Ortiz v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons

290 F. Supp. 3d 96
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedDecember 5, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 16–10595–TSH
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 290 F. Supp. 3d 96 (Ortiz v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons) 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
Ortiz v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 290 F. Supp. 3d 96 (D.D.C. 2017).

Opinion

TIMOTHY HILLMAN, DISTRICT JUDGE

Background

Plaintiff, Evelyn Marcial Ortiz ("Plaintiff" or "Ortiz") brings an employment discrimination action against Defendants, the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") and several BOP employees: Warden Jeffery Grondolsky ("Grondolsky"), Associate Warden Richard H. Russell ("Russell"), and Captain Michael Bollinger ("Bollinger"). In her amended complaint (Docket No. 15) ("Complaint"), Plaintiff alleges the Defendants deprived her of certain constitutionally protected rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count I); discrimination based on sex or gender in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq. ("Title VII") (Count II); discrimination based on race in violation of Title VII (Count III); discrimination based on sexual orientation in violation of Title VII (Count IV); retaliation for engaging in protected activities in violation of Title VII (Count V); discrimination based on race in violation of Mass.Gen.L., ch. 151B (Count VI); discrimination based on gender in violation of Mass.Gen.L., ch. 151B (Count VII); discrimination based on sexual orientation in violation of Mass.Gen.L., ch. 151B (Count VIII); and retaliation for engaging in protected activities in violation of Mass.Gen., ch. 151B (Count IX)1 . This memorandum and order addresses Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Complaint (Docket No. 23). For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part.2

Standard of Review

To withstand a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a complaint must allege a claim that *101plausibly entitles the plaintiff to relief. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 559, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1967, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Plausibility does not amount to probability but "it asks for more than a sheer possibility the defendant has acted unlawfully." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While a complaint does not need detailed factual allegations, it "requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "The relevant inquiry focuses on the reasonableness of the inference of liability that the plaintiff is asking the court to draw from the facts alleged in the complaint." Ocasio-Hernàndez v. Fortuño-Burset , 640 F.3d 1, 13 (1st Cir. 2011).

While weighing a motion to dismiss, the court must take all of the well-pleaded factual allegations as true and "give the plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences therefrom." Ruiz v. Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. , 496 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir. 2007). In deciding whether a complaint states a "plausible claim for relief" the court undertakes a "context specific task" that necessarily requires it to "draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (internal citations omitted). A claim may be dismissed "if plaintiff's well-pleaded facts do not possess enough heft to show that plaintiff is entitled to relief." Rhodes v. Owens Loan Servicing, LLC. , 44 F.Supp.3d 137, 140 (D.Mass. 2014) (quoting Ruiz Rivera v. Pfizer Pharm., LLC , 521 F.3d 76, 84 (1st Cir.2008) (internal quotations omitted)). However, a court may not neglect sufficiently pleaded factual allegations, "even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable" Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

Facts

Ortiz began working for the BOP in 1987. In 2008, she attained the rank of GL-11 Lieutenant. In March 2011, she was reassigned to the position of Escort Lieutenant. Ortiz alleges that from March 2011 through October 2014, she was subjected to "continuous and pervasive discriminatory treatment" because of her race, and gender (Plaintiff is Hispanic)3 . Grondolsky, Russell, and Bollinger supervised the Plaintiff for the relevant period.

More specifically, Ortiz claims that numerous times during her employment with the BOP, Caucasian male lieutenants suffered lessened consequences for disobeying Bollinger's orders, while she was more severely disciplined for similar infractions. For example, a Caucasian male lieutenant improperly opened a cell door without ensuring an inmate was handcuffed, but was not disciplined for his behavior. However, when the Plaintiff opened a cell door while an inmate was not handcuffed, she was investigated and suspended for two days. On other occasions, Caucasian male lieutenants were either not investigated or not severely punished for serious infractions, including misplacing $4,000.00 of escort equipment and leaving a weapon unattended at a local hospital.

On June 22, 2011, Ortiz was working in an office with multiple Caucasian corrections officers.

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Bluebook (online)
290 F. Supp. 3d 96, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ortiz-v-fed-bureau-of-prisons-dcd-2017.