Culotta v. Sodexo Remote Sites Partnership

864 F. Supp. 2d 466, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43983, 2012 WL 1069179
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 29, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 11-1561
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 864 F. Supp. 2d 466 (Culotta v. Sodexo Remote Sites Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Culotta v. Sodexo Remote Sites Partnership, 864 F. Supp. 2d 466, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43983, 2012 WL 1069179 (E.D. La. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

LANCE M. AFRICK, District Judge.

Before the Court is a motion1 to dismiss [469]*469filed by defendant, Sodexo Remote Sites Partnership (“Sodexo”). Plaintiff, Deborah G. Culotta (“Culotta”), opposes the motion.2 For the assigned reasons, Sodexo’s motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

BACKGROUND

This case arises out of the same set of facts giving rise to an employment discrimination action Culotta previously filed against Sodexo in Deborah G. Culotta v. Sodexo Remote Sites Partnership, et al. (“Culotta P), Civil Action No. 2:10-cv-2946. Culotta began her employment with Sodexo in 1983.3 In April 2004, she advanced to the position of Human Resources (“HR”) Director.4 At the time of her promotion to HR Director, William Gabbey (“Gabbey”) is alleged to have orally promised Culotta that she would receive the same annual salary as her predecessor, Wayne Davis (“Davis”).5 Culotta alleges that she never received an annual salary equal to Davis’s even though, she alleges, she performed the same job duties.6

In March 2008, Culotta was demoted to Training and Development Director.7 Her successor, Vince Goodwine, became Senior HR Director.8 Goodwine eventually transferred Culotta to the position of Employee Relations Manager, which Culotta claims had the same duties as her previous position.9 Culotta alleges that she was finally forced to quit in September 2010 when Goodwine’s successor, Todd Woodruff, knowing that she had a fear of water and that she could not work offshore, suddenly required that she begin working offshore.10 Culotta alleges that the change in position and titles with the same duties as the HR director, along with “the sudden bogus need to go on the water,” were intentionally designed to force her to retire based on her age and gender.11

On July 4, 2011, Culotta filed this lawsuit alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq., the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq., and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as set forth in the charge she had filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”).12 Culotta also alleges that Sodexo is liable for fraud under Louisiana Civil Code articles 1915 and 2315 and that Sodexo refused to pay wages that she was owed in violation of state law.13 Sodexo filed this motion to dismiss the claims on the grounds that they are time-barred and otherwise fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.14

STANDARD OF LAW

I. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)

A district court may dismiss a complaint, or any part of it, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if the [470]*470plaintiff has not set forth a factual allegation in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); Cuvillier v. Taylor, 503 F.3d 397, 401 (5th Cir.2007). As the Fifth Circuit explained in Gonzalez v. Kay:

“Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The Supreme Court recently expounded upon the Twombly standard, explaining that “[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. It follows that “where the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged — but it has not ‘show[n]’ — ‘that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ” Id. at 1950 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)).

577 F.3d 600, 603 (5th Cir.2009).

This Court will not look beyond the factual allegations in the pleadings to determine whether relief should be granted. See Spivey v. Robertson, 197 F.3d 772, 774 (5th Cir.1999); Baker v. Putnal, 75 F.3d 190, 196 (5th Cir.1996). In assessing the complaint, a court must accept all well-pleaded facts as true and liberally construe all factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Spivey, 197 F.3d at 774; Lowrey v. Tex. A & M Univ. Sys., 117 F.3d 242, 247 (5th Cir.1997). “Dismissal is appropriate when the complaint ‘on its face show[s] a bar to relief.’ ” Cutrer v. McMillan, 308 FedAppx. 819, 820 (5th Cir.2009) (quoting Clark v. Amoco Prod. Co., 794 F.2d 967, 970 (5th Cir.1986)).

II. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)

Pursuant to Rule 9(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, when “alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b). “The particularity requirement of Rule 9(b) also governs a conspiracy to commit fraud.” In Re Enron Corp. Sec., Derivative & “ERISA” Litig., 540 F.Supp.2d 759, 766 (S.D.Tex.2007) (citation omitted). “Pleading fraud with particularity in this circuit requires ‘time, place and contents of the false representations, as well as the identity of the person making the misrepresentation and what [that person] obtained thereby.’ ” Williams v. WMX Techs., Inc., 112 F.3d 175, 177 (5th Cir. 1997).

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864 F. Supp. 2d 466, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43983, 2012 WL 1069179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/culotta-v-sodexo-remote-sites-partnership-laed-2012.