Flemings v. Sunrise Hospital

• Court: District Court, D. Nevada
• Decided: September 4, 2025
• Docket: 2:25-cv-01068
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

3 * * *

4 Mundre Flemings, Case No. 2:25-cv-01068-JAD-BNW

5 Plaintiff, ORDER 6 v.

7 Sunrise Hospital,

8 Defendant.

9 10 Pro se plaintiff Mundre Flemings brings this lawsuit regarding alleged discriminatory 11 practices that took place at his place of employment. He moves to proceed in forma pauperis. 12 ECF No. 4. Plaintiff submitted the affidavit required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) showing an inability 13 to prepay fees or costs or give security for them. As a result, his request to proceed in forma 14 pauperis therefore will be granted. This Court now screens his complaint (ECF No. 1-1) as 15 required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). 16 I. ANALYSIS 17 A. Screening standard 18 Upon granting a request to proceed in forma pauperis, a court must screen the complaint 19 under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). In screening the complaint, a court must identify cognizable claims 20 and dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim on which relief may be 21 granted, or seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. 22 § 1915(e)(2). Dismissal for failure to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2) incorporates the standard 23 for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Watison v. Carter, 668 24 F.3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 2012). To survive § 1915 review, a complaint must “contain sufficient 25 factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” See Ashcroft 26 v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). The court liberally construes pro se complaints and may only 27 dismiss them “if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of 1 his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2 2014) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678). 3 In considering whether the complaint is sufficient to state a claim, all allegations of 4 material fact are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Wyler 5 Summit P’ship v. Turner Broad. Sys. Inc., 135 F.3d 658, 661 (9th Cir. 1998) (citation omitted). 6 Although the standard under Rule 12(b)(6) does not require detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff 7 must provide more than mere labels and conclusions. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 8 544, 555 (2007). A formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action is insufficient. Id. 9 Unless it is clear the complaint’s deficiencies could not be cured through amendment, a pro se 10 plaintiff should be given leave to amend the complaint with notice regarding the complaint’s 11 deficiencies. Cato v. United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 1995). 12 B. Screening the complaint 13 As best as this Court can tell, Plaintiff alleges he was discriminated against under Title 14 VII and the ADA. He also seems to suggest that he was prevented from taking FMLA and 15 retaliated against. 16 Even liberally construing the complaint, this Court finds Plaintiff does not state a claim 17 for relief. That is because he does not provide sufficient factual allegations as to the claims in 18 question. Without additional factual allegations regarding the underlying dispute, this Court 19 cannot evaluate whether Plaintiff’s complaint states a claim against Defendant. 20 It appears Plaintiff wishes to allege claims for ADA discrimination and ADA retaliation. 21 This Court will provide Plaintiff with the elements as to each of these claims so that he may 22 allege facts as to each of the different elements. 23 1. Discrimination under Title VII 24 To establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination based on race, color, 25 religion, sex, or national origin under Title VII, a plaintiff must show that (1) she belongs to a 26 protected class; (2) she was qualified for the position; (3) she was subject to adverse employment 27 action; and (4) similarly situated individuals outside of her protected class were treated more 1 2. ADA Discrimination 2 To state a colorable claim for disability discrimination under the ADA, Plaintiff must 3 allege that he: (1) is a disabled person under the ADA; (2) is a qualified individual with a 4 disability; and (3) suffered an adverse employment action because of his disability. Ravel v. 5 Hewlett-Packard Enter., Inc., 228 F. Supp. 3d 1086, 1092 (E.D. Cal. 2017). 6 3. FMLA and Retaliation under the FMLA 7 The FMLA creates two interrelated substantive rights for employees. Bachelder v. 8 America West Airlines, Inc., 259 F.3d 1112, 1122 (9th Cir. 2001). First, employees have the right 9 to take up to twelve weeks of leave for certain family-and-medical-related reasons. 29 U.S.C. 10 § 2612(a). Second, employees who take FMLA leave have the right to be restored to the same or 11 equivalent position when they return to work. Id. § 2614(a). 12 Courts recognize two separate causes of action for FMLA claims: (1) interference or (2) 13 retaliation. Bachelder, 259 F.3d at 1124. An employee brings an interference claim when she 14 alleges a violation of § 2615(a)(1), which makes it “unlawful for any employer to interfere with, 15 restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise” the substantive rights guaranteed by 16 the FMLA. Sanders v. City of Newport, 657 F.3d 772, 777 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting 29 U.S.C. 17 § 2615(a)(1)). 18 By contrast, an alleged violation of § 2615(a)(2)—under which it is “unlawful for any 19 employer to discharge or in any manner discriminate against any individual for opposing any 20 practice” protected by the FMLA—is known as a retaliation claim. Id. (quoting 29 U.S.C. 21 § 2615(a)(2)). 22 4. Instructions for amendment 23 If Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, the document must be titled “Amended 24 Complaint.” The amended complaint must contain a short and plain statement describing the 25 underlying case and each defendant’s involvement in the case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). 26 Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adopt a flexible pleading standard, Plaintiff still 27 must give each defendant fair notice of his claims against them and of his entitlement to relief. 1 In addition, Plaintiff must look at the elements for each of his claims closely and allege 2 || facts as to each of the elements for each claim. Should he not allege facts as to each of the 3 || different elements, his claims will be dismissed. 4 Lastly, Plaintiff is advised that if he files an amended complaint, the original complaint 5 || (ECF No. 1-1) no longer serves any function in this case. As such, the amended complaint must 6 || be complete in and of itself without reference to prior pleadings or other documents. The court 7 || cannot refer to a prior pleading or other documents to make his amended complaint complete. 8 || IL. CONCLUSION 9 IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 4) is 10 || GRANTED. Plaintiff is permitted to maintain this action to conclusion without prepaying fees or 11 || costs or giving security for them. 12 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the clerk of court must detach and separately file 13 || Plaintiff’s complaint (ECF No. 1-1). 14 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's complaint be dismissed without prejudice. 15 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the deadline to file an amended complaint is October 16 || 6, 2025. 17 18 DATED: September 4, 2025 19 20 iy, males ban BRENDA WEKSLER 21 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 22 23 24 25 26 27 28