Staten v. Patrolmen's Benevolent Ass'n of N.Y., Inc.

282 F. Supp. 3d 734
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 19, 2017
Docket16 Civ. 5316 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 282 F. Supp. 3d 734 (Staten v. Patrolmen's Benevolent Ass'n of N.Y., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Staten v. Patrolmen's Benevolent Ass'n of N.Y., Inc., 282 F. Supp. 3d 734 (S.D. Ill. 2017).

Opinion

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

Pro se plaintiff Claude Staten, an officer with the New York City Police Department ("NYPD"), brings this action against the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York (the "Union"). This suit-Staten's fourth federal lawsuit relating to his claims of alleged discrimination and retaliation by the NYPD-includes a variety of claims under federal, state, and local laws. Specifically, the plaintiff alleges in his amended complaint ("AC") that the Union violated his rights when they failed to provide him with legal representation for his prior employment discrimination lawsuits against the City of New York (the "City"). The Union now moves to dismiss the complaint in its entirety pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, arguing that many of the claims are time-barred and that the amended complaint otherwise fails to state a plausible claim for relief. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted.

I.

The plaintiff is currently a police officer with the NYPD, a position he has held for over thirty years. AC ¶ 7. He identifies as a black, Hispanic male. AC ¶ 7. He is also a member of the Union. AC ¶ 7.

A brief history of the plaintiff's prior lawsuits is relevant to this action. Before he filed this case, the plaintiff had previously filed two employment discrimination lawsuits against the City in federal court. He filed complaints on May 3, 2012, AC ¶ 14, and on June 16, 2014, AC ¶ 17. In these lawsuits, the plaintiff alleged a variety of employment discrimination claims, including failure to promote, unequal terms and conditions of employment, hostile work environment, harassment, retaliation, race discrimination and age discrimination. AC ¶ 31.

The plaintiff requested the Union to provide him representation for those lawsuits. The then-treasurer of the PBA, Joseph Alejandro, called the plaintiff on August 12, 2015 in response to this request and informed him that the Union would not provide him with legal representation for these lawsuits. AC ¶ 31. Mr. Alejandro allegedly told the plaintiff that his "problems and issues do not involve the Union's membership base as a whole" and that the Union will "only represent women who are not promoted due to pregnancy". AC ¶ 33.

The plaintiff subsequently sent a letter, on December 29, 2015, requesting reimbursement for his legal fees from the Union. AC ¶ 36. The Union responded on May 3, 2016, informing the plaintiff that it had "considered [the plaintiff's] request for reimbursement" and "[b]ased on our understanding of the facts and circumstances presented in your request, the allegations you assert do not fall within the parameters of the civil legal plan." AC at Ex. 7H.

In response to the Union's refusal to provide legal representation or to reimburse him for his legal fees, the plaintiff brought this action, alleging that the Union discriminated against him. He filed an EEOC complaint against the Union on June 29, 2016, the same day that he filed this action. AC ¶ 27. He filed a second EEOC complaint against the Union on January 11, 2017. AC at 14. The plaintiff filed the current amended complaint on January 13, 2017. Dkt. No. 20.

In his amended complaint, the plaintiff has alleged a variety of claims regarding *738the Union's refusal to provide him with legal representation in his lawsuits against the City. He has affirmatively alleged a claim for breach of contract, AC ¶¶ 3, 31-37, federal claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, AC ¶ 2, and state and local discrimination claims under the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL") and the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"), AC ¶ 3. Reading his complaint generously, he also appears to allege a federal claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq., as well as a claim for a breach of the duty of fair representation.

II.

In deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the allegations in the complaint are accepted as true, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in the plaintiff's favor. McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 191 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court's function on a motion to dismiss is "not to weigh the evidence that might be presented at a trial but merely to determine whether the complaint itself is legally sufficient." Goldman v. Belden, 754 F.2d 1059, 1067 (2d Cir. 1985). The Court should not dismiss the complaint if the plaintiff has stated "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "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). While the Court should construe the factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, "the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions." Id.

When faced with a pro se complaint, the Court must "construe [the] complaint liberally and interpret it to raise the strongest arguments that it suggests." Chavis v. Chappius, 618 F.3d 162, 170 (2d Cir. 2010) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). The Court may also consider allegations that are contained in the plaintiff's opposition papers. See Burgess v. Goord, No.

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Bluebook (online)
282 F. Supp. 3d 734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/staten-v-patrolmens-benevolent-assn-of-ny-inc-ilsd-2017.