Crockett v. SRA International

943 F. Supp. 2d 565, 2013 WL 1856447, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62038
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedMay 1, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 8:13-cv-00261-AW
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 943 F. Supp. 2d 565 (Crockett v. SRA International) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crockett v. SRA International, 943 F. Supp. 2d 565, 2013 WL 1856447, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62038 (D. Md. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ALEXANDER WILLIAMS, JR., District Judge.

Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. The Court has re[568]*568viewed the record and deems a hearing unnecessary. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Kimberly Crockett is an African-American female who resides in Maryland. Defendant SRA International is an international corporate and government consulting company that does business in Maryland. Plaintiff worked for Defendant from September 2003 until August 2011.

In 2003, Defendant hired Plaintiff as a senior member of the professional staff. In June 2005, Plaintiff became a project manager, though retaining the classification of senior member. Plaintiff met or exceeded all company benchmarks and performance requirements in these capacities. However, Defendant did not promote Plaintiff to principal in 2005-2006. The classification of principal is one step above a senior member.

Plaintiff grew concerned about Defendant’s failure to promote her. In May 2006, she told Shirl Jenkins, vice president of human resources, that very few African Americans advanced to the level of principal. Jenkins “acknowledged that the promotion of African Americans and Asians was a problem at SRA.” Doc. No. 2 ¶ 21.

Plaintiffs concerns were relayed to Don Hirsch, Defendant’s vice president. Hirsch met with Plaintiff. Hirsch “acknowledged that SRA had very few African Americans at the Principal level, and was personally able to identify only one.” Id. ¶ 26. Plaintiff told Hirsch that she believed she deserved to be promoted to principal.

Following the meeting, on or about May 9, 2006, Jenkins sent Plaintiff an email stating that Hirsch had told her that someone had written a principal recommendation for Plaintiff in 2005 but that “corporate” failed to receive the nomination. The day after, Hirsch met with Plaintiff and told her that he had just found the principal nomination form, which was unsigned and undated. The form gave Plaintiff a very favorable recommendation.

Based on this discovery, Defendant gave Plaintiff a $2,000 raise. Plaintiff alleges that she would have received more compensation had Defendant “fairly and timely promoted her to Principal.” Id. ¶ 30.

Defendant promoted Plaintiff to principal in 2007. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant should have promoted her to principal in 2005-2006, and that she “lost many interim opportunities for advancement and development.” Id. ¶ 31.

Starting in October 2007, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant began to harass her. From October 2007 to April 2009, Plaintiff served as a project manager for a “NARA contract” as a principal. During this period, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant ignored another employee’s efforts to drive her off of the NARA project by plotting against her and micromanaging her work. Plaintiff adds that the employee did not treat non-African Americans in a similar manner. Thereafter, in September 2009, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant assigned her to an undesirable contract with the DOJ.

From February 2010 to March 2011, Plaintiff, as principal, served as project manager for an “FDIC contract.” In this role, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant harassed her by: (i) giving her inadequate “bench support and support for team integration”; (ii) excluding her from project meetings and withholding important information; (iii) failing to “consider her recommendations”; and (iv) generally marginalizing her on the project. Id. ¶ 34.

[569]*569On January 5, 2011, Robert Smallwood, Plaintiffs supervisor on the FDIC contract, asked Plaintiff to present on the FDIC contract. Plaintiff alleges that Smallwood sabotaged her presentation by making her discuss content1 that Defendant’s protocols prohibited. An FDIC representative halted Plaintiffs presentation based on its inappropriate content. On January 11, 2011, another FDIC representative told Plaintiff the same. Small-wood eventually admitted that “more preparation work should have been done prior to the meeting.” Id. ¶ 37. After consulting at least one higher-up, Smallwood ordered Plaintiff to terminate her involvement with the FDIC contract effective March 18, 2011.

Consequently, Plaintiff “was left without an ongoing assignment.” Id. ¶ 40. Although Plaintiff had difficulty securing other assignments, she eventually accepted a “diminished role on a National Security Team Project.” Id. ¶41. In this role, Mark Tramontozzi, a senior principal, contacted Kurt Bolland, the manager of the National Security project, “and made several false and disparaging remarks” concerning Plaintiffs work ethic. Id. Plaintiff adds that she had discussed her problems with Smallwood to Tramontozzi and alleges that Tramontozzi’s actions appeared to be part of a conspiracy to deny her the same opportunities as her non-African-American coworkers. In August 2011, Plaintiff “eventually sought and found employment elsewhere.” Id. ¶ 42.

Plaintiff alleges that she filed a complaint with the Maryland Commission on Human Relations2 (the Commission) on July 11, 2011. Plaintiffs letter is similar in substance to her Complaint, identifies Defendant as her employer, and includes exhibits purporting to support her complaint, such as the unsigned nomination form mentioned above. Plaintiffs complaint does not contain Defendant’s address, however, and Defendant declares that it did not receive notice of Plaintiffs administrative complaint until January 11, 2013, when it received service of the Summons and Complaint. Doc. No. 16-1. Although the Parties dispute whether Plaintiff formally filed a complaint with the Commission, the record reflects that, at least to a certain extent, the Commission investigated Plaintiffs complaint. See Doc. No. 11-2; Doc. No. 14-3.

On November 27, 2012, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland. Doc. No. 2. Plaintiff asserted claims for racial discrimination and retaliation under the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act (MFEPA), along with a constructive discharge claim. Defendant then removed the case to this Court on the basis of diversity. Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss on February 15, 2013. Doc. No. 11. Defendant argues that Plaintiffs claims are barred on failure-to-exhaust grounds. Alternatively, Defendant argues that Plaintiff has failed to state cognizable claims. The Parties have completed briefing on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Motion to Dismiss — 12(b)(1)

“A failure by a plaintiff to exhaust administrative remedies concerning ... [a] Title VII claim deprives the courts of subject matter jurisdiction over the claim.” Rhodes v. Montgomery Cnty. [570]*570Dep’t of Corrs. & Rehab., Civil Action No. 12-CV-03172-AW, 2013 WL 791208, at *7 (D.Md. Mar. 1, 2013) (citations omitted). “Courts may consider materials outside the pleadings to determine whether they have subject matter jurisdiction.” Bennett v. Kaiser Permanente, 931 F.Supp.2d 697, 703, Civil Action No. 10-CV-2505 AW, 2013 WL 1149920, at *2 (D.Md. Mar. 20, 2013) (citation omitted).

B. Motion to Dismiss — 12(b)(6)

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943 F. Supp. 2d 565, 2013 WL 1856447, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62038, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crockett-v-sra-international-mdd-2013.