Smith v. Vestavia Hills Board of Education

218 F. Supp. 3d 1285, 96 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 271, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151049, 2016 WL 6462045
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedNovember 1, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO.: 2:16-CV-842-VEH
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 218 F. Supp. 3d 1285 (Smith v. Vestavia Hills Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Vestavia Hills Board of Education, 218 F. Supp. 3d 1285, 96 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 271, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151049, 2016 WL 6462045 (N.D. Ala. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

VIRGINIA EMERSON HOPKINS, United States District Judge

This employment discrimination action was filed on May 23, 2016, by the Plaintiff, Anita Smith, against the Defendant, the Vestavia Hills Board of Education. The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant discriminated against her on account of her race, African American, and her age, over 50. The Plaintiff also alleges that the Defendant retaliated against her after she complained of illegal discrimination, and after she filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. The Complaint alleges: race discrimination in violation of Title VII [1288]*1288of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (“Title VIP) and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (“Section 1981”) (Count One); age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq. (the “ADEA”) (Count Two); and retaliation in violation of Title VII, the ADEA, and Section 1981 (Count Three). The Complaint also pleads the Alabama state law claims of invasion of privacy (Count Four) and intentional infliction of emotion distress (Count Five).

This case comes before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion for Partial Dismissal, made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Doc. 5). For the reasons stated herein, the motion will be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. STANDARD

Generally, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require only that the complaint provide “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). However, to survive a motion to dismiss brought under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 560 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (“Twombly”).

A claim has facial plausibility “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (“Iqbal"). That is, the complaint must include enough facts “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citation and footnote omitted). Pleadings that contain nothing more than “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action” do not meet Rule 8 standards, nor do pleadings suffice that are based merely upon “labels or conclusions” or “naked assertion[s]” without supporting factual allegations. Id. at 555, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citation omitted).

Once a claim has been stated adequately, however, “it may be supported by showing any set of facts consistent with the allegations in the complaint.” Id. at 563, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citation omitted). Further, when ruling on a motion to dismiss, a court must “take the factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Pielage v. McConnell, 516 F.3d 1282, 1284 (11th Cir. 2008) (citing Glover v. Liggett Group, Inc., 459 F.3d 1304, 1308 (11th Cir. 2006)).

II. ANALYSIS

A. Invasion of Privacy (Count Four) and Intentional Infliction of Emotion Distress (Count Five) Claims

Article I, Section 14 of the Alabama Constitution provides that “the State of Alabama shall never be made a defendant in any court of law or equity.” Ala. Const. Art. I, § 14. The Alabama Supreme Court has stated:

The wall of immunity erected by § 14 is nearly impregnable. Indeed, as regards the State of Alabama and its agencies, the wall is absolutely impregnable. “Absolute immunity” means just that—the State and its agencies are not subject to suit under any theory.

Alabama Dep’t of Corr. v. Montgomery Cty. Comm’n, 11 So.3d 189, 191 (Ala. 2008) (internal quotations and citations omitted, italics in original). The Defendant argues that this absolute immunity bars the state law claims in Counts Four and Five.

The Plaintiff argues, correctly, that this immunity does not extent to a munici[1289]*1289pality or its agents. See Ex parte City of Tuskegee, 932 So.2d 895, 901 (Ala. 2005) (“Absolute immunity does not extend to municipalities or its agents.”). However, the Defendant, a municipal school board, is an agent of the state, not the city. In Ex parte Phenix City Bd. of Educ., 67 So.3d 56, 59 (Ala. 2011) the Alabama Supreme Court wrote:

The Board contends that it is not subject to tort actions against it alleging negligent entrustment and asserting claims of loss of services because, it says, it is entitled to absolute immunity and it cites Art. I, § 14, Ala. Const. 1901. In Enterprise City Board of Education v. Miller, 348 So.2d 782 (Ala. 1977), this Court held that city boards of education were immune from civil actions. We stated:
“City boards of education are authorized by the legislature. Title 52, Section 148, et seq. [now § 16-11-1 et seq., Ala Code 1975],
“Like county school boards, they are agencies of the state, empowered to administer public education within the cities. As such, a city school board is not a subdivision or agency of the municipal government. Opinion of the Justices, 276 Ala. 239, 160 So.2d 648 (1964). A city school board’s relation to the city is analogous to a county school board’s relation to the county. State v. Brandon, 244 Ala. 62, 12 So.2d 319 (1943).
“There is no mention in the statutes under which city school boards are created of the ability to be sued. Title 52, section 168 [now § 16-11-13], allows a city school board to institute condemnation proceedings. The only other statute which refers to litigation at all is Title 52, section 161 [now § 16-11-12], which provides:
“ ‘The city board of education shall have the full and exclusive rights within the.

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218 F. Supp. 3d 1285, 96 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 271, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151049, 2016 WL 6462045, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-vestavia-hills-board-of-education-alnd-2016.