Robinson v. Fred Meyers Stores, Inc.
| Decision Date | 11 July 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-01-0353-PHX-ROS.,CV-01-0353-PHX-ROS. |
| Citation | 252 F.Supp.2d 905 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Arizona |
| Parties | Kerry L. ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. FRED MEYERS STORES, INC.; United Food & Commercial Workers Local Union 99, Defendants. |
Rosval Ardis Patterson, Patterson & Associates PC, Phoenix, AZ, for Plaintiff.
William Porter Allen, Gregg Jay Tucek, Sherman & Howard LLC, Phoenix, AZ, for Defendant.
AMENDED ORDER
Pending before the Court are Defendant Fred Meyers Stores, Inc.'s ("Fred Meyers") Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. # 15), Plaintiffs Request for Leave of Court to Amend Complaint (Doc. # 16), and Plaintiffs Motion to Continue Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc.# 19). For the reasons set forth below, the Court will: (1) grant Plaintiffs Request for Leave of Court to Amend Complaint; (2) deny as moot Plaintiffs Motion to Continue Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings; and (3) grant Fred Meyers' Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings.
Plaintiff Kerry Robinson was hired by Smitty's Super Value in December 1987. (Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") ¶ 18). Through a series of mergers with other companies, Robinson was ultimately employed by Fred Meyers as a cashier during the period in question. (SAC ¶ 18-22). Plaintiff was employed under, and subject to, the terms of a collective bargaining agreement ("Fred Meyers CBA") during her entire term of employment with the various companies, from December 1997 until her termination on November 5, 1999. (Id.¶ 22). The Fred Meyers CBA terms regarding substance abuse were effective during the period in question, which Plaintiff agrees governed her employment. (Id.)
On October 21, 1999, supervisory personnel at Fred Meyers summoned Plaintiff to the store security office and instructed her to go to a local medical center. (SAC 11124-25). It was explained to Plaintiff that she was being sent there for the purpose of providing the medical center staff with a urine sample for drug and alcohol testing. (Id.). Plaintiff objected to the test, asserting that it was unwarranted and in violation of her rights. (Id. ¶ 26). Plaintiff alleges that in the same meeting, Fred Meyers' managers "probed her personal beliefs, her attitudes toward her person, her bodily functions, and her right to privacy." (Id.). She eventually provided the necessary sample, which allegedly indicated drug use. (Id.1127-30). On November 5, 1999, Fred Meyers terminated Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 30, 42).
In her Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that she did not then and does not now take drugs. (SAC 133). She argues that decongestant medication could have accounted for the traces of amphetamines found in the sample. (Id.135). Furthermore, Plaintiff alleges that Fred Meyers' substance abuse policy differed from that of Smitty's and her other previous employers. (Id If 37). The terms of the previous policies purportedly called for a 30-day suspension for the same violation, with continued random drug testing of the violator upon reinstatement. (Id). Plaintiff also objects to the alleged protracted process of disclosure of the results of the drug test after her termination. (Id. 1131-32).
Plaintiff filed a grievance with the United Food & Commercial Workers Local Union 99 ("Union") for a wrongful discharge in violation of the Fred Myers CBA, and the Union responded to her grievance through its normal processes. (SAC 144). The pleadings do not indicate what was the outcome of the initial grievance process, but a subsequent communication from the Union suggests that her grievance was denied. . Plaintiff appealed that decision on October 2, 2000.
On December 15,2000, the Union's Executive Board declined to pursue Plaintiffs grievance to arbitration, and she then filed the instant action. (Id.).
On February 23, 2001, Plaintiff filed a Complaint (Doc. # 1) against Fred Meyers, alleging the following nine claims: (1) sex discrimination; (2) wrongful termination in violation of public policy; (3) breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (4) invasion of privacy; (5) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (6) a second count of intentional infliction of emotional distress; (7) breach of contract; (8) breach of duty of fanrepresentation; and (9) violation of due process. On March 26, 2001, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint (Doc. # 2) adding Union as a defendant.
Union filed an Answer (Doc. # 5) to Plaintiffs Amended Complaint on April 23,2001. Fred Meyers filed an Answer (Doc. # 6) to Plaintiff s Amended Complaint on April 27,2001. On July 25, 2001, Fred Meyers filed a Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings ("Rule 12(c) Motion") (Doc. # 15), seeking dismissal of all of Plaintiffs state law claims.
