Davies v. Broadcom Corp.

130 F. Supp. 3d 1343, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122812
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedSeptember 8, 2015
DocketCase No. SACV 15-0928 AG (JCx)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 130 F. Supp. 3d 1343 (Davies v. Broadcom Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davies v. Broadcom Corp., 130 F. Supp. 3d 1343, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122812 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

Proceedings: [IN CHAMBERS] ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO FILE AMICUS BRIEF, GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION TO DISMISS, DENYING MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION, AND DENYING MOTION TO FILE UNREDACTED COMPLAINT

ANDREW J. GUILFORD, District Judge.

In this case, Plaintiff Jennifer Davies (“Plaintiff’) asserts ten' claims against her former employer, Broadcom Corporation (“Defendant”), related to her past employment.' There are four motions before the Court: (1) Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (“Motion to Dismiss,” Dkt. No. 17), which is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART; (2) Defendant’s Motion to Compel Arbitration (“Motion to. Compel Arbitration,” Dkt. No. 15), which is DENIED; (3) Plaintiffs ■ Motion to File an Unredacted Complaint (“Motion to File Unredacted Complaint,” Dkt. No. 8), also DENIED; and (4) the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Motion to File Amicus Brief, (“Amicus Motion,” Dkt. No. 27), which is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are taken from the Unredacted Complaint (“UC,” Dkt. No. 19), and assumed to b.e true for the purposes of the Motion to Dismiss only.

Plaintiff started working for Defendant in 2006 as a labor and employment lawyer. (UC ¶ 6.) She received several good performance reviews and awards demonstrating her to be a valued employee. (Id. ¶¶ 6-7.) By 2013, she had the qualifications to be promoted to vice president. (Id. 117.) '

. Plaintiff never received this promotion. Around 2012, the Deputy General Counsel told her that her position in the legal [1347]*1347department was not vice-president eligible. (Id. ¶21.) Defendants head of Human Resources, Terri Timberman, offered Plaintiff a new position in Human Resources, promising that it would lead to a vice president position within two years. (Id. ¶ 22.) Plaintiff took the HR position. (Id. ¶ 22.) Defendant then hired a similarly qualified man to replace Plaintiff in her old role, but made him a vice president and paid him significantly more money than what she had made. (Id. ¶¶ 23-24.) Plaintiff never received her promised promotion in HR.

Plaintiff attributes Broadcom’s failure to promote her to its “discriminatory and hostile environment toward women.” (Id. ¶ 20.) In support, she cites various statements and acts of employees, particularly of Timberman.

Things got worse for Plaintiff. While conducting internal investigations in her new role, [redacted text] was upset with Plaintiff and looked for' opportunities to remove her. (Id. ¶¶ 38-39.)

Around March 2014, Timberman again promised Plaintiff a promotion to vice president if she would move to a new position supporting the Mobile Platform Services (“MPS”) group. (Id. ¶39.) But Timberman knew something Plaintiff didn’t know: The MPS business would soon fail, and Plaintiffs new position would be eliminated. ' (Id. ¶ 39.) And so it came to pass. Plaintiffs new position was eliminated, and as a result, she was terminated. (Id.% 47.)

Plaintiff now asserts ten claims against Defendant: (1) Violation of Dodd-Frank Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78u-6; (2) Wage Discrimination under federal and state Equal Pay Acts; (3) Retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act; (4) Gender Discrimination under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”); (5) Failure to Prevent Gender Discrimination under FEHA; (6) Retaliation under FEHA; (7) Retaliation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”); (8) Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy; (9) Fraud; and (10) Negligent Misrepresentation.

ANALYSIS'

1. SEC’s Motion to File Amicus Brief

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) asks the Court for leave to. file an amicus brief opposing an argument in Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. The amicus brief argues that the Court should uphold an SEC rule interpreting the scope of Dodd-Frank’s employment retaliation protections for whistleblowers. Defendant did not file an opposition to the SEC’s Motion. The Motion is GRANTED.

2. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss

In the Motion to Dismiss, Defendant argues that the Court should dismiss four of Plaintiffs claims under Rule 12(b)(6): (1) Claim One for Violation of Dodd-Frank Act, (2) Claim Two for Wage Discrimination', (3) Claim'Nine for Fraud, and (4) Claim Ten for Negligent Misrepresentation. The Court addresses these in turn.

2.1 Legal Standard

A court should grant a motion to dismiss when, “accepting all factual allegations in the complaint as true and construing them in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party,” a complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Skilstaf, Inc. v. CVS Caremark Corp., 669 F.3d 1005, 1014 (9th Cir.2012); see Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only that a complaint contain “a-short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “[Detailed factual allegations” are not required. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. [1348]*1348v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

The complaint ■ must • allege “sufficient factual matter, .accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955); see Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1216 (9th Cir.2011). “A claim has facial plausibility when the pleaded factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “[A]nalyzing the sufficiency of a complaint’s allegations is’a ‘context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.’ ” Sheppard v. David Evans and Associates, 694 F.3d 1045, 1051 (9th Cir.2012).

If court decides to dismiss a complaint, it must also decide whether to grant leave to amend. “A district court may deny a plaintiff leave to amend if it determines that allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency ... or if the plaintiff had several opportunities to amend its complaint and repeatedly failed to cure deficiencies.” Telesaurus VPC, LLC v. Power, 623 F.3d 998, 1003 (9th Cir.2010); see also Steckman v. Hart Brewing, 143 F.3d 1293, 1298 (9th Cir.1998) (holding that pleadings may be dismissed without leave to amend if' amendment “would be an exercise in futility”).

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Bluebook (online)
130 F. Supp. 3d 1343, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122812, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davies-v-broadcom-corp-cacd-2015.