Welder v. University of Southern Nevada

833 F. Supp. 2d 1240, 2011 WL 2491057, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67592
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedJune 21, 2011
DocketNo. 2:10-CV-01811-LRH-LRL
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 833 F. Supp. 2d 1240 (Welder v. University of Southern Nevada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Welder v. University of Southern Nevada, 833 F. Supp. 2d 1240, 2011 WL 2491057, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67592 (D. Nev. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER

LARRY R. HICKS, District Judge.

Before the court is Defendants University of Southern Nevada and Renee Coff[1242]*1242man’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Claims for Relief Pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6) (# 8 1)• Plaintiff Allison Welder filed an opposition (# 11), and Defendants filed a reply (# 13).

I. Facts and Procedural History

This action arises out of Plaintiffs employment and termination of her employment as Professor of Pharmacy at Defendant University of Southern Nevada (“USN”). Defendant Renee Coffman (“Dr. Coffman”) was Dean of the College of Pharmacy and University Administrator during the time in question, January 2002 to November 2009.

Plaintiff commenced her employment with USN on January 1, 2002 as a Professor of Pharmacy, a position she maintained throughout her employment with USN. Doc # 1, p. 2. On June 2, 2008, Plaintiff entered into a five-year employment contract with USN, commencing July 1, 2008. Id.

On January 29, 2009, Plaintiff notified Dr. Coffman that she had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and was going in for immediate surgery and biopsy. Id. On February 3, 2009, Plaintiff received a letter of reprimand from Dr. Coffman, stating that Plaintiffs behavior from missing work due to her illness was “unprofessional and unacceptable.” Id. On March 3, 2009, Plaintiff received her second letter of reprimand from Dr. Coffman for two incidents involving Plaintiffs role as faculty advisor for USN’s Delta Tau chapter of Kappa Psi. Id. at 3. In the first incident Plaintiff had to leave a ceremony early for a medical procedure, and the second incident involved Plaintiff arriving late to a meeting. Id. at 3.

In April 2009, Plaintiff sent two formal letters to USN and Dr. Coffman stating she believed she was being subject to disparate treatment on the basis of age and formally requesting reasonable accommodation for her disability under the ADA. Id. USN gave two responses, one on April 27, 2009, which was a “curt,” two sentence response from Dr. Coffman. Id. Then on April 28, 2009, G. Benjamin Wills, Director of Human Resources, responded he could not find any Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) form or any previous request for accommodation from Plaintiff. Id. at 4. Plaintiff responded she was not requesting a leave of absence under the FMLA but a minor accommodation under the ADA, for brief absences during business hours for her medical needs. Id.

Mr. Wills rejected Plaintiffs accommodation request stating USN had already met their legal obligation to provide accommodation to Plaintiff. Id. Plaintiff responded that USN and Dr. Coffman singled her out and unfairly punished her because of her absence. Id. at 5. In a letter dated June 2, 2009, Mr. Wills informed Plaintiff that the “mere presence in an employee’s personnel file of documents from a supervisor formally informing the employee that he or she did something wrong” does not give rise to discrimination or retaliation. Id. On June 23, 2009, Mr. Wills sent another letter stating it was inappropriate, perhaps libelous, for Plaintiff to continue to assert that Dr. Coffman was engaging in unlawful discriminatory conduct. Id.

On August 31, 2009, Dr. Coffman ordered Plaintiff to complete a remediation plan after Plaintiffs students left adverse comments to her teaching practices. Id. Dr. Coffman stated the comments from the students could expose USN to charges of discrimination and sexual harassment. Id. In defense to the allegations, Plaintiff [1243]*1243claimed that she was merely teaching the students about sexual subjects concerning drug actions and drug-drug interactions that were pertinent to their education if they desired to be pharmacists. Id. at 8. Dr. Coffman reserved the right to subject Plaintiff to additional sanction up to and including termination if the remediation plan was not done right. Id.

After the adverse student reactions and the assignment of the remediation plan, Dr. Coffman banned Plaintiff from the campus until November 16, 2009. Id. On November 16, 2009, Plaintiff finished the remediation plan and submitted it to Dr. Coffman. Id. Dr. Coffman claimed the remediation plan was due by the end of business hours on November 13, 2009, and in a letter addressed November 16, 2009, terminated Plaintiffs employment. Id. at 9. The letter was sent on behalf of USN and was signed by Dr. Coffman. Id. On November 17, 2009, Plaintiff demanded payment for all money due to her under her employment contract. Id.

After obtaining a right to sue letter from the EEOC, Plaintiff filed her complaint (# 1) initiating this action on October 18, 2010. The Defendants moved to dismiss three of Plaintiffs thirteen claims for relief (#8). The eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth claims asserted are: (11) intentional interference with contractual relations against Dr. Coffman, (12) intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”) against USN, and (13) IIED against Dr. Coffman. Plaintiff filed an opposition (# 11), and Defendants filed a reply (# 13).

II. Legal Standard

Defendants seek dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a complaint must satisfy the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) notice pleading standard. See Mendiondo v. Centinela Hosp. Med. Ctr., 521 F.3d 1097, 1103 (9th Cir.2008). That is, a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). The Rule 8(a)(2) pleading standard does not require detailed factual allegations; however, a pleading that offers “ ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action’ ” will not suffice. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

Furthermore, Rule 8(a)(2) requires a complaint to “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Id. at 1949 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). A claim has facial plausibility when the pleaded factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference, based on the court’s judicial experience and common sense, that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. See id. at 1949-50.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
833 F. Supp. 2d 1240, 2011 WL 2491057, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67592, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/welder-v-university-of-southern-nevada-nvd-2011.