Wright v. New Jersey/Department of Education

115 F. Supp. 3d 490, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91043, 2015 WL 4314268
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedJuly 14, 2015
DocketCivil No. 14-08002 (JBS/AMD)
StatusPublished
Cited by56 cases

This text of 115 F. Supp. 3d 490 (Wright v. New Jersey/Department of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wright v. New Jersey/Department of Education, 115 F. Supp. 3d 490, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91043, 2015 WL 4314268 (D.N.J. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

SIMANDLE, Chief Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court on the motion of Defendants the New Jersey Department of Education and Peter Shul-man (“Department of Education” and “Shulman”) to dismiss [Docket Item 6] Plaintiff Anthony Wright’s Complaint alleging gender, race, and age discrimination [Docket Item 1]. Plaintiff, an employee at the Department of Education, was passed over for a promotion and brought suit against the Department of Education and Shulman, who is sued in his official and-individual capacity, asserting gender and race discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 (“Title VII”), and an age discrimination claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 623.

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and 12(b)(1), Defendants filed a motion to dismiss all claims against Shulman and the ADEA claim against the Depai'tment of Education. (Def. Br. [Docket Item 6].) In response to the motion, Plaintiff withdrew the Title VII claims against Shulman (Counts One and Two) but opposed the Defendants’ motion with respect to the ADEA claim (Count Three) against both Shulman and the Department of Education. (PI. Opp’n [Docket Item 8].)

The dispute in this case therefore revolves around the ADEA claim in Count Three. The primary questions that need to be resolved are whether Plaintiffs ADEA claim against the Department of Education is barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity, and whether Plaintiffs ADEA claim may proceed against Shulman in either his official or individual capacity.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are drawn from the complaint and are accepted as true for the purposes of this motion.

Plaintiff Anthony Wright, an African American male over the age of forty, has been employed by the Department of Education for approximately ten years. On June 11, 2012, he applied for a more senior level position within the department, alleging that he “exceeded the qualifications for the position.” (Compl. ¶ 7-8.) Out of seventy applicants, forty-three of whom met the minimum educational requirement, Plaintiff was chosen for an interview along with two other candidates. (Id. at ¶ 10.)

Shulman was the Assistant Commissioner and Chief Talent Officer for the De[493]*493partment of Education and was a “close personal friend” of Katherine Westerhold, the Chairperson of the interview panel who conducted the interviews for the position. (Id. at ¶¶ 6,12.) The. Department of Education had developed a set of procedural guidelines for the interviewing process to ensure equal opportunity in employment and prevent discrimination. (Id. at ¶¶ 13-14.) Plaintiff alleges that the procedures were not followed when Shul-man, charged with making the ultimate hiring decision, passed over Plaintiff for the promotion and granted the position to Mamie Doyle, a Caucasian female in her late twenties. (Id. at ¶¶ 15-16.) Shulman suggested that Plaintiff split his time as-' sisting Doyle in her new position' while also working in his current position. (Id. at ¶ 17.) Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights on or about September 19, 2012, alleging gender and race discrimination under Title VII and age discrimination under the ADEA. (Id. at ¶ 19.) The charge read that within the Department-of Education, “there is no presence of minorities; .... There has been a long-standing history and established practice of hiring inexperienced and nonqualified individuals to serve in these roles____” (Id. at ¶ 20.) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission handled the complaint pursuant .to a worksharing agreement with the Division of Civil Rights and notified Plaintiff of his right to sue. (Id. at ¶ 21-22.)

III. LEGAL STANDARD

A motion to dismiss under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) may be granted only if, accepting all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true and viewing them in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, a court'concludes that Plaintiff failed to set forth sufficient facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); Fleisher v. Standard Ins. Co., 679 F.3d 116, 120 (3d Cir.2012). “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). However, legal conclusions are not entitled to the same assumption of truth, and “[a] pleading that offers labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Id. To determine if a complaint meets the pleading standard, the Court must strip away con-elusory statements and “look for well-pled factual allegations, assume their. veracity, and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement of relief.” Bistrian v. Levi 696 F.3d 352, 365 (3d Cir.2012) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A motion to dismiss under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) must be granted if the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear a claim. In re Schering Plough Corp. Intron/Temodar Consumer Class Action, 678 F.3d 235, 243 (3d Cir.2012). When a defendant files a motion under Rule 12(b)(1), the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction for the sake of remaining in federal court. Gould Elec., Inc. v. United States, 220 F.3d 169, 178 (3d Cir.2000).1

[494]*494IV. DISCUSSION

1. ADEA claim against the Board of Education !

Several issues in this case are dependent upon the scope of the state sovereign immunity doctrine.' The ’Eleventh Amendment states that “[t]he Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.” U.S".1 Const. amend. XI. State sovereign immunity is a jurisdictional bar which deprives federal courts of subject matter jurisdiction. Kimel v. Florida Bd. of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 73,120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522-(2000). Under the Eleventh Amendment, an unconsenting state or state official is immune from suit brought in federal court by citizens 'of that state or citizens of another state. Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v.

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Bluebook (online)
115 F. Supp. 3d 490, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91043, 2015 WL 4314268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-new-jerseydepartment-of-education-njd-2015.