Sager v. McHugh

942 F. Supp. 2d 1137, 2013 WL 1814902, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60939, 47 NDLR 32
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedApril 29, 2013
DocketCase No. C12-5910 BHS
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 942 F. Supp. 2d 1137 (Sager v. McHugh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sager v. McHugh, 942 F. Supp. 2d 1137, 2013 WL 1814902, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60939, 47 NDLR 32 (W.D. Wash. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

BENJAMIN H. SETTLE, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendant John M. McHugh, Secretary of the Army’s (“Army”) motion to dismiss (Dkt. 5). The Court has considered the pleadings filed in support of and in opposi[1140]*1140tion to the motion and the remainder of the file and hereby grants the motion for the reasons stated herein.

I.PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 15, 2012, Plaintiff Thomas E. Sager (“Sager”), an employee of the Department of the Army, filed a complaint against the Army, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). See Dkt. 1. Sager also alleges a cause of action under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”). Id. On March 12, 2013, the Army filed the instant motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Dkt. 5. On April 8, 2013, Sager responded in opposition. Dkt. 8. On April 12, 2013, the Army replied. Dkt. 11.

II.FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Sager was employed by the Army at the Joint Base Lewis McChord (“JBLM”), Department of Public Works. Dkt. 1 at 1. On or about October 13, 2010, Sager, by and through his attorney of record, Michael Davis (“Davis”) contacted an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) counselor at JBML alleging that Sager had been subjected to a hostile work environment, treated in an unfair and disparate manner, and that the treatment had been ongoing for several months. Id. at 2.

Sager did not file his formal EEO complaint within fifteen days of receiving notice of his right to file an administrative complaint. Dkt. 5 (citing 29 C.F.R. § 1614.106(b)). By letters dated August 4 and September 20, 2011, Sager’s attorney asked the EEO counselor for a letter advising of the right to file a formal complaint. The EEO office complied with the attorney’s request and, on October 11, 2011, sent via certified mail a Notice of Right to File Formal Complaint to Sager and to his attorney, Davis, at their addresses of record. Mittet Deck, Exhibit 10. The letter sent to Davis was received at his office on October 13, 2011, and signed for by Heather Pursley (“Pursley”). Id. The notification of right to file plainly advised Sager that he needed to file a formal complaint of discrimination within “15 calendar days of receipt of the notice.” Id. The EEO office, however, did not receive Sager’s formal complaint until December 20, 2011, or 68 days after his attorney received the notice. Mittet Deck, Exhibit 11. Mr. Sager was, therefore, 53 days late in filing his administrative complaint. The agency properly dismissed his administrative complaint as time-barred and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) upheld the dismissal. Mittet Deck, Exhibits 13 and 14.

Accordingly, the Army maintains that Sager’s entire judicial complaint must be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief should be granted and/or lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Dkt. 5 at 3. In his response, Sager does not dispute that the filing of his formal complaint was past the 15-day deadline, but maintains that his action should not be dismissed. Dkts. 8 & 8-1 at 2-3 (Declaration of Michael J. Davis).

III.DISCUSSION

A. Standard

Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows for a motion to dismiss based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Vacek v. U.S. Postal Serv., 447 F.3d 1248, 1250 (9th Cir.2006). “A federal court is presumed to lack jurisdiction in a particular case unless the contrary affirmatively appears.” A-Z Int’l v. Phillips, 323 F.3d 1141, 1145 (9th Cir.2003). Courts lacks subject matter jurisdiction over actions in which the plaintiff [1141]*1141lacks standing. See Bernhardt v. County of Los Angeles, 279 F.3d 862, 868 (9th Cir.2002). The burden falls on the plaintiff to establish that subject matter jurisdiction is proper. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994); Vacek, 447 F.3d at 1250. A motion brought under Rule 12(b)(1) may be either facial, where the inquiry is limited to the allegations in the complaint, or factual, where the court may look beyond the complaint to consider extrinsic evidence. Wolfe v. Strankman, 392 F.3d 358, 362 (9th Cir.2004); Savage v. Glendale Union High School Dist. No. 205, 343 F.3d 1036, 1039 n. 2 (9th Cir.2003). When a defendant makes a facial challenge to jurisdiction, all material allegations in the complaint are taken as true, and the question for the court is whether the lack of jurisdiction appears from the face of the pleading itself. See Wolfe, 392 F.3d at 362; Miranda v. Reno, 238 F.3d 1156, 1157 n. 1 (9th Cir.2001). “If the moving party converts the motion to dismiss into a factual motion by presenting affidavits or other evidence properly brought before the court, the party opposing the motion must furnish affidavits or other evidence necessary to satisfy its burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction.” Wolfe, 392 F.3d at 362 (internal quotation marks omitted). For purposes of considering a motion to dismiss on the grounds of subject matter jurisdiction, a court may consider matters outside of the pleadings. Association of American Medical Colleges v. United States of America., 217 F.3d 770, 778 (9th Cir.2000).

When a motion to dismiss is based on more than one ground, the court should consider the Rule 12(b)(1) challenge first because the other grounds will become moot if the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. 5 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure, § 1350 (2004 ed.).

B. Application of Standard

The Army moves the Court to dismiss Sager’s complaint on essentially four grounds: insufficiently pled factual allegations; failure to timely exhaust administrative remedies; dissatisfaction with the EEO process does not constitute grounds for employment discrimination claims; and exclusive statutory remedies for federal employees bar him from recourse under WLAD. See Dkt. 5. In Sager’s response, he admits that he failed to timely comply with the EEO’s 15-day requirement for filing a formal complaint. See, e.g., Dkt. 8 at 1 & 9. However, Sager argues that he is entitled to equitable tolling or waiver for two reasons: (1) the EEO office improperly delayed his informal complaint and failed to provide counseling; (2) he did not receive the Notice of Right to File a Formal Complaint because the EEO office sent the notice to the wrong address and, although the notice was delivered to Davis, his attorney of record, Davis was out of town at the time of delivery. See Dkt. 8.

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942 F. Supp. 2d 1137, 2013 WL 1814902, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60939, 47 NDLR 32, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sager-v-mchugh-wawd-2013.