Louis Kwame Fosu v. Steven Richard, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedJune 25, 2026
Docket1:25-cv-00691
StatusUnknown

This text of Louis Kwame Fosu v. Steven Richard, et al. (Louis Kwame Fosu v. Steven Richard, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Louis Kwame Fosu v. Steven Richard, et al., (D.R.I. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND

Louis Kwame Fosu

v. Case No. 25-cv-691-SJM-TLSM

Steven Richard, et al.

O R D E R

Plaintiff Louis Kwame Fosu, representing himself, brought this action against counsel and the law firm that represent defendants in Fosu’s earlier-filed lawsuit, Fosu v. University of Rhode Island, et al., 21-cv-279-SJM-AKJ (filed D.R.I. July 2, 2021) (“URI Case”), in which Fosu challenges the termination of his employment at URI. Here, Fosu brings state and federal claims, asserting that counsel in the URI Case engaged in misconduct and conspired with the originally assigned judge to have his complaint dismissed. Doc. no. 1. Defendants move to dismiss for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Doc. no. 5. For the reasons that follow, Fosu’s federal claims are dismissed, and the court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his state law claims.

Standard of Review When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court considers “the underlying facts as alleged in the complaint but disregard[s] any conclusory allegations.” Humana Inc. v. Biogen,Inc., 126 F.4th 94, 98 (1st Cir. 2025) (internal quotation marks omitted). In addition to disregarding

conclusory factual allegations, the court does not “accept a complainant’s unsupported conclusions or interpretations of law” and does not “credit bald assertions or subjective characterizations” of the law or facts.1 Wescott v. Stanfill, 171 F.4th 534, 540 (1st Cir. 2026)(internal quotation marks omitted). To state a claim, the complaint “should at least set forth minimal facts as to who did what to whom, when, where, and why.” Educadores Puertorriqueños en Acción v. Hernández, 367 F.3d 61,

1 For purposes of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court is limited to the allegations in the complaint and may consider documents and other materials that are extrinsic to the complaint only under narrow exceptions, such as when the materials are central to the plaintiff’s claim, are sufficiently referred to in the complaint, or their authenticity is not disputed. García-Gesualdo v. Honeywell Aerospace of Puerto Rico, Inc., 135 F.4th 10, 13 (1st Cir. 2025); Freeman v. Town of Hudson, 714 F.3d 29, 36 (1st Cir. 2013). If the court otherwise considers additional materials submitted by the parties, it must convert the motion to one for summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d). Fosu recited the correct standard under Rule 12(b)(6) in his objection to the motion to dismiss (doc. no. 19, at 10) but also appended fourteen exhibits, which he has not shown would fall within the exception to the 12(b)(6) Rule. He then attached six exhibits to his surreply (doc. no. 23), and again he did not show those exhibits would be excepted from Rule 12(b)(6)’s limitations. Fosu’s reply to defendants’ objection to his motion for leave to file a surreply (doc. no. 24) also did not provide the necessary showing. Fosu’s exhibits cannot be and were not considered for purposes of the Rule 12(b)(6) motion. 68 (1st Cir. 2004). Fraud claims must be alleged with particularity, meaning that, to survive dismissal, the plaintiff must allege specific facts to show the “who, what, where, and

when of the allegedly false or fraudulent representation.” To allege mail or wire fraud, the plaintiff must “go beyond a showing of fraud and state the time, place and content of the alleged mail and wire communications perpetrating that fraud.” Humana, 126 F.4th at 101. The court then considers the well-pleaded facts (if any) in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Wescott, 171 F.4th at 540. The court also resolves reasonable inferences from the well-pleaded facts in the plaintiff’s favor. Id. Using that factual basis, the court determines whether the plaintiff has alleged a claim for relief “ that is plausible on its face.” Hellman v. Mass. Dep’t of Elementary & Secondary Educ., 171

F.4th 69, 78 (1st Cir. 2026) (internal quotation marks omitted). The standards under Rule 12(b)(6) and Rule 9(b) apply here, despite the typically lenient approach applied to pro se pleadings. See Hansen v. Homesite Ins. Co. of the Midwest, No. 24-CV-00278-JAW, 2025 WL 1865957, at *10 (D. Me. July 7, 2025); Merchia v. Pascack VA Grp., LLC, No. 20-CV-40100-IT, 2023 WL 2333504, at *4 (D. Mass. Mar. 2, 2023). Background Fosu alleges that he was a “Professor of Practice at the University of Rhode Island (“URI”) and Education Director of the

Diversity Think Tank (“DTT”).” Doc. no. 1, at 4. He alleges that he was hired by URI in December of 2018 and was terminated in 2021. He alleges that he was wrongfully terminated without due process after protected whistleblowing to expose corrupt DEI practices embedded in fraudulent employment practices at URI that were unconstitutional, anti-meritocratic, viewpoint-discriminatory, retaliatory, and pretextual, and that contributed to a hostile work environment and race discrimination at URI—targeting highly qualified Black and Brown employees who sought merit-based advancement and spoke out against these corrupt employment policies.

Id. Fosu, then represented by counsel, filed a civil rights suit against URI, the Board of Trustees, the President, the Provost and Vice President, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on July 2, 2021. Fosu v. URI, et. al., 21-cv-279. The court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss Fosu’s due process claim, his claims under the Rhode Island Constitution, and his breach of contract claim. Id., doc. no. 15. Fosu filed an amended complaint. Id., doc. no. 36. His legal counsel then withdrew from representing him, and Fosu proceeded pro se. Id., doc. nos. 39, 41, & End. Ors. Nov. 1 & 3, 2023. Fosu then filed a string of motions that the court denied, noting that the “motions not only request no proper court relief, but they are also scurrilous and inaccurately describe defense conduct in this litigation, which this Court has seen to be nothing but

professional, ethical, and proper.” Id., doc. no. 58. In response, Fosu moved for the judge’s recusal from the case and filed a judicial conduct complaint against the judge.2 Id., doc. no. 59. The court denied the motion and stayed the case pending resolution of Fosu’s judicial complaint. End. Or. Mar. 8, 2024. Defendants sought sanctions against Fosu, and

2 The Judicial Council for the First Circuit concluded that Fosu’s complaint against the judge was “baseless and not cognizable,” stating: The misconduct complaint is without merit. There is no information in the record or the complaint suggesting that, in presiding over complainant’s case, the judge was biased, deceptive, or dishonest, had a conflict of interest based on personal or professional relationships, political opinions, race, or any other reason, ignored complainant’s filings, protected defense counsel, or was otherwise improperly motivated. Contrary to complainant’s allegations, the record demonstrates that the judge entered reasoned orders, denied defendants' motion to dismiss on certain counts, and granted a number of complainant's motions. See supra pp. 3-4.

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Louis Kwame Fosu v. Steven Richard, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louis-kwame-fosu-v-steven-richard-et-al-rid-2026.