Murray v. Tanea

357 F. Supp. 3d 226
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 19, 2019
Docket16-CV-6525L
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 357 F. Supp. 3d 226 (Murray v. Tanea) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murray v. Tanea, 357 F. Supp. 3d 226 (W.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

DAVID G. LARIMER, United States District Judge *228INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff William Murray commenced this action by filing a pro se complaint on July 11, 2016, in the Northern District of New York. (Dkt. # 1.) Plaintiff asserted claims under federal law against fifteen individual defendants, arising out of plaintiff's employment with the New York State Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS").1 The action was transferred to this Court on July 26, 2016. (Dkt. # 5.)

Murray is not a newcomer to this Court. He brought an action here in 2008, asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, also arising out of his DOCS employment. In that case, plaintiff alleged that the defendants violated his constitutional rights to free speech and due process, by retaliating against him for having reported fraud and wrongdoing within DOCS.

In a July 2, 2014 Decision and Order, see 2014 WL 2993748, the Court dismissed some of plaintiff's claims, leaving only his First Amendment claim against nine individual defendants. At the conclusion of a May 2016 trial on those claims, the jury found no cause of action against seven defendants, and for plaintiff against two defendants, John Lempke and Thomas Poole. The jury awarded plaintiff $ 6500 in economic damages. (08-cv-6383, Dkt. # 242.) In a post-trial decision, the Court denied those two defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law, and awarded plaintiff $ 20,950 in attorney's fees. 232 F.Supp.3d 311 (W.D.N.Y. 2017).

In the present action, plaintiff filed a second amended complaint on July 14, 2017. (Dkt. # 38.) The factual allegations are broadly similar to those in the 2008 action. Plaintiff alleges that beginning in 2004, he has reported to various individuals within DOCS instances of fraud and other wrongdoing at Five Points Correctional Facility, where he is employed as a substance abuse counselor. He alleges that his efforts to report those matters have been thwarted by defendants.

Plaintiff also alleges that he suffers from a back problem that limits his ability to engage in certain physical activities. He alleges that defendants have denied his requests for reasonable accommodations for his disability. In particular, plaintiff alleges that defendants have refused his requests for a transfer to a facility closer to his home. All these allegations echo allegations made in the 2008 action. See Dkt. # 08-CV-6383 (Dkt. # 120).

Plaintiff also alleges in this action that in October 2015, an investigation was launched into his conduct with respect to matters raised in two inmates' grievances. Plaintiff was served with a notice of discipline, and suspended without pay. The matter ended up going before an arbitrator, who upheld some charges, dismissed others, and ordered that plaintiff be reinstated with back pay, less a sum attributable to a two-week suspension, which the arbitrator found justified.

*229Based on these allegations, plaintiff has asserted two causes of action: (1) a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for unlawful retaliation against plaintiff, based on his exercise of his rights under the First Amendment; and (2) a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. , based on defendants' alleged refusal to reasonably accommodate plaintiff's disability.2

On August 1, 2018, defendants moved to dismiss the ADA claim under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Dkt. # 54.) Defendants contend that they are immune from suit under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, and that plaintiff has failed to state a claim under the ADA, because plaintiff's alleged health condition does not affect his ability to perform his job.3

Plaintiff has also moved for an order to compel discovery (Dkt. # 50) and a motion for leave to file an amended complaint (Dkt. # 52). In his proposed third amended complaint, plaintiff seeks to add new defendants whom, he states, were either omitted from the prior complaint through an oversight, or whose alleged wrongdoing he learned about during the arbitration process.

DISCUSSION

I. Motion to Dismiss

In support of their motion, defendants argue as follows. First, that individuals sued in their personal capacities are not subject to suit under the ADA. Second, that a claim against an individual in his or her official capacity is effectively a claim against the state. Third, that states are not subject to suit under the ADA, in the context of public-employment claims, under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Since all the defendants in this action are state employees, who are sued in both their individual and official capacities, plaintiff's ADA claim must be dismissed in its entirety.

In response, plaintiff argues, "[f]irst and foremost," that his "claims are Title VII claims of the ADA 1990, not Title 1 claims ...." Plaintiff's Reply at 2 (Dkt. # 58 at 6). Plaintiff states that although that should have been "overwhelmingly evident by the content of the complaint[, he] requests leave to amend to specifically include Title VII verbiage ...." Id.

Plaintiff's argument is meritless. First, there is no "Title VII" in the ADA. The ADA has five main parts, or titles. These encompass employment (Title I), public services (Title II), public accommodations (Title III), telecommunications (Title IV), and retaliation (Title V). See 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 - 12213.

The only titles that might relate to plaintiff's claims here are Titles I and V. But insofar as they are relevant to this case, the same principles apply to both.

*230Many cases from this and other circuits have held that individuals cannot be held personally liable for damages under the ADA, regardless of which title of the ADA is at issue. See Spiegel v. Schulmann ,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
357 F. Supp. 3d 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murray-v-tanea-nywd-2019.