Boney v. Trs. of Cape Fear Cmty. Coll.

• Decision Date: 05 March 2019
• Docket Number: No. 7:18-CV-142-D,7:18-CV-142-D
• Citation: 366 F.Supp.3d 756
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
• Parties: Linda K. BONEY, Plaintiff, v. The TRUSTEES OF CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Defendant.

366 F.Supp.3d 756

Linda K. BONEY, Plaintiff,

v.The TRUSTEES OF CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Defendant.

No. 7:18-CV-142-D

United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Southern Division.

Signed March 5, 2019

Laura Beth Waller, Pierce Law Group, Raleigh, NC, for Plaintiff.

Sean T. Partrick, Yates, McLamb & Weyher, LLP, Raleigh, NC, for Defendant.

ORDER

JAMES C. DEVER III, United States District Judge

On August 6, 2018, Linda K. Boney ("Boney" or "plaintiff") filed a complaint against Cape Fear Community College Foundation, Inc. [D.E. 1]. On August 22, 2018, Boney filed an amended complaint against Cape Fear Community College [D.E. 6].¹ On September 12, 2018, Boney filed a second amended complaint [D.E. 11] against the Trustees of Cape Fear Community College ("Cape Fear" or "defendant"), alleging age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 etseq. ("ADEA"), sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e etseq. ("Title VII"), and retaliatory discharge in violation of Title VII.² On November 12, 2018, Cape Fear moved to dismiss Boney's second amended complaint for failure to state a claim [D.E. 16] and filed a memorandum in support [D.E. 17]. On the same day, Cape Fear answered the complaint [D.E. 18], filed an amended motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim [D.E. 19], and filed a supporting memorandum [D.E. 20]. On November 26, 2018, Boney responded in opposition [D.E. 22]. On December 9, 2018, Cape Fear replied [D.E. 23]. As explained below, the court grants Cape Fear's amended motion to dismiss.

I.

Boney began working at Cape Fear Community College, a community college in Wilmington, North Carolina, in August 2001. See 2d Am. Compl. [D.E. 11] ¶¶ 9, 13. Boney started as a database technician. See id. ¶ 14. After receiving satisfactory performance reviews in that role, Cape Fear promoted Boney to helpdesk coordinator of IT services in 2003. See id. ¶ 15. In 2012, Boney became desktop support manager of IT services, and from 2013 until 2017, Boney worked for the Vice President of Cape Fear's IT department. See id. ¶¶ 16–17: Boney received satisfactory performance evaluations in all of these roles. See id. ¶¶ 13–17, 19.

In August 2017, Cape Fear hired Kumar Lakhavani ("Lakhavani") as the Director of IT Services. See id. ¶ 18. From the outset, Lakhavani criticized Boney's work performance. See id. ¶¶ 20–25. Specifically, Lakhavani criticized Boney's management of daily operations and projects, ability to meet deadlines, and communication skills. See id. ¶ 21. On separate occasions, Boney made suggestions concerning the department's hiring and computing equipment decisions. See id. ¶¶ 23–24. Lakhavani rejected Boney's suggestions, but when Robert Carter ("Carter"), a younger male employee, made the same suggestions, Lakhavani praised Carter. See id. ¶¶ 22–24. On one occasion, Boney asked to work from home so that she could have her roof repaired. See id. ¶ 25. Although Lakhavani stated that he would accommodate working remotely for family issues, Lakhavani did not think that allowing repairmen into one's home was a sufficient reason to work remotely. See id. Thus, he denied the request. See id. After Boney used vacation time to stay home, Lakhavani changed the policies to stop allowing employees to work remotely. See id.

On November 30, 2017, Boney spoke with the Executive Director of Human Resources, Sharon Smith ("Smith"), about her conflicts with Lakhavani. See id. ¶ 26. Boney told Smith that she believed that Lakhavani treated her differently due to her age and sex, and Boney opined that he treated younger male employees differently. See id. Smith responded that Lakhavani's supervisor, Melissa Singler ("Singler"), would not tolerate discriminatory behavior. See id. ¶ 27.

On December 6, 2017, Human Resources convened a meeting with Smith, Lakhavani, and Boney. See id. ¶ 28. At the meeting, Boney received a written formal warning. See id.; [D.E. 11-2]. The warning stated that Boney's performance was below expectations in understanding projects, meeting deadlines, communication skills, e-mail etiquette, attention to detail, and giving clear directions to subordinates. See [D.E. 11-2]. The warning provided specific instructions for Boney to follow to improve her performance. See id. Lakhavani also made additional comments, which indicated his belief that Boney could improve her performance in light of her sixteen years of employment at Cape Fear. See id. Lakhavani stated that he would "make [himself] available to clarify any assignments or projects" because he desired to "help [Boney] succeed in [her] job." Id. However, the warning also stated that, if Boney continued to perform below expectations, further action—including possible termination—would be taken. See id.

