Floyd v. Saber Fitness Hegenberger, LLC

District Court, N.D. California·Decided August 23, 2024·No. 3:24-cv-01278·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 MICHAEL DEVIN FLOYD, Case No. 24-cv-01278-TSH

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND 9 v. DENYING IN PART MOTION TO DISMISS SECOND AMENDED 10 SABER FITNESS HEGENBERGER, LLC, COMPLAINT 11 Defendant. Re: Dkt. No. 44

12 13 I. INTRODUCTION 14 Pending before the Court is Defendant Saber Fitness Hegenberger, LLC’s Motion to 15 Dismiss Plaintiff Michael Floyd’s Second Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil 16 Procedure 12(b)(6). ECF No. 44. Floyd filed an opposition (ECF No. 47) and Saber filed a reply 17 (ECF No. 48).1 The Court finds this matter suitable for disposition without oral argument and 18 VACATES the August 29, 2024 hearing. See Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). For the reasons stated below, the 19 Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Saber’s motion.2 20 II. BACKGROUND 21 A. Factual Background 22 Floyd, who is African-American, opened an all-access gym membership at Saber’s Planet 23 Fitness in Jacksonville, Florida in 2019. Sec. Am. Compl. at 3, 11, ECF No. 40. While visiting 24

25 1 As part of its reply, Saber argues the Court should disregard Floyd’s opposition because it violates certain procedural rules, including that the opposition is directed to the wrong judge and 26 Floyd failed to include the noticed hearing date and time. Reply at 2-3. The Court finds it preferable to rule on the substance of this matter and therefore declines to disregard the opposition. 27 However, the Court reminds Floyd that he must comply with all rules and procedures of the court. 1 family in San Jose in July 2021, he went to a Planet Fitness location there and was subsequently 2 told by his home gym in Florida that there was a complaint about his “vulgarity and personality.” 3 Id. at 3-4. Staff at the San Jose Planet Fitness said Floyd was no longer allowed there, but they did 4 not provide any further details. Id. at 4. Floyd began using other Planet Fitness gyms in the 5 nearby area, but “other incidents occurred” at these gyms, and his home gym in Florida 6 subsequently informed him that his membership was cancelled. Id. 7 On September 17, 2021, Floyd opened another Planet Fitness membership in Oakland, 8 California. Id. at 5. Floyd alleges several incidents took place at the Oakland Planet Fitness, 9 including a report on October 13 that he was “slamming weights down,” that on October 16 the 10 Director of Operations asked gym staff to watch him carefully, that on November 10 he heard a 11 staff member say to him “Have a good day, bum,” although the staff member denied calling him a 12 bum, and that there were “multiple incidents” in December 2021 where other gym patrons and 13 staff members reported they felt uncomfortable. Id. at 5-9. 14 Floyd alleges the “last incident,” which is undated, occurred at the Planet Fitness on Ranch 15 Drive in Milpitas.3 Id. at 8-9. Floyd alleges he “met a girl at the water fountain. We both took an 16 interest in each other. At no time did she tell me she wanted to stop talking to me, nor expressed 17 she was uninterested in me.” Id. at 9. Floyd alleges “[s]he forgot her lock at home and when she 18 was about to buy a lock, I attempted to pay for it, when Majenta then told me I was making the 19 woman feel uncomfortable,” even though the member “never expressed to me she was feeling 20 uncomfortable. The Planet Fitness member also did not express to Majenta she was feeling 21 uncomfortable nor made any movements to indicate she was uncomfortable.” Id. When Floyd 22 told “Majenta to mind her business, the woman even backed me up, telling Majenta not to tell me 23 anything and that she will talk to me when she wants. Unfortunately, Majenta and other staff 24 members asked me to leave before I could purchase the lock for the woman.” Id. After this 25 3 Saber argues any incidents related to the Planet Fitness on Ranch Drive in Milpitas are not 26 relevant to this case because it does not own that Planet Fitness. Mot. at 3 n. 2. Floyd responds that he is “not holding the Defendant responsible for the events [at the Milpitas location]: [he] is 27 holding the Defendant responsible for its action taken after the event.” Opp’n at 6. For purposes 1 incident, Floyd was banned from all Planet Fitness locations in the Bay Area. Id. 2 B. Procedural Background 3 On July 3, 2023, Floyd filed his initial complaint in the Alameda Superior Court, Case No. 4 23CV037550, naming “Planet Fitness of Oakland, CA,” as the defendant. ECF No. 1-1; Ex. A. 5 On January 30, 2024, Floyd filed a First Amended Complaint naming Saber. Not. of Removal, 6 Ex. B, ECF No. 1-2. He alleged ten causes of action: (1) 42 U.S.C. § 1981; (2) 42 U.S.C. § 2000a; 7 (3) California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 51; (4) Cal. Civ. Code § 51.5; (5) 8 California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200; (6) California’s 9 Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), Cal. Civ. Code § 1750; (7) Negligent Training and 10 Supervision; (8) “Restatement (Third) of Law, Agency Law, Agency § 7.04, § 7.06, § 7.07, § 7.08 11 – Principal’s Liability to a Third Party”; (9) Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; and (10) 12 Cal. Civ. Code § 1714. 13 Saber removed the matter to this Court on March 1, 2024 and subsequently moved for 14 dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). ECF No. 6. On June 11, 2024, the Court granted Saber’s 15 motion, but with leave to amend. ECF No. 39; Floyd v. Saber Fitness Hegenberger, LLC, 2024 16 WL 2971669, at *1 (N.D. Cal. June 11, 2024). 17 Floyd filed the operative Second Amended Complaint on July 11, 2024, re-alleging three 18 claims from his previous complaint (violation of the Unruh Act, violation of the UCL, and 19 Negligent Training and Supervision) and adding a new claim under California’s Fair Employment 20 and Housing Act (“FEHA”), Cal. Gov’t Code § 12940. Sec. Am. Compl. at 10-16. 21 Saber filed the present motion to dismiss on July 25, 2024. 22 III. LEGAL STANDARD 23 A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) “tests the legal 24 sufficiency of a claim. A claim may be dismissed only if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff 25 can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Cook v. 26 Brewer, 637 F.3d 1002, 1004 (9th Cir. 2011) (citation and quotation marks omitted). Rule 8 27 provides that a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the 1 to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 2 570 (2007). Plausibility does not mean probability, but it requires “more than a sheer possibility 3 that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 687 (2009). A complaint 4 must therefore provide a defendant with “fair notice” of the claims against it and the grounds for 5 relief. Twombly, 550 U.S.

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