Ingrassia v. Health & Hospital Corp.

130 F. Supp. 3d 709, 92 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1045, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119246
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 8, 2015
DocketCase No. 14 CV 1900(PKC)
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 130 F. Supp. 3d 709 (Ingrassia v. Health & Hospital Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ingrassia v. Health & Hospital Corp., 130 F. Supp. 3d 709, 92 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1045, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119246 (E.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & OPINION

PAMELA E. CHEN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Jeanette Ingrassia brings this employment discrimination action against Defendants Health'& Hospital Corporation (“HHC”), the City of New York, and Elmhurst Hospital. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants discriminated against her on the [714]*714basis of age and gender in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VIP), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 28 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. Defendants now move to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 12(b)(5) and 12(b)(6). The Court grants Defendants’ motion in part and denies it in part. Defendants Elmhurst Hospital and the City of New York are dismissed from this action. Count One of the Complaint is dismissed for failure to state a claim, but the remainder of Plaintiffs claims shall proceed.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Allegations1

Plaintiff worked for HHC for a total of 23 years.2 (Complaint (“Comph”), Dkt. 1,. at ECF 8).3 She alleges that she was forced to retire on or about January 2012, (Compl. at ECF 1), due to the discrimination and sexual harassment she suffered from her supervisors at HHC. (Id. at ECF 6) (stating that, as a result of the treatment from her supervisors, Plaintiff was “upset [] to the point that she had to quit”).

One of Plaintiffs supervisors, Eric Morales, made comments that “he did not like women and that they were only good for sex,” and that he would “donat[e] the older women [employees] to a different department because he had no use for them:” (Compl. at ECF 5). -Her subsequent supervisor, Kevin Schwendemann, “continued and increased the same type of insulting behavior.” (Id.). He would comment that “she could not keep tip with the girls” and that she was “the oldest woman.” (Id.). He would question when Plaintiff planned to retire, would stand over her and ask whether he was making her nervous, and make other insulting, derogatory comments. (Id.). Though Plaintiff told him repeatedly that she was uncomfortable with these comments and that the comments constituted age discrimination, Schwendemann allegedly continued and even increased his comments. (Id.).

Schwendemann also engaged in sexually harassing conduct by frequently coming within a foot of Plaintiff and grabbing himself in the groin so that Plaintiff could see. (Id. at ECF 6). In addition, Schwendemann invaded Plaintiffs privacy and harassed her by reading her medical records. (Id. at ECF 7). Plaintiff, continued to receive raises and favorable performance reviews while enduring her supervisors’ harassment. (Id. at ECF 5).

Plaintiff complained to Schwendemann about his conduct and also wrote to her union representative to complain about Schwendemann. When Schwendemann found out about her complaint to the union, he retaliated against her by yelling at her in front of other employees and by docking her pay when she was only a few minutes late getting to work. Schwendemann also tapped. Plaintiffs phone to listen to her conversations, and would yell at her for no apparent reason. (Id.). Schwende[715]*715mann did not do this to younger, similarly situated employees — only older ones. (Id. at 7). On several occasions, Plaintiff returned to work from vacation to- find her desk and belongings moved so that she was facing the wall, as if she was being punished. (Id. at ECF 8).

Plaintiff has suffered, and continues to suffer, emotional and financial distress as a result of her supervisors’ harassment.

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed a - charge with the. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)4, and received a right-to-sue letter on January 25, 2013. She timely filed suit on March 15, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. (Compl.). On August 23, 2013, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to FRCP Rule 12(b)(3), 12(b)(5) and 12(b)(6), or, in the alternative, to transfer the action for improper venue to the EDNY. (Dkt. 6). U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Shipp held a telephone conference on March 19, 2014, reading into the record an opinion and order denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, but granting the motion to transfer venue. (Dkt. 10). An order consistent with that opinion was issued (Dkt. 11), and the casé was transferred to this Court on March 25, 2014.

On September 25, 2014, Defendants moved to dismiss the Complaint under FRCP 12(b)(5) (insufficient service of process) and FRCP 12(b)(6) (failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted). (Dkt. 24).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

To withstand a motion to dismiss pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6), a complaint must plead facts sufficient “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Alt. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The liberal notice pleading standard of FRCP 8(a) only requires that a complaint set forth “a. short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Under. FRCP 8(a)(2), the complaint need not set forth “detailed factual allegations,” but the plaintiff must present “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic -recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” ' Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level[.]” Id. A complaint must contain enough factual material to “ ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955), 'and should be dismissed where a plaintiff has not “nudged [her] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible[.]” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. That “it may appear on the face of the pleadings that a recovery is very remote and unlikely[,] ... is not the test.” Swierkiemcz v. Sorema N.A, 534 U.S. 506, 515, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002) (citing Scheuer v. Rhodes,

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130 F. Supp. 3d 709, 92 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1045, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ingrassia-v-health-hospital-corp-nyed-2015.