Dumas v. Hurley Medical Center

837 F. Supp. 2d 655, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81395, 2011 WL 3112882
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 26, 2011
DocketCase No. 10-12661
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 837 F. Supp. 2d 655 (Dumas v. Hurley Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dumas v. Hurley Medical Center, 837 F. Supp. 2d 655, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81395, 2011 WL 3112882 (E.D. Mich. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS

ROBERT H. CLELAND, District Judge.

On July 6, 2010, Plaintiff Lowana Shanell Dumas initiated the above-captioned case by filing a complaint against Defendant City of Flint, Defendants AFSCME Council 25, AFSCME Local 1603, Deloris Lots, and Patricia Ramirez (collectively “AFSCME”), and Defendant Hurley Medical Center, together with the remaining individual Defendants (collectively “Hurley”). The complaint contained eighty-nine counts against eighteen Defendants. On February 4, 2011, Plaintiff filed her first amended complaint. Following further motions, a second amended complaint was filed on May 5, 2011, consisting of ten counts. Pending before the court are three motions to dismiss filed by Flint, Hurley, and AFSCME. Plaintiff responded on June 20, 2011,1 and no replies have been filed. Having reviewed the motion and supporting briefs, the court concludes that a hearing is not necessary. E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(f)(2). For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ motions will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

For the purpose of Defendants’ motions to dismiss, the allegations in Plaintiffs second amended complaint will be accepted as true. Plaintiffs statement of fact indicates that she had been an employee of Hurley, and this case arises out of certain events relating to her employment and eventual termination. Beginning in August 2007, Plaintiff began working at Hurley Medical Center as a laboratory clerk under the supervision of Deloney. Plaintiff informed Deloney prior to beginning work that she suffered physical and mental disabilities, and Deloney assured Plaintiff that reasonable accommodations would be made. Upon beginning employment, Plaintiff became covered by a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between Hurley and AFSCME. Hurley also provided her with information about the retirement benefits available to her as an employee of Hurley through the City of Flint’s employee retirement system.

Problems soon began to arise between Plaintiff and other laboratory clerks, the individual nonsupervisory Hurley Defendants. These coworkers apparently harbored racial animus toward Plaintiff, as well as finding Plaintiffs personality, physical appearance, and cultural affinities objectionable. They repeatedly referred to Plaintiff in a derogatory manner, physically harassed Plaintiff by intentionally bumping into her, and falsely accused her [660]*660of misconduct or incompetence to the laboratory supervisor. Although Deloney initially supported Plaintiff against these attacks, she eventually joined in their harassment. Whether intentionally or otherwise, Deloney revealed confidential medical information regarding Plaintiffs disabilities to her coworkers, which resulted in increasing their abuse of Plaintiff. After that point, Plaintiffs continuing complaints were ignored and met with increasing hostility.

Seeing no response from her immediate supervisor, Plaintiff approached her union representatives to discuss filing a grievance. The AFSCME representative, Thompson, refused or failed to initiate the established grievance procedure. Thereafter, Plaintiff approached Parker to file an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) complaint. Although Parker indicated that previous investigations had been conducted for similar allegations against the laboratory clerks and supervisors, no action was taken beyond the filing of a complaint.

After Plaintiffs complaint, Deloney retaliated by changing Plaintiffs work schedule and duties. Deloney further altered policies in contradictory ways in order to aggravate Plaintiffs mental disabilities. Upon the request of one of Plaintiffs coworkers, Marsh, Deloney rescheduled Plaintiffs work hours in violation of the CBA. However, AFSCME refused to take appropriate action despite Plaintiffs continued requests to initiate the grievance procedure. As a result of the foregoing, Plaintiff received three disciplinary reports, two suspensions, and one termination on November 30, 2007. The disciplinary reports purported to be issued on different dates, with repeated failures to comply with Hurley policies. A letter terminating Plaintiffs employment with Hurley followed on December 19, 2007.

II. STANDARD

When ruling on a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the court must construe the complaint in a light most favorable to the plaintiff and accept all the factual allegations as true. Tackett v. M & G Polymers, USA LLC, 561 F.3d 478, 488 (6th Cir.2009) (citing Gunasekera v. Irwin, 551 F.3d 461, 466 (6th Cir.2009)). In doing so, “the court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff.” Directv, Inc. v. Treesh, 487 F.3d 471, 476 (6th Cir.2007). Yet, the court “need not accept as true legal conclusions or unwarranted factual inferences.” Id. (quoting Gregory v. Shelby Cnty., 220 F.3d 433, 446 (6th Cir.2000)). Although a heightened fact pleading of specifics is not required, “[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim for 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 Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Twombly held that a “showing that the pleader is entitled to relief’ requires the allegation of sufficient facts “to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of [illegal conduct].” 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In so stating, the Court spoke in terms of “plausibility,” rather than mere “conceivability.” Id.

Though decidedly generous, this standard of review does require more than the bare assertion of legal conclusions. “[A] plaintiffs obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of a cause of action’s elements will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)). Further, the complaint must “give the defendant fair notice of [661]*661what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) abrogated on other grounds by Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In application, a “complaint must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory.” Eidson v. State of Tenn. Dep’t of Children’s Servs., 510 F.3d 631, 634 (6th Cir.2007) (citation omitted).

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837 F. Supp. 2d 655, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81395, 2011 WL 3112882, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dumas-v-hurley-medical-center-mied-2011.