Hill v. Consultants in Pathology, S.C.

345 F. Supp. 3d 1011
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedNovember 1, 2018
Docket18 C 0881
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 345 F. Supp. 3d 1011 (Hill v. Consultants in Pathology, S.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. Consultants in Pathology, S.C., 345 F. Supp. 3d 1011 (illinoised 2018).

Opinion

John Z. Lee, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Kalisha Hill ("Hill") filed this lawsuit against her former employer, Consultants in Pathology, S.C. ("CIP"), as well as another company, Pathology Consultants, Inc. ("PCI"), after CIP summarily fired her. Hill alleges race discrimination (Count 1) and retaliation (Count 2) in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.

PCI has filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 12(b)(2) and for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). CIP has filed a motion to dismiss and compel arbitration pursuant to Rule 12(b)(3), or, in the alternative, to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). For the reasons provided, the Court grants PCI's motion to dismiss [8] and grants in part and denies in part CIP's motion [11].

Background 1

Hill began working for CIP in 2003. CIP is a group of board-certified pathologists, who provide pathology services to hospitals in Illinois and Indiana. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 8, ECF No. 1.

On January 1, 2009, Hill entered into a new written employment agreement with CIP, the "Shareholder Employment Agreement." Id. ¶ 5; see also Pl.'s Ex. A, *1014ECF No. 4.2 The Agreement set forth the terms of Hill's employment and contained an arbitration clause:

21. Arbitration . Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures of the American Health Lawyers Association, and the judgment on the award rendered may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Such arbitration shall take place in La Porte County, Indiana or such other location as agreed upon by the parties.

Pl.'s Ex. A ¶ 21.

In the fall of 2014, CIP began taking actions that Hill believed violated the Agreement and were discriminatory and retaliatory in nature. Compl. ¶¶ 15, 48-53, 55-60. First, CIP forced Hill to accept a reassignment away from her hospital of choice. Id. ¶ 15-17. Hill alleges that the President of CIP, Mark Fritsch ("Fritsch"), ordered the forced reassignment to "accommodate the preference of a less experienced, non-African American" male pathologist. Id. ¶ 17. Second, CIP demanded that Hill turn over income she received from taking a supplemental position as the Chief Medical Officer at her new hospital. Id. ¶¶ 22-25, 28-29. Hill contends that no non-African American employees were required to turn over income from outside employment. Id. ¶¶ 21, 30. After Hill voiced her objections to these decisions, CIP terminated her employment. Id. ¶¶ 15, 26-32.

On February 2, 2018, Hill filed suit against CIP, as well as PCI, characterizing the two companies as a single entity that "provides pathology services in central and northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area in Illinois." Compl. ¶ 3. In its motion to dismiss, PCI contends that Hill has failed to allege that it does any business in Illinois or that it took any action with respect to her termination. Def. PCI's Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 8.3

CIP also has moved to dismiss, arguing that the Court should compel the parties to arbitrate their dispute under the Shareholder Employment Agreement's mandatory arbitration clause. Def. CIP's Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 11. In the alternative, CIP argues, the Court should dismiss Hill's Title VII claims for her failure to exhaust them administratively. Id.

Discussion

I. PCI's Motion to Dismiss

A. Personal Jurisdiction

1. Legal Standard

The plaintiff has the burden of demonstrating personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Purdue Research Found. v. Sanofi-Synthelabo, S.A. , 338 F.3d 773, 782 (7th Cir. 2003). That burden, in a case in which a court rules on the motion to dismiss based solely on the submission of written materials, is to "make out a prima facie case of personal jurisdiction." Id.

*1015(quoting Hyatt Int'l Corp. v. Coco , 302 F.3d 707, 713 (7th Cir. 2002) ). The court should resolve all factual disputes in the plaintiff's favor. Id. Importantly, however, "[w]here factual assertions amount only to vague generalizations or unsupported allegations, they are not enough to support personal jurisdiction." Richter v. INSTAR Enters. Int'l, Inc. , 594 F.Supp.2d 1000

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Bluebook (online)
345 F. Supp. 3d 1011, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-consultants-in-pathology-sc-illinoised-2018.