Festa v. Westchester Med. Ctr. Health Network

380 F. Supp. 3d 308
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 29, 2019
DocketNo. 18-CV-1335 (KMK)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 380 F. Supp. 3d 308 (Festa v. Westchester Med. Ctr. Health Network) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Festa v. Westchester Med. Ctr. Health Network, 380 F. Supp. 3d 308 (S.D. Ill. 2019).

Opinion

KENNETH M. KARAS, United States District Judge

Lorraine Festa ("Plaintiff") brings this Action under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Const. amend. I, against Westchester Medical Center Health Network, d/b/a Westchester County Health Care Corporation ("WCHCC"), and Michael D. Israel in his individual capacity ("Israel") (collectively, "Defendants"). (See Compl. (Dkt. No. 1).) Plaintiff alleges that Defendants violated her rights under the First Amendment when they terminated her employment because of an anti-Semitic Facebook post. (See Compl. ¶¶ 1, 14.) Before the Court is Defendants' Motion To Dismiss (the "Motion"). (See Not. of Mot. ("Defs.' Mot.") (Dkt. No. 17).) For the following reasons, the Motion is denied.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from Plaintiff's Complaint, and are taken as true for the purpose of resolving the instant Motion.

Plaintiff is a 55-year-old woman who resides in Lagrangeville, New York. (Compl. ¶ 2.) On October 27, 2015, Plaintiff began working at Westchester Medical Center ("WMC"), which is operated by Defendant WCHCC, as a compliance coordinator. (Id. ¶¶ 3, 4, 8.)1 Plaintiff's duties included compliance oversight for three "Bon Secours" acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, and one assisted living facility. (Id. ¶ 9.) In December 2016, Plaintiff received a performance *313review, which concluded that her performance "meets expectations," and described Plaintiff as "a pleasure to work with and ... a very vital member of [the] team." (Id. ¶ 10.)

On the evening of June 19, 2017, while at home, Plaintiff logged onto Facebook on her personal computer and saw a weather report on a local news organization's Facebook page that discussed a "funnel cloud" projected to affect the village of Kiryas Joel, "a predominantly Hasidic community in Orange County." (Id. ¶¶ 11-12.)2 In the public comment section of the weather report, Plaintiff wrote, "[t]oo bad it didn't suck them all away!" (Id. ¶ 13; Compl. Ex. 1 ("Facebook Post").)

The next day, Kim Herkeler ("Herkeler"), a human resources manager, informed Plaintiff that Defendant Israel had decided to terminate Plaintiff's employment because of "an anti-Semitic online post," noting that "someone had called the Hospital to complain about Plaintiff's Facebook comment." (Compl. ¶ 14.) Plaintiff contacted Valerie Campbell ("Campbell"), regional senior director of compliance for WMC, who told Plaintiff "that she was fired over the Facebook post and not her job performance." (Id. ¶ 15.) Plaintiff asserts that her message was "not intend[ed] to convey an anti-Semitic message ... [or] to offend anyone." (Id. ¶ 16.) Plaintiff states that she has been unable to find comparable employment since her termination, and has "endured emotional pain and suffering." (Id. ¶¶ 19-20.)

Plaintiff contends that her Facebook post was protected by the First Amendment because, as "off-duty speech," it "could not reasonably have been interpreted as disrupting the workplace." (Id. ¶ 17.) Plaintiff also asserts that as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and President of WMC, Israel "is a municipal policymaker on personnel-related matters," and that his actions are therefore attributable to WCHCC "for purposes of Monell liability." (Id. ¶ 18.) Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and injunctive relief in the form of reinstatement to her position of employment "or to a comparable position." (Id. at 4-5.)

B. Procedural Background

Plaintiff filed her Complaint on February 14, 2018. (See Compl.) On March 14, 2018, Defendants filed a letter requesting a pre-motion conference in anticipation of filing a motion to dismiss. (Dkt. No. 11.) The Court held a pre-motion conference on May 3, 2018, at which the Court set a briefing schedule for Defendants' Motion. (See Dkt. (minute entry for May 3, 2019); Motion Scheduling Order (Dkt. No. 15).)

Defendants filed the instant Motion To Dismiss and accompanying papers on June 15, 2018. (See Not. of Mot.; Defs.' Mem. of Law in Supp. of Mot. To Dismiss ("Defs.' Mem.") (Dkt. No. 18).) On July 20, 2018, Plaintiff filed a response. (See Pl.'s Mem. of Law in Opp'n to Mot. To Dismiss ("Pl.'s Mem.") (Dkt. No. 21).) On August 17, 2018, Defendants filed a reply. (See Defs.' Reply Mem. of Law in Further Supp. of Mot. ("Defs.' Reply") (Dkt. No. 22).)

II. Discussion

A. Standard of Review

The Supreme Court has held that although a complaint "does not need detailed factual allegations" to survive a motion to dismiss, "a plaintiff's obligation to provide *314the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citations, quotation marks, and alterations omitted). Indeed, Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure "demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). "Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders naked assertions devoid of further factual enhancement." Id. (quotation marks and alteration omitted). Rather, a complaint's "[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Although "once a claim has been stated adequately, it may be supported by showing any set of facts consistent with the allegations in the complaint," id.

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Bluebook (online)
380 F. Supp. 3d 308, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/festa-v-westchester-med-ctr-health-network-ilsd-2019.