Plaintiff requested leave of Court to file a Second Amended Complaint on July 27, 2001.1 Fred Meyers filed a Response (Doc. # 18) on August 8,2001, opposing the filing, but requesting that its Rule 12(c) Motion be considered as directed toward the Second Amended Complaint should the Court grant Plaintiff leave to amend. (Resp. at 1).
On August 17, 2001, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Continue Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings ("Rule 56(f) Motion") (Doc. # 19)2 with an accompanying affidavit sworn by counsel for Plaintiff (Doc. # 20). Plaintiff sought the continuance of her time to respond to allow for discovery of the Fred Meyers CBA pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f). On September 4, 2001, Fred Meyers filed an Opposition (Doc. # 21) to Plaintiff s Rule 56(f) Motion alleging that no discovery was necessary because the motion could be resolved solely on the pleadings. (Opp'n at 1). On September 16,2001, Plaintiff filed a Reply (Doc. # 24), and after receiving a copy of the Fred Meyers CBA, she filed Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. #30).
Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a), Plaintiff filed a Request for Leave of Court to Amend Complaint ("Motion to Amend"), seeking to amend her Amended Complaint. A party may amend a complaint with the written consent of the adverse party or, in the alternative, by leave of the court. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). "Leave to amend shall be freely given when justice requires." Id. Fred Meyers does not oppose Plaintiffs filing of a second amended complaint so long as the Court will consider its Rule 12(c) Motion as directed at that complaint. (Def.'s Resp. at 1). Union did not respond to Plaintiffs Motion to Amend. Given Fred Meyers' conditional lack of opposition, Union's failure to respond,3 and the strong policy of deciding cases on their merits, see Martinez v. Newport Beach City, 125 F.3d 777, 785 (9th Cir.1997), the Court will grant Plaintiffs Motion to Amend. In addition, the Court will consider Fred Meyers' Rule 12(c) Motion as directed toward Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint.
On August 17, 2001, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Continue Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Motion for Partial Judgment on the Pleadings ("Rule 56(f) Motion"). In that motion, Plaintiff sought a continuance to provide time for discovery of the Fred Meyers CBA, arguing that it was indispensable to Plaintiffs ability to properly fashion a response to Fred Meyers' Rule 12(c) Motion. (Patterson Aff. ¶ 2-4). A copy of the actual Fred Meyers CBA was not provided to the Plaintiff at any time prior to the request for continuance. After Plaintiff filed her Rule 56(f) Motion, however, Fred Meyers provided a copy of the CBA to Plaintiff and notified the Court of its production (Doc. # 28). Plaintiff did not base her Rule 56(f) Motion on the need for any other documents or information, and she filed a Response (Doc. # 30) to Fred Meyers' 12(c) Motion once Fred Meyers produced the CBA. Thus, the Court will deny as moot Plaintiffs Rule 56(f) Motion.
On July 25, 2001, Fred Meyers filed its Rule 12(c) Motion. Assuming the truthfulness of all material facts alleged in Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint and drawing all reasonable inferences in Plaintiffs favor, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) and General Conference Corp. of Seventh-Day Adventists v. Seventh-Day Adventist Congregational Church, 887 F.2d 228, 230 (9th Cir.1989), the Court finds that Fred Meyers' Rule 12(c) Motion should be granted regarding Plaintiffs second through sixth causes of action. Plaintiffs first cause of action, a Title VII sex discrimination claim, and her "eighth" cause of action, a breach of the duty of fair representation claim, remain unaffected by Fred Meyers' Rule 12(c) Motion.4
In its Rule 12(c) Motion, Fred Meyers argues that Plaintiffs second through sixth causes of action are state law claims, preempted by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act ("Section 301"), 29 U.S.C. § 185.5 See Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985). However, Plaintiff correctly argues that a state law claim is only preempted by Section 301 where its resolution requires the interpretation of, as opposed to merely a reference to, a collective bargaining agreement. (PL's Resp. at 2) (citing Lingle v. Norge, 486 U.S. 399, 108 S.Ct. 1877, 100 L.Ed.2d 410 (1988)) (emphasis added).
In Cramer v. Consolidated Freightways Inc., 255 F.3d 683 (9th Cir.2001), the Ninth Circuit set forth the appropriate considerations for determining whether a state law claim interprets or merely refers to a collective bargaining agreement, which is dispositive of the preemption question.6 In Cramer, the...
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