Dunn v. Tutera Group

181 F.R.D. 653, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13805, 1998 WL 596141
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedAugust 14, 1998
DocketNo. Civ.A. 98-2044-KHV
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 181 F.R.D. 653 (Dunn v. Tutera Group) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dunn v. Tutera Group, 181 F.R.D. 653, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13805, 1998 WL 596141 (D. Kan. 1998).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

VRATIL, District Judge.

Judith Dunn claims that defendants violated her rights under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by subjecting her to unlawful sexual harassment and retaliation. This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Columbia B Health Centers, Inc.’s Motion To Dismiss And/Or For Summary Judgment (Doc. #6) filed April 10, 1998; Defendant The Tutera Group’s Motion To Dismiss And/Or For Summary Judgment (Doc. #8) filed April 10, 1998; Plaintiffs Opposition To Defendant Columbia B’s Motion To Dismiss And/Or For Summary Judgment And Motion For Continuance Pursuant To Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(f) (Doe. # 12) filed May 12,1998; and Plaintiffs Opposition To Defendant The Tutera Group’s Motion To Dismiss And/Or For Summary Judgment And Motion For Continuance Pursuant To Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f) (Doc. #11) filed May 12, 1998. For the reasons stated below, the Court finds that both of defendants’ motions should be overruled and that plaintiffs motions should be sustained.

Motion to Dismiss Standards

Defendants ask the Court to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) because plaintiff did not name Columbia and Tutera in her EEOC discrimination charge and therefore failed to exhaust administrative remedies. Tutera also seeks dismissal on the ground that it is not an employer under Title VII. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and may only exercise jurisdiction when specifically authorized to do so. Castaneda v. I.N.S., 23 F.3d 1576, 1580 (10th Cir.1994). The party who seeks to invoke federal jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing that such jurisdiction is proper. Basso v. Utah Power and Light Co., 495 F.2d 906, 909 (10th Cir.1974). When federal jurisdiction is challenged, plaintiff bears the burden of showing why the case should not be dismissed. Jensen v. Johnson County Youth Baseball, 838 F.Supp. 1437, 1439-40 (D.Kan.1993).

Challenges to jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) usually take two forms: facial attacks on the sufficiency of jurisdictional allegations or factual attacks on the accuracy of those allegations. Holt v. United States, 46 F.3d 1000, 1002-03 (10th Cir.1995). Defendants’ motions fall within the latter category because all parties rely on evidence outside of the complaint. In such event, the Tenth Circuit has set forth the following standard:

A party may go beyond allegations contained in the complaint and challenge the facts upon which subject matter jurisdiction depends. When reviewing a factual attack on subject matter jurisdiction, a district court may not presume the truthfulness of the complaint’s factual allegations. A court has wide discretion to allow affida[656]*656vits, other documents, and a limited evi-dentiary hearing to resolve disputed jurisdictional facts under Rule 12(b)(1). In such instances, a court’s reference to evidence outside the pleadings does not convert the motion to a Rule 56 motion.

Id. at 1003 (citations omitted).

In this case, however, scrutiny under Rule 12(b)(1) is not appropriate. Although the Tenth Circuit has stated that exhaustion of administrative remedies is a jurisdictional prerequisite to suit, Woodman v. Runyon, 132 F.3d 1330, 1341 (10th Cir.1997), the court recognized an exception to that rule when defendant claims that plaintiff failed to name it in the EEOC charge. Romero v. Union Pacific R.R., 615 F.2d 1303, 1311 (1980). According to the court, it is within the discretion of the district courts to consider several factors and determine jurisdiction “after each side has had an opportunity to fully address the question.” Id. at 1312. When a plaintiff faces a motion to dismiss that turns on questions of fact, such as jurisdictional disputes, it is important to provide plaintiff the essential safeguards of summary judgment procedure. See Gordon v. National Youth Work Alliance, 675 F.2d 356, 360 (D.C.Cir.1982); Adams v. Bain, 697 F.2d 1213, 1219 (4th Cir.1982); and Exchange Nat’l Bank of Chicago v. Touche Ross & Co., 544 F.2d 1126, 1131 (2nd Cir.1976). We therefore examine defendants’ arguments under Rule 12(b)(6) and Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P.

Defendants ask the Court to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). In ruling on a motion to dismiss under 12(b)(6), the Court must assume as true all well pleaded facts in plaintiffs complaint and view them in a light most favorable to plaintiff. Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 118, 110 S.Ct. 975, 108 L.Ed.2d 100 (1990); see also Swanson v. Bixler, 750 F.2d 810, 813 (10th Cir.1984). The Court must make all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiff, and the pleadings must be construed liberally. Id.; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a); Lafoy v. HMO Colorado, 988 F.2d 97, 98 (10th Cir.1993). The issue in reviewing the sufficiency of plaintiff’s complaint is not whether she will prevail, but whether she is entitled to offer evidence to support her claims. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). The Court may not dismiss a cause of action for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond a doubt that plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of her theory of recovery that would entitle her to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); see also Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs, Co. v. City of Lawrence, 927 F.2d 1111, 1115 (10th Cir.1991). Although plaintiff need not precisely state each element of her claims, she must plead minimal factual allegations on those material elements that must be proved. Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.1991).

In order to withstand a motion to dismiss, plaintiff must allege that she has exhausted her administrative remedies and received an EEOC right to sue letter. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 798, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). See also Martin v. Nannie & The Newborns, Inc.,

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
181 F.R.D. 653, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13805, 1998 WL 596141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dunn-v-tutera-group-ksd-1998.