Rollins v. Kjellstrom & Lee, Inc.

109 F. Supp. 3d 869, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64099, 2015 WL 2354496
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedMay 15, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 3:15cv66
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 109 F. Supp. 3d 869 (Rollins v. Kjellstrom & Lee, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rollins v. Kjellstrom & Lee, Inc., 109 F. Supp. 3d 869, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64099, 2015 WL 2354496 (E.D. Va. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

M. HANNAH LAUCK, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendants Kjellstrom & Lee, Inc. (“K & L”) and Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company’s (“Mutual of Omaha”) (collectively, the “Defendants”) Motions to Dismiss the matter against them pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)1 and Plaintiff Diana Rollins’ Motion to Remand pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).2 (ECF Nos. 3, 6, 12.) The parties filed responses in opposition to the motions, and the moving parties filed replies. (ECF Nos. 10, 11, 14-19.) The matter is ripe for disposition.

The Court dispenses with oral argument because the materials before the Court adequately present the facts and legal contentions, and argument would not aid the decisional process. The Court exercises jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331.3 For the reasons that follow, the Court will deny the Motion to Remand, grant the Motions to Dismiss, and grant Rollins leave to amend.

I. Standards of Review

A. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)

“A motion to dismiss under Rule • 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of a complaint; importantly, it does not resolve contests surrounding the facts, the merits of a claim, or the applicability of defenses.” Republican Party of N.C. v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir.1992) (citing 5A Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1356 (1990)). In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a plaintiffs well-pleaded allegations are taken as true and the complaint is viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Mylan Labs., Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir.1993); see also Martin, 980 F.2d at 952.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “require[] only ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (second alteration in original) [873]*873(quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). Plaintiffs cannot satisfy this standard with complaints containing only “labels and conclusions” or a “formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Id. (citations omitted); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Instead, a plaintiff must assert facts sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level,” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citation omitted), stating a claim that is “plausible on its face,” id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, rather than merely “conceivable.” Id. In order for a claim or complaint to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim, the plaintiff must “allege facts sufficient to state all the elements of [his or] her claim.” Bass v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 324 F.3d 761, 765 (4th Cir.2003) (citing Dickson v. Microsoft Corp., 309 F.3d 193, 213 (4th Cir.2002); Iodice v. United States, 289 F.3d 270, 281 (4th Cir.2002)).

“If, on a motion under Rule 12(b)(6) ..., matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56,” and “[a]ll parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material that is pertinent to the motion.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d); see Laughlin v. Metro. Wash. Airports Auth., 149 F.3d 253, 260-61 (4th Cir.1998); Gay v. Wall, 761 F.2d 175, 177 (4th Cir.1985). However, “a court may consider official public records, documents central to plaintiffs claim, and documents sufficiently referred to in the complaint [without converting a Rule 12(b)(6) motion into one for summary judgment] so long as the authenticity of these documents is not disputed.” Witthohn v. Fed. Ins. Co., 164 Fed.Appx. 395, 396-97 (4th Cir.2006) (citing Alt. Energy, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 267 F.3d 30, 33 (1st Cir.2001); Phillips v. LCI Int’l, Inc., 190 F.3d 609, 618 (4th Cir.1999); Gasner v. Cnty. of Dinwiddie, 162 F.R.D. 280, 282 (E.D.Va.1995)).

Rollins attaches to her Complaint: (1) a letter dated June 14, 2000 from Jim Pritchett, Jr., Senior Vice President of K & L, to her late husband, Millard Anthony Rollins (“Mr. Rollins”) (the “Offer Letter”) (Compl. Ex. A, ECF No. 1-3); (2) the Group Term Life and AD & D Insurance Summary of Coverage (the “Summary”) (Compl. Ex. B, ECF No. 1-3); (3) a Certificate of Insurance issued by United of Omaha Life Insurance Company (“United of Omaha”) to K & L (the “Certificate”) (Compl. Ex. C, ECF No. 1-3); and, (4) a portion of K & L’s Handbook for Salaried Employees (the “Handbook”) (Compl. Ex. D, ECF No. 1-3).

The Defendants attach to the Notice of Removal the insurance policy issued by United of Omaha to K & L (the “Policy”), its summary plan description (“Summary Plan Description”), and its summary of coverage (“Summary of Coverage”) (Not. Removal Ex. 5, ECF Nos. 1-7, 1-8). The Summary Plan Description states that it provides information required to be “furnished to eligible participants in an employee benefits plan” under ERISA. (Not. Removal Ex. 5, Summ. Plan Description 41, ECF No. 1-8). The Summary Plan Description identifies K & L as the Plan Administrator. Id.

The Court will consider all the documents filed. Rollins sufficiently referred to all of her exhibits in her Complaint, as well as the Policy and related documents attached to the Notice of Removal. The documents are central to Rollins’ claims, and neither party disputes their authenticity. The Court may thus consider these documents. See Witthohn, 164 Fed.Appx. at 396-97 (citations omitted).

[874]*874B. Remand Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), Removal via 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), and Federal Question Jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.

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109 F. Supp. 3d 869, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64099, 2015 WL 2354496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rollins-v-kjellstrom-lee-inc-vaed-2015.