Miles v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 500

347 F. Supp. 3d 626
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedOctober 16, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-2685-DDC-TJJ
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 347 F. Supp. 3d 626 (Miles v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 500) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miles v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 500, 347 F. Supp. 3d 626 (D. Kan. 2018).

Opinion

Daniel D. Crabtree, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Susan Miles's lawsuit arises from her discharge as a teacher at McKinley Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas. Plaintiff filed suit against two defendants: Unified School District No. 500, Kansas City, Kansas ("the District") and Valerie Castillo. Doc. 1. Ms. Castillo is the Principal of McKinley Elementary School. Relevant here is the single claim plaintiff brings against Ms. Castillo: Plaintiff alleges that Ms. Castillo discriminated and retaliated against plaintiff for taking leave under the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").

Ms. Castillo has moved to dismiss plaintiff's FMLA claim against her under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Doc. 17. She makes four arguments supporting dismissal. First, she contends that the Complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to show that she was plaintiff's "employer," as defined by the FMLA. Second, she asserts that the Complaint does not allege facts capable of establishing that plaintiff engaged in an FMLA-protected activity. Third, Ms. Castillo argues that the Complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to show that Ms. Castillo took materially adverse action against her. Fourth, Ms. Castillo contends, even if plaintiff pleaded a sufficient FMLA claim, qualified immunity protects her from suit.

Plaintiff then filed a Response. Doc. 27. And Ms. Castillo filed a timely Reply. Doc. 30. After considering the arguments and authorities presented in the parties' papers, the court denies Ms. Castillo's Motion to Dismiss.

I. Facts

The following facts come from plaintiff's Complaint. Doc. 1. The court accepts the facts asserted in the Complaint as true and views them in the light most favorable to plaintiff. Burnett v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. , 706 F.3d 1231, 1235 (10th Cir. 2013) (citing Smith v. United States , 561 F.3d 1090, 1098 (10th Cir. 2009) ).

Defendant Unified School District No. 500, Kansas City, Kansas ("the District") entered into a teaching contract with plaintiff in 2007. This contract automatically renewed every year. In 2016, plaintiff worked at McKinley Elementary School. Ms. Castillo was McKinley's Principal. Ms. Castillo supervised plaintiff's work and had the ability to make decisions affecting the terms and conditions of plaintiff's employment with the District.

On April 8, 2016, a McKinley student tripped plaintiff while she was teaching. Plaintiff fell, knocking her unconscious. As a result, plaintiff suffered a concussion, occipital nerve damage, a back sprain, a neck sprain, and a foot fracture. She was diagnosed with occipital neuralgia and post-concussive syndrome, which caused vision problems, severe headaches, confusion, and dizziness. On May 11, 2016, plaintiff applied for FMLA leave because of her occipital neuralgia. The District approved plaintiff's request and gave her medical leave for the remainder of the 2015-16 *629school year. Later that month, Ms. Castillo directed plaintiff to complete all her lesson plans for the next school year before she began her FMLA leave. And, in May 2016, while plaintiff was on FMLA leave, Ms. Castillo made plaintiff return to school and clean out her classroom at the end of the school year. While plaintiff completed these tasks, Ms. Castillo implored plaintiff to return to work.

Plaintiff and the District allowed plaintiff's contract to renew automatically for the 2016-17 school year. On August 16, 2016, the District approved plaintiff's second FMLA request extending her leave through November 2, 2016. At the end of this leave, the District then approved an unpaid leave of absence from November 3, 2016, to January 4, 2017. In December 2016, the District's worker's compensation physician released plaintiff to return to work, effective January 4, 2017. Plaintiff then went to McKinley to deliver the doctor's work release forms to Ms. Castillo. While she was there, plaintiff asked Ms. Castillo what she had missed while she was gone. Ms. Castillo responded, "Half a year of school." Ms. Castillo later told plaintiff, "[Y]ou need to get out of here so our people can work." On January 4, 2017, Ms. Castillo, either individually or in concert with the District, discharged plaintiff's employment.

II. Legal Standard

On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the court accepts all facts pleaded by the non-moving party as true and draws any reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Brokers' Choice of Am. v. NBC Universal, Inc. , 757 F.3d 1125, 1136 (10th Cir. 2014). "To survive a motion to dismiss [under Rule 12(b)(6) ], a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. (citing Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). "Under this standard, 'the complaint must give the court reason to believe that this plaintiff has a reasonable likelihood of mustering factual support for these claims.' " Carter v. United States , 667 F.Supp.2d 1259, 1262 (D. Kan. 2009) (quoting Ridge at Red Hawk, L.L.C. v. Schneider ,

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Bluebook (online)
347 F. Supp. 3d 626, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miles-v-unified-sch-dist-no-500-ksd-2018.