Lam v. City of Cleveland

338 F. Supp. 3d 662
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedSeptember 4, 2018
DocketCase No. 1:16CV1563
StatusPublished

This text of 338 F. Supp. 3d 662 (Lam v. City of Cleveland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lam v. City of Cleveland, 338 F. Supp. 3d 662 (N.D. Ohio 2018).

Opinion

CHRISTOPHER A. BOYKO, United States District Judge

This matter comes before the Court upon the Motion (ECF DKT # 55) of Defendant City of Cleveland for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff's Remaining Claims and the Amended Motion (ECF DKT # 57) of Plaintiff Leonard Graf for Summary Judgment. For the following reasons, Defendant's Motion is granted and Plaintiff's Motion is denied.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, David H. Lam, is a Detective in the Cleveland Police Department and an infantry Captain in the Ohio Army National Guard. He has been employed by Cleveland since 2008; and since 2004, he has been a drilling member of the Ohio Army National Guard. Plaintiff, Leonard Graf, is a Patrolman in the Cleveland Police Department and a helicopter maintenance mechanic Staff Sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard. He has been employed by Cleveland since 2006; and since 2000, he has been a drilling member of the Ohio Army National Guard.

On October 10, 2016, Plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Complaint for Money Damages Only (ECF DKT # 14). Plaintiff Graf brings an individual action only: "Graf brings his claims against Cleveland as the claim of an individual Plaintiff against Cleveland as an individual Defendant, pursuant to the rules of civil procedure other than Fed. Civ.R. 23." (ECF DKT # 14, ¶ 12). Plaintiff Lam brings this action on his behalf and on behalf of similarly-situated individuals who are current permanent public employees of an Ohio municipality or unincorporated township and who are also drilling military reservists who have not been paid all the State paid military leave they have accrued pursuant to R.C. § 5923.05. Plaintiff Lam also brings this action against a putative defendant class of Ohio municipalities and unincorporated townships that have adopted or promulgated a local ordinance that directly or indirectly eliminates, reduces or limits in any way the State paid military leave benefit of any of their permanent public employees who are also drilling military reservists.

On November 6, 2017, the parties filed a Stipulation (ECF DKT # 47), dismissing all the claims of Plaintiff Lam against the City of Cleveland without prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court entered the dismissal on the following day.

The Second Amended Complaint is brought in federal court pursuant to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, 38 U.S.C. § 4301, et seq. ("USERRA"). The USERRA compels civilian employers to deem military reservists to be on an authorized leave of absence or furlough from their civilian employment while performing their reserve military duties and training in times of peace or war. Further, the USERRA prohibits discrimination against persons because of their service in the reserve components of the uniformed services, including the National Guard.

*665The Complaint additionally alleges that R.C. § 5923.05 requires public employers to pay their reservist employees their civilian pay for up to one month in each calendar year in which they are performing their reserve military duties and training. (ECF DKT # 14, ¶ 7).

The Complaint specifically alleges that the City of Cleveland has promulgated a Codified Ordinance § 171.57, and has entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") with the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, which have the practical effect of reducing or eliminating the employment benefit of State paid military leave to its employees who are military reservists in violation of the USERRA and R.C. § 5923.05. (ECF DKT # 14, ¶¶ 8-9).

On August 2, 2017, the Court granted Defendant City of Cleveland's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and dismissed Count II of the Second Amended Complaint for the alleged violation of the USERRA by denying Reservists a benefit of their employment accrued during the performance of their military service.

The only remaining counts are Count I requesting Declaratory Judgment and Count III alleging violation of the USERRA (denying reservists on military leave rights and benefits provided by Cleveland to other similar employees on comparable furloughs or other leave of absences under their CBA with the named Plaintiffs' union; specifically providing only differential pay to reservists on military leave compared to providing paid leave to other employees on jury duty).

Both Plaintiff Graf and Defendant City of Cleveland have filed Motions for Summary Judgment in their favor on the Declaratory Judgement Count and on the claim for Comparable Leave under the USERRA, 38 U.S.C. § 4316.

II. LAW AND ANALYSIS

Standard of Review

Summary judgment shall be granted only if "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The burden is on the moving party to conclusively show no genuine issue of material fact exists. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Lansing Dairy. Inc. v. Espy , 39 F.3d 1339, 1347 (6th Cir. 1994). The moving party must either point to "particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations, admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials" or show "that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(A), (B). A court considering a motion for summary judgment must view the facts and all inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
338 F. Supp. 3d 662, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lam-v-city-of-cleveland-ohnd-2018.