Richardson v. Porter Hedges, LLC

22 F. Supp. 3d 661, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74110, 2014 WL 2200322
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedMay 28, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. H-13-1753
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 22 F. Supp. 3d 661 (Richardson v. Porter Hedges, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Richardson v. Porter Hedges, LLC, 22 F. Supp. 3d 661, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74110, 2014 WL 2200322 (S.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

DAVID HITTNER, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is a Motion for Partial Dismissal (Document No. 14) filed by Defendant Porter Hedges, LLC. Having considered the motion, submissions, and applicable law, the Court determines the motion should be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

This is an employment discrimination case. Plaintiff Jeanine V. Richardson (“Richardson”) was employed for eight months in 2011 by Defendant Porter Hedges, LLC (“Porter Hedges”) as a legal secretary. Richardson is an African-American who, when hired, was forty-nine years old. Richardson claims Porter Hedges discriminated against her based on her race, color, and age in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VH”) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the “ADEA”).

After Porter Hedges terminated Richardson, she filed a charge of discrimination (the “Charge”) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”).1 The EEOC conducted an investigation, and on March 20, 2013, it dismissed Richardson’s Charge because it was “unable to conclude that the information obtained establishes violations of the statutes.”2 Along with notice of dismissal, the EEOC issued Richardson notice of her right to sue based on the Charge within ninety days (the “Notice of Suit Rights”).3

On June 17, 2013, Richardson filed an original complaint in this Court. On January 3, 2014, she filed an amended complaint. Porter Hedges has moved for partial dismissal. According to Porter Hedges, the Charge asserts two types of claims — a disparate treatment claim and a retaliation claim; the original complaint asserts one type of claim — a disparate treatment claim; and the amended complaint asserts five types of claims — a disparate treatment claim, a disparate impact claim, a pattern and practice discrimination claim, a hostile work environment claim, and a retaliation claim. Porter Hedges alleges the disparate impact, pattern and practice discrimination, and hostile work environment claims should be dismissed under Federal Rule [664]*664of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, as those claims were not asserted in the Charge. In addition, Porter Hedges alleges the disparate impact, pattern and practice discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims should be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to file suit within ninety days of receipt of the Notice of Suit Rights, as those claims were asserted in the amended complaint but not the original complaint. Thus, it is Porter Hedges’s position that only the disparate treatment claim should remain at this time because only the disparate treatment claim was asserted in both the Charge and the original complaint. Richardson, proceeding pro se, opposes partial dismissal.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Rule 12(b)(1) — Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) requires that a court dismiss a claim if the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the dispute. Fed. R. Crv. P. 12(b)(1). A motion for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) must be considered before any motion on the merits because subject matter jurisdiction is required to determine the validity of any claim. Moran v. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 27 F.3d 169, 172 (5th Cir.1994). “Courts may dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on any one of three different bases: (1) the complaint alone; (2) the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts in the record; or (3) the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court’s resolution of disputed facts.” Clark v. Tarrant Cnty., Tex., 798 F.2d 736, 741 (5th Cir.1986). Unlike a court considering a Rule 12(b)(6) or Rule 56 motion, district courts have a “unique power ... to make factual findings which are decisive of [subject matter] jurisdiction” when considering a motion under Rule 12(b)(1) that raises questions of fact relevant to subject matter jurisdiction. Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d 404, 412-13 (5th Cir.1981).

B. Rule 12(b)(6) — Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) allows dismissal if a plaintiff fails “to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Under Rule 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). Although “the pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed factual allegations,’... it demands more than ... ‘labels and conclusions.’ ” 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, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “‘[A] formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ ” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, “[t]he ‘court accepts all well-pleaded facts as true, viewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.’ ” In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 495 F.3d 191, 205 (5th Cir.2007) (quoting Martin K. Eby Constr. Co. v. Dall. Area Rapid Transit, 369 F.3d 464, 467 (5th Cir.2004)). To survive the motion, a plaintiff must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “Conversely, ‘when the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief, this basic deficiency should ... be exposed at the point of minimum expen[665]*665diture of time and money by the parties and the court.’ ” Cuvillier v. Taylor, 503 F.3d 397, 401 (5th Cir.2007) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 558, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

III. LAW & ANALYSIS

Interpreting Richardson’s amended complaint liberally, she asserts five types of claims against Porter Hedges: a disparate treatment claim, a disparate impact claim, a pattern and practice discrimination claim, a hostile work environment claim, and a retaliation claim.

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22 F. Supp. 3d 661, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74110, 2014 WL 2200322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richardson-v-porter-hedges-llc-txsd-2014.