Schiavoni v. Marn

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 25, 2025
Docket1:24-cv-02090
StatusUnknown

This text of Schiavoni v. Marn (Schiavoni v. Marn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schiavoni v. Marn, (N.D. Ohio 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

JULIE A. SCHIAVONI, ) CASE NO. 1:24-cv-2090 ) Plaintiff, ) JUDGE CHARLES E. FLEMING ) v. ) ) SCOTT J. MARN, et al., ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ) ORDER Defendants. ) )

Before the Court is Defendants Matthew Donovan, John Krueger, Mark Freeman, Ray Kirchner, Janet Dowling, Sean Blake’s (collectively, the “Individual Defendants”) motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c) (“Motion for Judgment”) (ECF No. 17). Plaintiff Julie Schiavoni filed a timely response, (ECF No. 22), and the Individual Defendants filed a timely reply in support, (ECF No. 29). For the reasons discussed below, the Motion for Judgment is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On December 2, 2024, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant Scott Marn, the Individual Defendants, and Defendant City of Mentor. (ECF No. 1). Plaintiff asserts claims based on statutory retaliation, discrimination, assault, battery, gender-based misconduct, hostile work environment, denial of due process, defamation, and breach of confidentiality. (Id. at PageID #26–50). Defendant Marn answered the Complaint on January 31, 2025, (ECF No. 5), while the Individual Defendants and City of Mentor filed a joint answer on February 3, 2025, (ECF No. 7). On April 29, 2025, the Individual Defendants filed the instant Motion for Judgment, seeking to dismiss all claims asserted against them as a matter of law. (ECF No. 17). On June 25, 2025, Plaintiff filed her response in opposition to the Motion for Judgment. (ECF No. 22). The Individual Defendants filed a timely reply in support. (ECF No. 29). III. STANDARD OF REVIEW After the pleadings are closed, a party may move for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c), which is essentially a delayed motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) and is

evaluated under the same standards. See Anders v. Cuevas, 984 F.3d 1166, 1174 (2021). Because the standards are the same, the complaint must contain “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Solo v. UPS Co., 819 F.3d 788, 793 (6th Cir. 2016 (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 173 L. Ed. 2d 868 (2009)). Judgment on the pleadings is appropriate where, construing the material allegations of the pleadings and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, the Court concludes that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anders, 984 F.3d at 1174. In construing the pleadings, the Court accepts the factual allegations of the non-movant as true, but not unwarranted inferences or legal conclusions. Holland v. FCA US LLC, 656 F.

App’x 232, 236–37 (6th Cir. 2016) (citing Gregory v. Shelby Cnty., 220 F.3d 433, 446 (6th Cir. 2000)). In deciding a motion under Rule 12(c), courts “must follow the Supreme Court’s changes to the pleading standards in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 173 L. Ed. 2d 868 (2009), and Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S. Ct. 1955, 167 L. Ed. 2d 929 (2007).” Bates v. Green Farms Condo. Assoc., 958 F.3d 470, 480 (6th Cir. 2020) (citing Engler v. Arnold, 862 F.3d 571, 575 (6th Cir. 2017)). Only “well-pleaded factual allegations” that “plausibly give rise to an entitlement of relief” and “allow the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged” will survive. Id. (quotation and citation omitted). Rule 8(a)(2) provides that the complaint should contain a short and plain statement of the claim, but that it should be more than a “the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me” accusation. Id. at 677–78 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). A plaintiff must provide sufficient grounds to show entitlement to relief; “labels, conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citing Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265,

286, 106 S. Ct. 2932, 92 L. Ed. 2d 209 (1986)). Although a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations, its “factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the allegations in the Complaint are true.” Id. When reviewing a complaint, a court must construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Bibbo v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 151 F.3d 559, 561 (6th Cir. 1998). When deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) or Rule 12(c), generally, the Court cannot consider matters outside the pleadings, unless the motion is converted to a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d). Still, the Court may consider exhibits attached to or otherwise incorporated in the complaint without converting a Rule 12(b) motion to

dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(c); Weiner v. Klais & Co., 108 F.3d 86, 89 (6th Cir. 1997). IV. DISCUSSION Plaintiff asserts seventeen counts but does not cite any statute in the pleadings found under each individual count. (ECF No. 1, PageID #26–50). The final paragraph before Count I asserts that Plaintiff has suffered damages for violations of her rights under: (i) “the Ohio Civil Rights Act, as amended §§4112.01, et seq., as amended (2024 Supp.)”; (ii) “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq. (2024 Supp.)”; (ii) “the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 623, et seq., as amended (2024 Supp.)”; and (iv) “the Due Process Clause [ ] of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” (Id. at PageID #25–26, ¶ 146). In the Motion for Judgment, the Individual Defendants seek their dismissal from this action and state that Plaintiff has alleged claims under: (i) Title VII; (ii) the ADEA; (iii) Ohio Rev Code § 4112.01 et seq.; and (iv) the Due Process Clause. (See ECF No. 17, PageID #201). The Court will address the Individual Defendants’ arguments for dismissal of these

specific claims in turn. A. Claims under Title VII and Ohio Rev. Code § 4112.01 et seq. The Individual Defendants argue that Plaintiff cannot sustain her claims against them for discrimination and retaliation under Title VII because, as supervisors, they cannot be subject to individual liability under Title VII for the alleged discriminatory practices. (ECF No. 17, PageID #202). They also argue that she cannot sustain her claims under the Ohio Civil Rights Act because: (i) the 2021 amendments to Ohio Rev. Code § 4112.08

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