Giandinoto v. CHEMIR ANALYTICAL SERVICES

545 F. Supp. 2d 952, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91778, 2007 WL 4378776
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedDecember 13, 2007
Docket4:07CV00094 ERW
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 545 F. Supp. 2d 952 (Giandinoto v. CHEMIR ANALYTICAL SERVICES) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Giandinoto v. CHEMIR ANALYTICAL SERVICES, 545 F. Supp. 2d 952, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91778, 2007 WL 4378776 (E.D. Mo. 2007).

Opinion

545 F.Supp.2d 952 (2007)

Salvatore GIANDINOTO, Plaintiff,
v.
CHEMIR ANALYTICAL SERVICES, INC., et ah, Defendants.

No. 4:07CV00094 ERW.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division.

December 13, 2007.

*955 Joshua M. Avigad, Lawrence P. Kaplan, Kaplan Associates, L.L.C., Clayton, MO, for Plaintiff.

Robert W. Stewart, Lowenbaum Partnership, L.L.C., St. Louis, MO, Burton D. Garland, Jr., The Lowenbaum Partnership, LLC, Clayton, MO, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

E. RICHARD WEBBER, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Chemir Analytical Services, Inc.'s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint [doc. # 14] which was joined by Defendants Shri Thanedar, David Dowell, and John Herries in their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs First Amended Complaint [doc. # 25].

I. BACKGROUND

Salvatore Giandinoto ("Plaintiff) has brought the pending action against Chemir Analytical Services, Inc. ("Chemir"), Shri Thanedar ("Thanedar"), David Dowell ("Dowell") and John Herries ("Herries") (collectively, "Defendants"). Prior to bringing this suit, Plaintiff filed Charges of Discrimination ("Charges") on or around June 14, 2006 and August 28, 2006. In these Charges, Plaintiff alleged national origin discrimination and age discrimination. He filed these Charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights ("MCHR"), and both agencies issued Right to Sue Letters to Plaintiff.

In his Charges, Plaintiff alleges that the discriminatory acts began on December 5, 2003 and continued until Charges were filed. These Charges were filed against Chemir or the "Chemir Parties" and were *956 not specifically against the individual defendants to this suit.[1] Plaintiff was discharged on December 22, 2006, and alleges that this was in retaliation for filing Charges with the EEOC and MCHR. After being discharged, Plaintiff filed amended Charges noting his discharge.

Plaintiff filed his original complaint on January 19, 2007, and filed an amended complaint on March 9, 2007. In his amended complaint, Plaintiff brings Claims I, II, and IV against Chemir. These claims allege violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and seek to recover under Missouri law for libel. Counts III and IV are brought against Defendants and allege violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defendants filed the pending motions to dismiss.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Defendants have filed their motions to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) is used to challenge a federal court's jurisdiction over the subject matter of the complaint. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). When the Court's subject matter jurisdiction is challenged, at issue is the Court's "very power to hear the case." Osborn v. United States, 918 F.2d 724, 730 (8th Cir. 1990). Plaintiff, as the party invoking the jurisdiction of the federal court, has the burden of establishing that the Court has the requisite subject matter jurisdiction to grant the requested relief. See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994). For an action to be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(1), the complaint must either be successfully challenged on the factual truthfulness of its assertions, or successfully challenged on its face. Osborn, 918 F.2d at 729. Before the Court today is a facial attack on subject matter jurisdiction, as Defendants have limited their challenge to the allegations in Plaintiffs Complaint. As a result, the Plaintiff is entitled to "the same protections as it would [have been given to defend] against a motion brought under Rule 12(b)(6)" and the Court will use the same standard in considering Defendants' motions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Id. at 729 n. 6.

In reviewing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the Court must take all facts alleged in the complaint to be true and must construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to Plaintiff. Chambers v. St. Luis Cty., 247 Fed.Appx. 846, 847-48 (8th Cir.2007) (citing Frey v. City of Herculaneum, 44 F.3d 667, 671 (8th Cir.1995)). "While, for most types of cases, the Federal Rules eliminated the cumbersome requirement that a claimant `set out in detail the facts upon which he, basis his claim,' Rule 8(a)(2) still requires a `showing' rather than a blanket assertion of entitlement to relief." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1965 n. 3, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (emphasis in original) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). "[A] plaintiff's obligation to provide the grounds of his entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. (internal citations and quotations omitted). While a court accepts factual allegations as true, it must "reject conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences." Silver v. H & R Block, Inc., 105 F.3d 394, 397 (8th Cir. 1997). Factual allegations must "raise a *957 right to relief above the speculative level." Bell Atlantic Corp., 127 S.Ct. at 1959.

II. DISCUSSION

Defendants seek to have Counts I, II and III dismissed to the extent that the alleged conduct took place beyond the time encompassed by Title VII's statute of limitations and the MHRA's jurisdictional time period. Defendants also seek to have Count III dismissed as Plaintiff's Charges did not name Thanedar, Dowell or Herries, and as no individual liability exists under the MHRA. Finally, Defendants seek the dismissal of Count IV and V, asserting that the Missouri Worker's Compensation statute is the exclusive remedy for the mental anguish, pain and suffering, and intentional infliction of emotional distress Plaintiff alleges. The Court will address each of these arguments separately.

A, STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS AND JURISDICTIONAL TIME PERIOD

Defendants seek to have Counts I, II and III dismissed to the extent that the conduct alleged by Plaintiff occurred beyond Title VII's statute of limitations and the MHRA's jurisdictional time period.

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545 F. Supp. 2d 952, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91778, 2007 WL 4378776, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/giandinoto-v-chemir-analytical-services-moed-2007.