Steshenko v. Albee

42 F. Supp. 3d 1281, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69956, 2014 WL 2111676
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMay 20, 2014
DocketCase No.: 13-CV-04948-LHK
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 42 F. Supp. 3d 1281 (Steshenko v. Albee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steshenko v. Albee, 42 F. Supp. 3d 1281, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69956, 2014 WL 2111676 (N.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS

LUCY H. KOH, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Gregory Nicholas Steshenko (“Plaintiff’) brings this action for age discrimination based on not being admitted to a graduate program at San Francisco State University. Defendants Geraldine Albee and the Board of Trustees of the California State University (collectively, “Defendants”) move to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(6). ECF No. 15 (“Mot.”). The Court held a hearing on this motion on May 15, 2014. Having considered the parties’ briefs and arguments, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court hereby GRANTS Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a 52-year-old unemployed electrical engineer seeking to re-enter the job market through a professional re-training. ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”) at ¶ 10. In addition to a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Plaintiff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. See id. at ¶ 10.

On October 22, 2012, Plaintiff applied to the Clinical Laboratory Scientist (“CLS”) Internship Program at San Francisco State University for enrollment in the Fall Semester of 2013. Compl. ¶ 12. The CLS Internship Program is a one-year academic program combining theoretical training with an internship at a participating clinical laboratory. Id. at ¶ 11. On [1285]*1285March 19, 2013, Plaintiff was notified that he would not be invited for an admission interview. Id. at ¶ 12. In response to Plaintiffs inquiries, CLS Director Defendant Albee stated that the reason for the denial was that Plaintiffs transcript — with the grade for one of the prerequisite classes — arrived after the deadline. Id. Albee also stated that the participating clinical laboratories, not San Francisco State University, made admission decisions for the program. Id.

On June 12, 2013, Plaintiff reapplied to the CLS Internship Program for enrollment in the Spring Semester of 2014. Compl. ¶ 13. On August 28, 2013, Albee notified Plaintiff that Plaintiff “did not meet the criteria for selection into the CLS program.” Id. Albee refused to clarify what “criteria” Plaintiff did not meet, and ceased communications with Plaintiff. Id. According to Plaintiff, much younger applicants, in their 20s, with much more inferior academic credentials and work experience, were invited for interviews and subsequently admitted to the program. Id.

Plaintiff alleges that the CLS Internship Program and the participating clinical laboratories “heavily discriminate on the grounds of age.” Compl. at ¶ 14. Plaintiff alleges: “No persons of the protected age have ever been admitted to the [CLS Program]. The age discrimination is rampant.” Id. Plaintiff further alleges that Plaintiffs age was the “only derogatory factor” that “prevented [Plaintiffs] admission to the CLS Internship Program, denied Plaintiff a professional license, and ultimately denied Plaintiff a professional job. Id.

Plaintiff alleges that he has exhausted his administrative remedies with the US-DOE. Compl. ¶ 7. Plaintiff also alleges that he filed a timely administrative claim with the California State University Chancellor’s Office. Compl. ¶ 8. However, Defendants chose not to respond to Plaintiffs claim. Id.

On October 24, 2013, Plaintiff filed a Complaint against Defendants. ECF No. I. On March 26, 2014, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). ECF No. 14. That same day, Defendants amended the Motion to Dismiss. ECF No. 15 (“Mot.”).1 After the Court granted Plaintiffs motion to extend time to file a response to the Motion to Dismiss, on April 17, 2014, Plaintiff filed an Opposition. ECF No. 20. On April 23, 2014, Defendants filed a Reply. ECF No. 21. The Court held a hearing on May 15, 2014. Plaintiff filed a supplemental letter brief on May 16, 2014. ECF No. 23.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Motion to Dismiss Under Rule 12(b)(6)

Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires a complaint to include “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” A complaint that fails to meet this standard may be dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The Supreme Court has held that Rule 8(a) requires a plaintiff to plead “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, [1286]*1286678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). “The plausibility standard is not akin to a probability requirement, but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” ■ Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). For purposes of ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a court “acceptfs] factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe[s] the pleadings in the'light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th Cir.2008). Moreover, pro se pleadings are to be construed liberally. Resnick v. Hayes, 213 F.3d 443, 447 (9th Cir.2000) (“[I]n general, courts must construe pro se pleadings liberally”).

However, a court need not accept as true allegations contradicted by judicially noticeable facts, Shwarz v. United States, 234 F.3d 428, 435 (9th Cir.2000), and the “[Cjourt may look beyond the plaintiffs complaint to matters of public record” without converting the Rule 12(b)(6) motion into one for summary judgment, Shaw v. Hahn, 56 F.3d 1128, 1129 n. 1 (9th Cir.1995). Nor is the court required to “ ‘assume the truth of legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations.’ ” Fayer v. Vaughn, 649 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir.2011) (per curiam) (quoting W. Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618, 624 (9th Cir.1981)). Mere “conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences are insufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss.” Adams v. Johnson, 355 F.3d 1179, 1183 (9th Cir.2004); accord Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Furthermore, “a plaintiff may plead herself out of court” if she “plead[s] facts which establish that [s]he cannot prevail on h[er] ... claim.” Weisbuch v. Cnty. of L.A., 119 F.3d 778, 783 n. 1 (9th Cir.1997) (internal quotation marks omitted).

B. Leave to Amend

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Bluebook (online)
42 F. Supp. 3d 1281, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69956, 2014 WL 2111676, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steshenko-v-albee-cand-2014.