Jackson v. NYC Transit Authority

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 14, 2022
Docket1:19-cv-05351
StatusUnknown

This text of Jackson v. NYC Transit Authority (Jackson v. NYC Transit Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson v. NYC Transit Authority, (S.D.N.Y. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ---------------------------------------------------------X : ELBERT D. JACKSON, : : Plaintiff, : : 19-CV-5351 (VSB) - against - : : OPINION & ORDER : NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY, : LEONARD AKSELROD, TWU LOCAL 100, : JOE COSTALES, : : Defendants. : : ---------------------------------------------------------X Appearances: Elbert D. Jackson Pro se Plaintiff Mariel Alyson Tanne New York City Transit Authority Brooklyn, New York Counsel for Defendants New York City Transit Authority and Leonard Akselrod Damien O. Maree Colleran, O’hara & Mills L.L.P. Woodbury, New York Counsel for Defendants TWU Local 100 and Joe Costales VERNON S. BRODERICK, United States District Judge: Before me are the motions of Defendants New York City Transit Authority (“NYCTA” or “TA”) and Leonard Askelrod(together, the “TA Defendants”)to dismiss Plaintiff Elbert Jackson’s amended complaint,(Doc. 26 (“Amended Complaint” or “Am. Compl.”)), and of Defendants TWU Local 100 and Jose “Joe” Costales (together, the “Union Defendants”) to dismiss the Amended Complaint, (Doc. 32). For the reasons below, both motions arehereby GRANTED. Plaintiff’s claim under Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990against NYCTA and his Title VII claim are DISMISSED without prejudice to file a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint. The rest of Plaintiff’s claims in the Amended Complaint are DISMISSED with prejudice. Factual Background1

Plaintiff Jackson is a former employee of NYCTA. (Compl. 3.)2 During his employment, he suffered knee injuries and underwent at least three surgeries, which rendered him disabled for the purposes of performinghis work duties. (Id.at 4.) On May31, 2018, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights (“NYSDHR”); according to the NYSDHR’s Determination and Order After Investigation of Plaintiff’s case, dated November 26, 2018, (Doc. 38 Ex. C (“NYSDHR Order”)),3 Plaintiff alleged that he “started receiving notices of employment termination . . .and . . . a write-up” while he was disabled on the job, (id. at 2). Plaintiff further alleged that he “followed all proper procedures

1The facts contained in this section are based upon the factual allegations set forth in Plaintiff’s Amended Complaintand all documents referenced in and/or integral to it. See infran. 2;see also Cohen v. Rosicki, Rosicki & Assocs., P.C., 897 F.3d 75, 80 (2d Cir. 2018) (“A complaint is. . .deemed to include any written instrument attached to it as an exhibit, materials incorporated in it by reference, and documents that, although not incorporated by reference, are integral to the complaint.” (citationomitted)). I assume the allegations therein to be true in considering the motions to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12(b)(6). Kassner v. 2nd Ave. Delicatessen Inc., 496 F.3d 229, 237 (2d Cir. 2007). My reference to these allegations should not be construed as a finding as to their veracity, and I make no such findings. 2“Compl.” refers to Plaintiff’s complaint filed on June 6, 2019. (Doc. 2.) In his Amended Complaint, Plaintiff asked me to “accept this letter as a formal amendment to [his] original complaint.” (Am. Compl.1.) However, Plaintiff did not repeat his allegations from the original Complaint in his Amended Complaint, but merely provided supplemental information regarding his claims. Therefore, in deciding the instant motions to dismiss, I will treat the Complaint as referenced in and/orintegral to the Amended Complaint. See Cohen,897F.3d at80; see also Gunn v. Malani, No. 20-CV-2681 (KMK), 2021 WL 5507057, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 23, 2021)(noting that a court may consider materials outside the complaint of a pro se plaintiff “to the extent that they are consistent with the allegations in the complaint” (citation omitted)). The pages referenced to in the Complaint and the Amended Complaintare the page numbers assigned to that document by the Court’s electronic filing system. 3I draw upon the findings in the NYSDHR Order as necessary to clarify Plaintiff’s pleadings. Denicolo v. Bd. of Educ., 328 F. Supp. 3d 204, 209 (S.D.N.Y. 2018)(“Acourt may. . .take judicial notice of the records of state administrative procedures, as these are public records, without converting a motion to dismiss to one for summary judgment.” (citation omitted)). The pages referenced to in the NYSDHR Order are the page numbers assigned to that document by the Court’s electronic filing system. and gave the employer the proper documentation from his doctor that stated that [he] cannot travel at the time, [but] he was still terminated from his job.” (Id.) Plaintiff therefore charged NYCTA with discrimination based on disability and age. (Id.) NYSDHR found no support for Plaintiff’s allegation of discrimination and dismissed his case. (Id. at 3.) Specifically, NYSDHR found that the documentation submitted by NYCTA

demonstrated that the termination of Plaintiff’s employment came after NYCTA’s investigation of Plaintiff’s Worker’s Compensation injury claim. (Id.at 2.) The record demonstratesthat the NYCTA investigation resulted in disciplinary charges being brought up against Plaintiff “for violating [NYCTA]’s Dual Employment Policy and for submitting falsified statements.” (Id. at 2–3.) A disciplinary hearing was scheduledafter the investigationand then rescheduledafter Plaintiff informed NYCTA that he could not attend on the initial date of the hearing. (Id. at 3.) Although Plaintiff was notified of the consequences of not showing up for his second hearing,he failed to appear at the second hearing. (Id.) Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) between NYCTA and Plaintiff’s union, TWU Local 100, his second failure to appear at

the hearing resulted in his grievance being deemed “abandoned,” and Plaintiff’s employment was terminated as a penaltyfor his second failure to appear. (Id.) After receiving the NYSDHR Order, Plaintiff sought reviewof the dismissal from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) on December 9, 2018. (Compl. 13.) In a letter from EEOC dated April 17, 2019, Plaintiff was notified that his case against NYCTA was “deleted” because his previously-filed NYSDHR case contained similar allegations. (Id. at 8.) The EEOC letter also noted that Plaintiff’s NYSDHR case had been closed since November 26, 2018, andthat he had beenissued notice of right-to-sue by the EEOC, “allowing [him] to file suit in federal court based on[his]allegations, if [he]so chose within 90 days of receiving the Notice.” (Id.) Plaintiff now brings this action against NYCTA and LeonardAkselrod,the Director of Labor Relations of NYCTA at the time,alleging violation of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2601 to 2654, and New York City Human Rights Law (“CHRL”), N.Y. City Admin. Code §§ 8-101 to 131. (Id. at 3–4.) Plaintiff also filed a claim against TWU

Local 100 and Jose “Joe” Costales, a Vice President of TWU Local 100 at the time,for “mishandling” his disciplinary matter at NYCTA. (Id.at 2–3; Am. Compl. 2.) According to the NYSDHR Order, NYCTA alleged that Plaintiff had not yet availed himself of the express remedyunder the CBA to “appeal his ‘abandonment’ determination.” (NYSDHR Order 3.) Procedural History Plaintiff filed his Complaint on June 6, 2019. (Doc. 2.) On September 16, 2019, the Union Defendants filed their motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint. (Docs. 15.) On October 7, 2019, Plaintiff filed his Amended Complaint. (Doc. 26.) On October 25, 2019, the Union

Defendantsfiled their motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint. (Docs.

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Bluebook (online)
Jackson v. NYC Transit Authority, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-nyc-transit-authority-nysd-2022.