Cosby v. Lee County

55 F. Supp. 3d 1393, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134642, 2014 WL 4788058
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 24, 2014
DocketCase No. 214-cv-255-FtM-38DNF
StatusPublished

This text of 55 F. Supp. 3d 1393 (Cosby v. Lee County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cosby v. Lee County, 55 F. Supp. 3d 1393, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134642, 2014 WL 4788058 (M.D. Fla. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER 1

SHERIPOLSTER CHAPPELL, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the Defendants, Lee County, Jack Barden, Paul Valenti and Glen Salyer’s Dispositive Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (Doc. # 27) filed on July 22, 2014. The Plaintiff, Gregory V. Cosby, Sr. filed his Response in Opposition (Doc. # 32) on August 11, 2014. The Motion is now fully briefed and ripe for the Court’s review.

FACTS

The Plaintiff, Cosby was employed as the maintenance supervisor by Province-town Condominium Association. On August 4, 2008, Cosby filed charges with the Lee County Office of Equal Opportunity (LCOEO) alleging that Provincetown discriminated against him by paying his predecessor, Keith Hicks, a higher ending wage than his beginning wage. (Doc. # 28, ¶ 14). Cosby’s claim was brought pursuant to Lee County Ordinance 00-18 and was designated as claim A8130E. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 15). The LCEOE is tasked with administering the Ordinance.

In August of 2011, Cosby met with the Defendant Barden to discuss his claim A8130E. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 19). On December 13, 2011, Cosby was sent a Final Investigative Report (FIR) and Notice of Dismissal [1397]*1397informing him that A8130E had been dismissed because the investigation found no reasonable cause to pursue A8130E. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 20). On December 13, 2011, the Defendant Valenti sent Cosby a letter concurring with the Notice and FIR denying A8130E. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 23). On December 20, 2011, Cosby delivered a letter to Win-ton, Barden and Karen Hawes2 requesting a staff review of the no reasonable cause determination reached by Barden’s investigation of A8130E. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 28). The next day on December 21, 2011, Cosby delivered another letter requesting an amendment of the staff review of his claim. (Doc. #26, ¶ 29).

On December 22, 2011, Winton sent Cosby a letter informing him that a county attorney would perform a review of Bar-den’s investigation. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 31). On March 24, 2012, Winton sent Cosby a letter informing him the LCOEO had requested an independent review of his case file. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 34). On April 20, 2012, Cosby received a letter from Barden informing him that the EEOC upheld the LCOEO’s no reasonable cause determination. (Doc. # 26, ¶¶ 37-38). Thereafter, the LCOEO took no further action on A8130E.

■ On June 5, 2012, Cosby sent a letter to Salyer and Stephane Figueroa, Human Resources Coordinator for Lee County, regarding his claims against Barden’s investigation of A8130E. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 65). On June 11, 2012, Salyer responded to Cosby’s letter of June 5, 2012, stating that he supported Barden’s handling of his claim. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 66). On September 25, 2012, the Lee County Board of Commissioners passed Lee County Ordinance 12-23 which repealed Lee County Ordinance 00-18. (Doc. # 26, ¶ 69).

The Plaintiff subsequently brought the instant lawsuit against the Defendants, Lee County, Florida, Jack Barden, individually and in his official capacity as the Lee County Office of Equal Opportunity analyst, Paul Valenti, individually, and Glen Salyer, individually in the Circuit Court in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Lee County Florida. The Defendants removed the case to this Court.

Count I of the Amended Complaint pleads a procedural due process claim against Barden in his individual capacity. Count II alleges Barden violated Cosby’s due process rights in his official capacity. Count III also alleges that Barden violated Cosby’s due process rights and violated his equal protection rights under the law. Count IV alleges an equal protection claim against Barden in his official capacity as an employee of the LCOEO. Count V alleges a due process violation against Valenti and Salyer in their individual capacities. Count VI is an equal protection claim against Valenti and Salyer. And Count VII is a claim against Barden, Valenti, and Salyer for conspiracy to deprive Cosby of his Constitutional rights.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In deciding a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept all factual allegations in a complaint as true and take them in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 406, 122 S.Ct. 2179, 153 L.Ed.2d 413 (2002). However, dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted does not require appearance, beyond a doubt. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 561-563, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (abrogating Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dis[1398]*1398miss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiffs obligation to provide the “grounds” of his “entitlement” to relief requires more than labels, conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the cause of actions elements. Bell Atlantic, 550 U.S. 544, 561-563, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

To satisfy the pleading requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 8, a complaint must simply give the defendants fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests. Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955; Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002). Although the pleading standard announced in Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 does not require “detailed factual allegations,” it does demand more than an unadorned, “the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co., 578 F.3d 1252, 1268 (11th Cir.2009) (citing Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)). Furthermore, unwarranted deductions of fact in a complaint are not admitted as true for the purpose of testing the sufficiency of the allegations. Sinaltrainal, 578 F.3d at 1268 (citing Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc., 416 F.3d 1242, 1248 (11th Cir.2005)). The facts as pled must state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Sinaltrainal, 578 F.3d at 1268 (citing Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950). Dismissal is warranted under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) if, assuming the truth of the factual allegations of plaintiffs complaint, there is a dispositive legal issue which precludes relief. Simplexgrinnell, L.P. v. Ghiran, 2007 WL 2480352 (M.D.Fla. August 29, 2007) (citing Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 326, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989); Brown v. Crawford County, Georgia, 960 F.2d 1002, 1009-1010 (11th Cir.1992)).

DISCUSSION

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Bluebook (online)
55 F. Supp. 3d 1393, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134642, 2014 WL 4788058, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cosby-v-lee-county-flmd-2014.