Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.

325 F. Supp. 3d 146
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedAugust 30, 2018
DocketCase No. 1:16-cv-00130 (TNM)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 325 F. Supp. 3d 146 (Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 325 F. Supp. 3d 146 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Plaintiff Robyn Slack lost her job at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or WMATA, after refusing to act as the sole point of contact for a procurement contract, which she believed would have violated the law. She sued WMATA for unlawful retaliation and her supervisor, Judy Mewborn, for defamation. WMATA has moved to dismiss two of Ms. Slack's retaliation claims, which arise under the False Claims Act and the District *151of Columbia Whistleblower Protection Act.1 Because sovereign immunity bars these claims, WMATA's Motion to Dismiss Counts I and III of the Complaint will be granted.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

"Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction" and so "possess only that power authorized by Constitution and statute." Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am. , 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994). So a federal court must satisfy itself that it has jurisdiction over a claim before proceeding to the merits and must dismiss any action over which it determines that it lacks jurisdiction. Moms Against Mercury v. FDA , 483 F.3d 824, 826 (D.C. Cir. 2007) ; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). On a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing jurisdiction. Georgiades v. Martin-Trigona , 729 F.2d 831, 833 n.4 (D.C. Cir. 1984). A plaintiff may rely on facts outside the pleadings to satisfy this burden, as "the court may consider the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts evidenced in the record, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court's resolution of disputed facts." Herbert v. Nat'l Acad. of Scis. , 974 F.2d 192, 197 (D.C. Cir. 1992).

II. ANALYSIS

The Eleventh Amendment generally prohibits a federal court from exercising jurisdiction over claims against a state. U.S. Const. amend. XI ("The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State."); see also Bd. of Trs. of the Univ. of. Ala. v.Garrett , 531 U.S. 356, 363, 121 S.Ct. 955, 148 L.Ed.2d 866 (2001) ("Although by its terms the Amendment applies only to suits against a State by citizens of another State, our cases have extended the Amendment's applicability to suits by citizens against their own States."). As Ms. Slack appears to concede, when Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia created WMATA, they conferred their sovereign immunity upon it. Morris v. WMATA , 781 F.2d 218, 219-220 (D.C. Cir. 1986).2

But there are two primary exceptions to WMATA's Eleventh Amendment immunity. Barbour v. WMATA , 374 F.3d 1161, 1163 (D.C. Cir. 2004). First, Congress may limit Eleventh Amendment immunity by statute if it "unequivocally expresse[s] its intent to abrogate that immunity" and acts within its constitutional authority. Kimel v. Fla. Bd. of Regents , 528 U.S. 62, 73, 120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522 (2000). Second, a state may voluntarily waive its immunity by making a "clear declaration" that it intends to submit itself to a federal court's jurisdiction. Coll. Sav. Bank v. Fla. Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd. , 527 U.S. 666, 675-76, 119 S.Ct. 2219, 144 L.Ed.2d 605 (1999). So the question that the Motion to Dismiss presents is whether Ms. Slack has shown an *152abrogation or waiver of WMATA's sovereign immunity from suit under the False Claims Act, or FCA, and under the District of Columbia Whistleblower Protection Act, or DCWPA.

A. The FCA Does Not Abrogate Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Count III of Ms. Slack's Complaint alleges whistleblower retaliation in violation of the FCA and can proceed only if Ms. Slack shows that the FCA applies to WMATA. As noted above, Congress can only abrogate Eleventh Amendment immunity if it "unequivocally expresse[s] its intent to abrogate that immunity" and acts within its constitutional authority. Kimel , 528 U.S. at 73, 120 S.Ct.

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325 F. Supp. 3d 146, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/slack-v-wash-metro-area-transit-auth-cadc-2018.