Parker v. Sch. Dist. of Phila.

346 F. Supp. 3d 738
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 12, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 17-1744
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 346 F. Supp. 3d 738 (Parker v. Sch. Dist. of Phila.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. Sch. Dist. of Phila., 346 F. Supp. 3d 738 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

Opinion

DuBois, District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, Erica Parker, worked for Staffing Plus Holdings, Inc., as a lead clinician assigned to the Edward T. Steel Elementary School until October of 2015. In her Second Amended Complaint, she alleges that defendants terminated her for reporting suspected child abuse and informing the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services of the failure of an employee of the School District of Philadelphia (the "District") to comply with mandatory reporting requirements. Presently before the Court are separate Motions to Dismiss filed by the District and Jamal B. Dennis ("Dennis"), and a third Motion to Dismiss filed by Staffing Plus Holdings, Inc., and Alison Clark (the "Staffing Plus Defendants").1 For the reasons that follow, the District's Motion to Dismiss is denied, Dennis's Motion to Dismiss is denied, and the Staffing Plus Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.

II. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Erica Parker, was employed by defendant Staffing Plus Holdings, Inc. ("Staffing Plus") as an independent contractor beginning in 2002. Sec. Am. Compl. ¶ 13. Staffing Plus is a corporation that provides healthcare staffing to various federal and state agencies. Id. ¶ 4. In 2015, Staffing Plus assigned plaintiff to work at defendant Intercommunity Action, Inc.

*744("Interact"), an agency which provides staffing for education services. Id. ¶ 6, 15. In turn, Interact assigned plaintiff to work as a lead clinician for the District at Edward T. Steel Elementary School ("Steel Elementary"). Id. ¶ 15.

On October 6, 2015, plaintiff responded to a classroom disruption and removed an elementary school student who was acting out in the classroom. Id. ¶ 19. The student told plaintiff that "on the prior day, he had reported to his school guidance counselor ..., Ms. Jackson, that he and his neighbor had 'engaged in various sexual acts.' " Id. ¶ 21. The student also told plaintiff that his brother was gay and "had expressed a desire for him to be gay as well." Id. ¶ 22. When plaintiff asked if the student's brother had ever touched him inappropriately, the student became angry and refused to discuss the situation. Id. ¶ 22. After speaking with the student, plaintiff met with the guidance counselor to discuss the report. Id. ¶ 23. The guidance counselor told plaintiff that she informed the student's mother about the alleged sexual assault but took no further action. Id. ¶ 23. Plaintiff then reported the incident, and the guidance counselor's failure to report the incident, to her supervisor at Interact, Sharon Stark, and to Child Line, a Pennsylvania Department of Human Services telephone hotline to which professionals report child abuse. Id. ¶ 24. On October 7, 2015, Stark instructed plaintiff to report the incident, and the fact that plaintiff called Child Line, to the principal of Steel Elementary, defendant Dennis. Id. ¶ 26. On October 16, 2015, Alison Clark ("Clark"), plaintiff's supervisor at Staffing Plus, told plaintiff that her services were no longer needed at Steel Elementary. Id. ¶ 31. Several months later, in January 2016, Clark told plaintiff that Interact instructed Staffing Plus that the District would no longer retain plaintiff's services because of her report to Child Line. Id. ¶ 34.

Plaintiff filed this action on April 17, 2017, asserting wrongful termination, federal and state whistleblower claims, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint on June 27, 2017, and a Second Amended Complaint on June 13, 2018. The Second Amended Complaint alleges in Count I that the District, Dennis, and the Staffing Plus Defendants, inter alia , violated her First Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by retaliating against her for reporting both the alleged abuse and the District employee's failure to report the abuse. In Count II, plaintiff alleges a state law claim for wrongful termination by the Staffing Plus Defendants, Interact, and two Interact employees, Sharon Stark and Ursula Wacyk. Finally, in Count III, plaintiff alleges a Monell claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the District and Dennis.

Presently before the Court are three Motions to Dismiss: Defendant the School District of Philadelphia's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint, filed on June 26, 2018; Defendant Jamal B. Dennis's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint, filed on August 16, 2018; and Motion to Dismiss Second Amended Complaint by Defendants Staffing Plus Holdings, Inc. and Alison Clark f/k/a Alison Johnson, filed on August 17, 2018. Plaintiff responded to all three motions, which are now ripe for the Court's consideration.

III. APPLICABLE LAW

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 *745Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). A district court first identifies those factual allegations that constitute nothing more than "legal conclusions" or "naked assertions." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Such allegations are "not entitled to the assumption of truth" and must be disregarded. Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

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Bluebook (online)
346 F. Supp. 3d 738, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-sch-dist-of-phila-paed-2018.