After this meeting, Lakhavani met with Boney weekly. See 2d Am. Compl. [D.E. 11] ¶ 29. Boney had to provide regular updates on all assignments to Lakhavani. See id. Lakhavani documented each instance in which he was not satisfied with Boney's performance. See id. Boney also took an e-mail etiquette course to improve her communications skills. See id. ¶ 30.

In early February 2018, Lakhavani asked Boney to obtain a quote for a piece of equipment valued at approximately $ 10,000. See id. ¶ 31. Because of her experience, Boney believed that the budgetary process for such a large purchase would require a hearing, and the next hearing was scheduled for April 2018. See id. Thus, Boney did not believe that the request was time-sensitive. See id. ¶ 32. A week later, Lakhavani requested an update. See id. Boney responded that she did not realize the urgency of the assignment and had not obtained the price quote. See id. Lakhavani responded that he thought Boney's behavior was insubordinate because Boney had not yet obtained the quote. See id.

Because of Boney's deteriorating relationship with Lakhavani, Boney feared that Lakhavani would soon fire her. See id. ¶ 33. If fired, Boney believed that she would lose her state retirement benefits, including health care and a pension. See id. Consequently, on February 8, 2018, Boney retired. See id. ¶ 34. Carter replaced Boney. See id. ¶ 40.

II.

A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) tests the complaint's legal and factual sufficiency. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677–80, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 554–63, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ; Coleman v. Md. Court of Appeals, 626 F.3d 187, 190 (4th Cir. 2010), affd, 566 U.S. 30, 132 S.Ct. 1327, 182 L.Ed.2d 296 (2012) ; Giarratano v. Johnson, 521 F.3d 298, 302 (4th Cir. 2008). To withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a pleading "must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quotation omitted); see Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ; Giarratano, 521 F.3d at 302. In considering the motion, the court must construe the facts and reasonable inferences "in the light most favorable to the [nonmoving party]." Massey v. Ojaniit, 759 F.3d 343, 352 (4th Cir. 2014) (quotation omitted); see Clatterbuck v. City of Charlottesville, 708 F.3d 549, 557 (4th Cir. 2013), abrogated on other grounds by Reed v. Town of Gilbert, ––– U.S. ––––, 135 S.Ct. 2218, 192 L.Ed.2d 236 (2015). A court need not accept as true a complaint's legal conclusions, "unwarranted inferences, unreasonable conclusions, or arguments." Giarratano, 521 F.3d at 302 (quotation omitted); see Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678–79, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Rather, a plaintiff's factual allegations must "nudge[ ] [her] claims," Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, beyond the realm of "mere possibility" into "plausibility." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678–79, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

When evaluating a motion to dismiss, a court considers the pleadings and any materials "attached or incorporated into the complaint." E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Kolon Indus., Inc., 637 F.3d 435, 448 (4th Cir. 2011) ; see Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(c) ; Goines v. Valley Cmty. Servs. Bd., 822 F.3d 159, 165–66 (4th Cir. 2016) ; Thompson v. Greene, 427 F.3d 263, 268 (4th Cir. 2005). A court also may consider a document submitted by a moving party if it is "integral to the complaint and there is no dispute about the document's authenticity" without converting the motion into one for summary judgment. Goines, 822 F.3d at 166. Additionally, a court may take judicial notice of public records when evaluating a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. See, e.g., Fed. R. Evid. 201 ; Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007) ; Philips v. Pitt Cty. Mem'l Hosp., 572 F.3d 176, 180 (4th Cir. 2009).

A.

As for Cape Fear's initial motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the motion concerns only Boney's ADEA claim. See [D.E. 16] 1. On November 12, 2018, Cape Fear filed both the amended motion to dismiss [D.E. 19] and the initial motion to dismiss [D.E. 16]. The amended motion addresses Boney's ADEA claim and Title VII sex discrimination claim. See [D.E. 19] 1. Because Cape Fear's initial motion does not address anything that its amended motion does not also address, the court denies as moot Cape Fear's initial motion to dismiss.

B.

Boney alleges an ADEA claim based on a constructive discharge theory.

See 2d Am. Compl. [D.E. 11] ¶¶ 35–42. In relevant part, the ADEA forbids employers to "fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's age." 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1). Boney lacks direct evidence of age discrimination and proceeds under the burden shifting-framework of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). See Mereish v....