Wonasue v. University of Maryland Alumni Ass'n

295 F.R.D. 104, 2013 WL 3009316, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83755
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJune 14, 2013
DocketNo. PWG-11-3657
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 295 F.R.D. 104 (Wonasue v. University of Maryland Alumni Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wonasue v. University of Maryland Alumni Ass'n, 295 F.R.D. 104, 2013 WL 3009316, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83755 (D. Md. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PAUL W. GRIMM, District Judge.

This Memorandum Opinion addresses Plaintiff Sylvia Wonasue’s Amended Motion for Leave to File First Amended Complaint, ECF No. 47; the Opposition that Defendants University of Maryland Alumni Association (“UMAA”) and Danita Nias filed, ECF No. 50, and Plaintiffs Reply, ECF No. 58.1 A [106]*106hearing is not necessary. See Loe. R. 105.6. For the reasons stated herein, Plaintiffs Amended Motion is DENIED.

I. BACKGROUND

According to Plaintiff, she was working as executive manager of UMAA when she began having complications with her pregnancy and requested reasonable accommodations and medical leave. Compl. ¶¶ 9, 17-28, ECF No. 1. Plaintiff claims that her supervisor, Ms. Nias, denied her requests, and she was constructively discharged from her position. Id. ¶¶ 21, 27. Thereafter, Plaintiff brought suit against UMAA and Ms. Nias, claiming, inter alia, disability discrimination, retaliation, and unlawful termination in violation of Md.Code Ann., State Gov’t § 20-602, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12112, and the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, as well as interference with her rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), 29 U.S.C. § 2615. Compl. 1-2. This Court dismissed all of Plaintiffs other claims, which alleged denial of due process rights and wrongful discharge. June 1, 2012 Order, ECF No. 10.

Plaintiff now seeks leave to amend. She wishes to add University of Maryland, College Park (“UMCP”) as a defendant on the basis that UMAA was a “shell corporation” of UMCP. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 11, 17, ECF No. 47-1. Plaintiff also seeks to add Janice McMillan, who “served as Director of Human Resources of the UMAA,” as a defendant and to allege that the individual defendants were agents of UMAA and/or UMCP. Id. ¶¶ 13 & 15-16. Plaintiffs amendment provides additional details about Plaintiffs alleged request for accommodations and Defendants’ alleged refusal to oblige. Id. ¶¶ 24-39. Plaintiff proposes to revise Count I, which alleged violation of the ADA, to include violation of “the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k),” and to add factual allegations to this Count. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 50-95. Similarly, as amended, Count IV would encompass not only the Rehabilitation Act, but also the ADA, Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3, and the FMLA. Am. Compl. ¶ 130. Additionally, Plaintiff now seeks an “award of front pay and benefits” or reinstatement “to a position and salary level which the Plaintiff would have had” if she had not been constructively discharged. Id. at 34.

Plaintiff also wishes to adds a new count in which she requests “Class Final Injunctive Relief and Declaratory Relief’ pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2). She states that “[t]he proposed class has approximately twenty-five (25) employees” who are “subject to the same unlawful policies and practices as described in the instant complaint.” Am. Compl. ¶¶ 147-48. Plaintiff alleges that her claims “are typical of the designated class” and that she is “an adequate representative to address the class claim.” Id. ¶¶ 150-51. According to Plaintiff, “numerous questions of law and fact [are] common to the class,” such as “[w]hether the unlawful policies and practices set forth in this Complaint took place as alleged”; whether UMAA and UMCP are “an Integrated and/or Joint Employer for some or all employment purposes”; and “[w]hether the class members are entitled to the relief as requested in this complaint.” Id. ¶ 149.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Whether to grant a motion for leave to amend is within this Court’s discretion. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962). Rule 15(a)(2) typically provides the standard for whether to grant a motion for leave to amend that a plaintiff files more than twenty-one days after defendants file a responsive pleading or motion to dismiss. See id.; Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). However, when the plaintiff moves to amend after the deadline established in the scheduling order for doing so, Rule 16(b)(4) becomes the starting point in the Court’s analysis. CBX Techs., Inc. v. GCC Techs., LLC, No. JKB-10-2112, 2012 WL 3038639, at *3 (D.Md. July 24, 2012). Thus, “once the scheduling order’s deadline for amendment of the pleadings has passed, a moving party first must satisfy the good cause standard of Rule 16(b); if the moving party satisfies Rule 16(b), the movant then [107]*107must pass the tests for amendment under [Rule] 15(a).’ ” Id. (quoting Odyssey Travel Ctr., Inc. v. RO Cruises, Inc., 262 F.Supp.2d 618, 631 (D.Md.2003)); see Nourison Rug Corp. v. Parvizian, 535 F.3d 295, 298 (4th Cir.2008).

“ ‘ “[G]ood cause” means that scheduling deadlines cannot be met despite a party’s diligent efforts.’ ... Carelessness is not compatible with a finding of diligence and offers no reason for a grant of relief.” CBX Techs., Inc., 2012 WL 3038639, at *4 (quoting Potomac Elec. Power Co. v. Elec. Motor Supply, Inc., 190 F.R.D. 372, 375 (D.Md.1999) (citation omitted)). The Court focuses “less ... on the substance of the proposed amendment and more ... [on] the timeliness of the motion to amend ‘and the reasons for its tardy submission.’ ” Id. (quoting Rassoull v. Maximus, Inc., 209 F.R.D. 372, 373-74 (D.Md.2002)). This is because “[a] court’s scheduling order ‘is not a frivolous piece of paper, idly entered, which can be cavalierly disregarded by counsel without peril.’ ” Id. (quoting Potomac Elec. Power Co., 190 F.R.D. at 376 (citation and quotation marks omitted)). Specifically, the Court considers whether the moving party acted in good faith, the length of the delay and its effects, and whether the delay will prejudice the non-moving party. Tawwaab v. Va. Linen Serv., Inc., 729 F.Supp.2d 757, 768-69 (D.Md.2010). When “at least some of the evidence needed for a plaintiff to prove his or her claim did not come to light until after the amendment deadline,” a plaintiff has “good cause” for moving to amend at a later date. Id. at 768; see In re Lone Star Indus., Inc. Concrete R.R. Cross Ties Litig., 19 F.3d 1429, 1994 WL 118475, at *11 (4th Cir. Apr. 7, 1994) (concluding that district court abused its discretion when it denied motion to amend to add a new claim after deadline set in scheduling order had passed).

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295 F.R.D. 104, 2013 WL 3009316, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83755, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wonasue-v-university-of-maryland-alumni-assn-mdd-2013.