Jones v. Performance Service Integrity

492 F. Supp. 2d 590, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45359, 2007 WL 1805876
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedJune 21, 2007
Docket4:07-cv-00111
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 492 F. Supp. 2d 590 (Jones v. Performance Service Integrity) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Performance Service Integrity, 492 F. Supp. 2d 590, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45359, 2007 WL 1805876 (N.D. Tex. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LINDSAY, District Judge.

Before the court are: (1) Defendant Policy Studies Inc.’s 1 (“PSI”) 12(b)(6) Motion *592 to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim, filed March 19, 2007; and (2) Defendant Texas Workforce Commission’s (“TWC”) Motion to Dismiss, filed March 26, 2007. After careful review of the motions, response, replies, and applicable authority, the court grants PSI’s Motion to Dismiss and grants TWC’s Motion to Dismiss.

1. Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff Joyce L. Jones (“Jones” or “Plaintiff’), appearing pro se, filed this action on January 18, 2007, against PSI and TWC (together, “Defendants”). In addition to her original complaint (“Complaint”), Jones filed answers to a magistrate judge’s questionnaire (“Questionnaire”) and submitted the completed inquiry with relevant attachments (“Inquiry”) to the court on February 5, 2007. The Complaint proceeds against Defendants under eight counts, including: (1) violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”); (2) defamation of character; (3) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (4) “abuse of qualified privileges”; (5) retaliation; (6) “gross management”; (7) “quantitative matters not referenced”; and (8) “unlawful employment practices.” Plaintiffs Complaint simply lists these eight causes of action without alleging any facts in support of her claims. Although her Inquiry does provide some additional detail, its specificity is limited.

Jones alleges that she was employed by Affiliated Computer Services, a nonparty to this suit, on or about February 23, 2006, when she applied for a new job with PSI as a Career Specialist. Inquiry (Application for Employment). 2 PSI’s job description noted that ideal candidates would have a high school diploma with at least two years experience in a related field of social work, experience in interviewing and employment counseling, and an understanding of the needs of disadvantaged individuals. Id. (Job Description). Jones contends that she was adequately qualified for this position, and supports her claim by attaching to the Inquiry her resume and job application, which indicate that Jones possesses a high school diploma, more than eight years of social work experience, and interviewing experience with disadvantaged individuals. Id. (Resume and Job Application). Ultimately, PSI declined to offer Jones the job, purportedly because she did not have enough experience. Id. (Resp. to Question No. 4). Jones alleges that she was discriminated against based upon her age, then fifty-six, and that PSI in fact hired a younger female instead of Jones. Id.

TWC moves to dismiss the entire claim on the basis of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity as an arm of the State of Texas or, in the alternative, that Jones has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. PSI moves to dismiss all of Jones’s complaint except for count one, the alleged violation of the ADEA, on the grounds that Jones has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Jones answered the motions by filing both a response (“Response”) and “A Challenge to Jurisdiction” (“Challenge”) regarding TWC’s Eleventh Amendment defense. In her Response, Jones contends that Defendants “conspired together” to prevent her from being hired. Resp. 3. In her Challenge, Jones contends that TWC does not enjoy sovereign immunity because her manager, Larry Jefferson (“Jefferson”), *593 was employed by a private entity under the “umbrella” of TWO. Challenge 1-2.

II. Legal Standards

A. Motion to Dismiss

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) “is viewed with disfavor and is rarely granted.” Lowrey v. Texas A & M Univ. Sys., 117 F.3d 242, 247 (5th Cir.1997). A district court cannot dismiss a complaint, or any part of it, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted “unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Blackburn v. City of Marshall, 42 F.3d 925, 931 (5th Cir.1995). Stated another way, “[a] court may dismiss a complaint only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations.” Swierkiewicz v. Sorema, 534 U.S. 506, 514, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002) (quoting Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984)). In reviewing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court must accept all well-pleaded facts in the complaint as true and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Baker v. Putnal, 75 F.3d 190, 196 (5th Cir.1996). In ruling on such a motion, the court cannot look beyond the pleadings. Id.; Spivey v. Robertson, 197 F.3d 772, 774 (5th Cir.1999), cert. denied, 530 U.S. 1229, 120 S.Ct. 2659, 147 L.Ed.2d 274 (2000). The pleadings include the complaint and any documents attached to it. Collins v. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, 224 F.3d 496, 498-99 (5th Cir.2000). Likewise, “ ‘[d]oeuments that a defendant attaches to a motion to dismiss are considered part of the pleadings if they are referred to in the plaintiffs complaint and are central to [the plaintiffs] claims.’ ” Id. (quoting Venture Assocs. Corp. v. Zenith Data Sys. Corp., 987 F.2d 429, 431 (7th Cir.1993)).

The ultimate question in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is whether the complaint states a valid cause of action when it is viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and with every doubt resolved in favor of the plaintiff. Lowrey, 117 F.3d at 247. A court, however, is not to strain to find inferences favorable to the plaintiff and is not to accept conclusory allegations, unwarranted deductions or legal conclusions. R2 Invs. LDC v. Phillips, 401 F.3d 638, 642 (5th Cir.2005) (citations omitted). The court does not evaluate the plaintiffs likelihood of success; instead, it only determines whether the plaintiff has a legally cognizable claim. United States ex rel. Riley v. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hosp., 355 F.3d 370, 376 (5th Cir.2004).

B. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

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Bluebook (online)
492 F. Supp. 2d 590, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45359, 2007 WL 1805876, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-performance-service-integrity-txnd-2007.