Lattisaw v. District of Columbia

118 F. Supp. 3d 142, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97944, 2015 WL 4555391
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJuly 28, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 2013-0762
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 118 F. Supp. 3d 142 (Lattisaw v. District of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lattisaw v. District of Columbia, 118 F. Supp. 3d 142, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97944, 2015 WL 4555391 (D.D.C. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, United States District Judge

Pro se Plaintiff Joseph W. Lattisaw was employed for 16 years as a police officer with the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) until his retirement on mental health grounds in September of 2006. Lattisaw, an African American man, has filed this action against the MPD, the District of Columbia, the' D.C. Police and Fire Clinic, and the D.C, Police and Fireman’s Retirement and Relief Board (collectively, “Defendants”), claiming that Defendants retaliated against him in various ways — up to and including forcing him to retire — because Lattisaw filed a sexual harassment complaint against a superior officer in 2002. Specifically, Lattisaw’s amended complaint contains eight counts that allege retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of .1964, 42 UiS.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”) (Counts I-IV); retaliation with respect to making and enforcing contracts in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (“Section 1981”) (Count I); deprivation of civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) (Count II); conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and the failure to prevent such conspiracy in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985 and 1986 (“Section 1985” and “Section 1986”) (Counts III and IV); retaliation in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, D.C.Code § 2-1401.01 et seq. (“DCHRA”) (Count V); and defamation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress in violation of D.C, common law (Counts VI, VII, and VIII, respectively). (See Am. Compl., EOF No. 3, ¶¶ 241-69.)

Before this Court at present is Defendants’ motion to'dismiss Lattisaw’s amended complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state *146 a claim upon which relief can be granted. (See Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss (“Defs.’ Mot.”), ECF No. 6, at 1.) 1 Defendants contend, inter alia, that the District of Columbia is the only proper defendant in this action, that Lattisaw’s federal and state law claims are untimely, and that his state law claims are further barred under principles of res judicata. (See Defs.’ Mem. in Supp. of Defs.’ Mot. (“Defs.’ Br.”), ECF No. 6-1, at 1-2.) As explained fully below, this Court finds that Lattisaw’s Title VII, Section 1981, and Section 1983 claims are conclusively time-barred, and that Latti-saw has failed to meet the relevant legal standards for stating a claim under either Section 1985 or Section 1986. Lattisaw’s federal claims are thus subject to dismissal, and in the absence of any claim over which it has original jurisdiction, this Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims. Consequently, this Court will GRANT Defendants’ motion, and Latti-saw’s amended complaint will be DISMISSED in its entirety. A separate order consistent with this memorandum opinion will follow.

I. BACKGROUND

The following facts are gleaned from Lattisaw’s amended complaint and from two memoranda he filed in opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss. (See Pl.’s Opp’n to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss (“PL’s Opp’n”), ECF No. 8; Pl.’s Reply to Def.’s Reply to PL’s Opp’n, ECF No. 10.) See also Fennell v. AARP, 770 F.Supp.2d 118, 121 (D.D.C.2011) (“[Wjhere the non-mov-ant is proceeding pro se and has filed multiple submissions in opposition to the motion to dismiss, the district court should endeavor to read the party’s filings together and as a whole.” (citing Richardson v. United States, 193 F.3d 545, 548 (D.C.Cir.1999))). Lattisaw’s amended complaint— which totals 63 pages and contains nearly 300 paragraphs — provides numerous examples of conduct related to Lattisaw’s employment that he deems discriminatory and retaliatory. However, three events lie at the heart of Lattisaw’s myriad allegations: an alleged incident of sexual harassment on September 15, 2002; the purported alteration and posting of a confidential injury report on or about October 11, 2002; and Lattisaw’s allegedly involuntary retirement on September 6, 2006.

A. The Alleged Factual Bases For Lattisaw’s Claims

With respect to the initial harassment incident, Lattisaw alleges that a supervising officer named Lieutenant Francis All-man made a sexually explicit comment to and regarding Lattisaw on September 15, 2002, while both officers were on duty. (See, e.g., Am. Compl. ¶ 227 (stating that “an official made an unwanted pass at [Lattisaw], in the bathroom, and while on duty”); see also id. ¶¶ 23, 26 (naming All-man).) 2 According to the amended complaint, Lattisaw then filed an internal complaint with the MPD against Allman. (See id. ¶¶ 12, 20.) Lattisaw also appears to have filed at least one work-related injury report — known as a “PD Form 42” report — claiming that he suffered an injury or illness as a result of Allman’s comments. (See id. ¶¶23, 25, 26, 30.) After filing the injury report, Lattisaw alleges *147 that he was placed on sick leave and that he began to see both a D.C. Police and Fire Clinic (“PFC”) therapist and a PFC psychiatrist for treatment and medication. (See id. ¶¶ 19-20.)

Lattisaw claims that he returned to full duty a few weeks later, with the PFC’s approval. (See id. ¶¶ 19-20.) - However, upon his return to full duty, Lattisaw alleges that Sergeant J.D. Harp and others subjected Lattisaw to “retaliatory incidents [that] were directed towards him, for the internal complaint he had brought against” Allman. (Id. ¶ 20.) 3 Lattisaw states that events such as these, “along with the first incident ... began to interfere with [his] performance[,]” and so, on October 8, 2002, Lattisaw “prepared a second PD 42 injury/illness report, ... hand delivered it to Sgt. Harp[,] ... [and] then [reported] to the PFC where he was [again] placed on sick leave.” (Id. ¶23.)

The second pivotal event that Lattisaw’s amended complaint relates took place a few days later, when — while still on sick leave — Lattisaw learned that an altered copy of one of his injury reports had been posted in the station locker room, and that the narrative section describing the incident with Allman had been changed to depict Lattisaw as the aggressor and All-man as the victim. (See id. ¶ 26.) Latti-saw remained on sick leave and, in November of 2002, PFC medical personnel diagnosed Lattisaw with “a neuropsychia-tric illness” (id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
118 F. Supp. 3d 142, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97944, 2015 WL 4555391, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lattisaw-v-district-of-columbia-dcd-2015.