that she had ADD, that her supervisor’s inquiries violated the Rehabilitation Act, that her supervisor again violated the Rehabilitation Act by revealing this information to other managers, and that the University improperly used this information against her during her application process in denying her job application. Id. ¶¶ 46-51, 63-74.

C. The Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend

In their motion to amend, the Plaintiffs provide grounds for allowing the Second Amended Complaint, which was filed on October 21, 2011. Pis.’Mot. at 1-2. They note that the Scheduling Order set December 6, 2011 as the deadline for amending pleadings4 and that Rule 15(a) states that the court “should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). Anticipating the University’s objection, they argue that the motion is not futile. PI. ’s Mot. at 4. In response to the University’s objections to the First Amended Complaint, they say that adding Chancellor Pattenaude as a Defendant confers jurisdiction under Ex Parte Young, 209 U.S. 123, 28 S.Ct. 441, 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908). Id. Furthermore, they claim that the Second Amended Complaint’s Rehabilitation Act allegation is meritorious. Id. at 5. Finally, they argue that the disparate impact allegations of the Second Amended Complaint state a MHRA claim that would fall within the Court’s supplemental jurisdiction. Id.

D. The University’s Position

The University’s position differs tonally between the motion to dismiss, which is based on the contents of the First Amended Complaint, and its opposition to the motion to amend, which assumes the allegations in the Second Amended Complaint. As the Plaintiffs accede to the dismissal of the First Amended Complaint, the question is whether to grant the motion to amend.

In its opposition, the University firmly rejects the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend as a mere “tactical measure to avoid having their age discrimination claims under the [MHRA] dismissed on Eleventh Amendment grounds.” Def.’s Opp’n at 1. The University says that “the Eleventh Amendment precludes a pendent state law claim against the University in this Court regardless of the nature or viability of their federal law claims.” Id. Adding Chancellor Pattenaude as a defendant does not, in the University’s view, “save Plaintiffs’ state law claims from dismissal under the Eleventh Amendment.” Id. at 1-2. It says that the proposed Ex Parte Young claim is untimely, does not relate back to the filing of the Complaint, and must be dismissed. Id. at 2. Finally, the University asserts that Ms. Nisbet’s Rehabilitation Act claim cannot survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
857 F. Supp. 2d 171, 2012 WL 1415715, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benson-v-university-of-maine-system-med-2012.