Coghlan v. Peters, Civil Action No. 05-1476(PLF).

• Decision Date: 28 May 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 05-1476(PLF).
• Citation: 555 F.Supp.2d 187
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia
• Parties: Malachy COGHLAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Mary E. PETERS, Secretary, United States Department of Transportation,<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> Defendant.

555 F.Supp.2d 187

Malachy COGHLAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Mary E. PETERS, Secretary, United States Department of Transportation,¹ Defendant.

Civil Action No. 05-1476(PLF).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

May 28, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Barbara Jean Kraft, Kraft Eisenmann Alden, PLLC, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

William Mark Nebeker, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

OPINION

PAUL L. FRIEDMAN, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on defendant's renewed motion to dismiss the amended complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, respectively, or, in the alternative, for summary judgment.² On March 31 2008, 2008 WL 906845, this Court issued an Order and Judgment granting defendant's motion, and noting that an Opinion explaining the Court's reasoning would follow. The Court now sets forth its reasoning.

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE

This is a dispute about the employee compensation policies of the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency within the United States Department of. Transportation. Plaintiffs Malachy Coghlan and Timothy O'Hara bring suit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. ("ADEA"), on behalf of themselves and similarly situated FAA employees. They allege that the FAA's pay practices discriminate against employees who, like themselves, are more than 40 years of age and earn the maximum salary possible for their respective positions. See Pis.' Opp. at 3-4; see also Am. Compl. ¶¶ 29-31.

Mr. Coghlan filed suit in this Court on July 27, 2005. The original complaint asserted ADEA claims on behalf of Mr. Coghlan and all similarly situated FAA employees based on allegedly discriminatory pay setting decisions the FAA made in 2004. An amended complaint was filed on December 20, 2005. The amended complaint added Mr. O'Hara as a class representative and asserted claims on behalf of all similarly situated FAA employees based on allegedly discriminatory pay setting decisions the FAA made in 2005.

On January 23, 2006, defendant moved to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. On March 29, 2007, this Court issued an Order denying defendant's motion. On May 29, 2007, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 2162, 167 L.Ed.2d 982 (2007). Because that decision addressed the timeliness of administrative complaints of pay discrimination — an issue crucial to this case — the Court vacated its Order denying defendant's motion, and ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefs addressing "whether, in view of the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter, plaintiffs' ADEA pay discrimination claim is untimely." Coghlan v. Peters, Civil Action No. 05-1476, Order Vacating March 29, 2007 Order (D.D.C. May 30, 2007). The parties filed those briefs, the Court decided the matter by Order of March 31, 2008, and the Court now explains that decision.

II. GOVERNING LAW

"The ADEA broadly bars age discrimination in employment. And it provides a federal government employee two alternative avenues to judicial redress." Rann v. Chao, 346 F.3d 192, 195 (D.C.Cir.2003), cert, denied, 543 U.S. 809, 125 S.Ct. 35, 160 L.Ed.2d 11 (2004). First, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. §§ 633a(c) and 633a(d), an employee may bring his claim directly to federal court "so long as, within 180 days of the allegedly discriminatory act, he provides the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] with notice of his intent to sue at least 30 days before commencing suit." Id. Second, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. §§ 633a(b) and 633a(c), an employee may choose to pursue his claims administratively in the first instance and then file suit in federal court if he is dissatisfied with the results of the administrative process. See id.; see also Stevens v. Dep't of Treasury, 500 U.S. 1, 5-6, 111 S.Ct. 1562, 114 L.Ed.2d 1 (1991).

Employees who choose the latter route must "consult [an EEO] Counselor prior to filing a [formal administrative] complaint in order to try to informally resolve the matter." 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a). This initial contact must be made "within 45 days of the date of the matter alleged to be discriminatory or, in the case of personnel action, within 45 days of the effective date of the action." 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1). "As a general rule, discrimination claims alleging conduct that occurred more than 45 days prior to the initiation of administrative action are time-barred in a subsequent action." Velikonja v. Ashcroft, 355 F.Supp.2d 197, 204 (D.D.C. 2005). Mr. Coghlan and Mr. O'Hara chose to pursue their administrative remedies in the first instance. As a result — and as they acknowledge — they were required timely to pursue their administrative remedies with respect to all the claims they seek to pursue here and to exhaust those remedies before coming to court. See Pis.' Opp. at 14-16.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Rule 12(b)(1), Rule 12(b)(6), or Rule 56?

Defendant seeks dismissal of the amended complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the alternative, summary judgment. See Def.'s Mot. at 1. Thus, at the outset, the Court must address how to treat defendant's motion and identify the applicable standard of review.

As an initial matter, the Court concludes that it would be inappropriate to treat defendant's motion as a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1). It remains unclear in this Circuit whether or not the ADEA's administrative exhaustion requirements are jurisdictional. See Rann v. Chao, 346 F.3d at 194-95. In light of that uncertainty, this Court will give plaintiffs the benefit of the doubt and assume that the exhaustion requirement is not jurisdictional. See Woodruff v. Peters, Civil Action No. 05-2071, 2007 WL 1378486, at *5 (D.D.C. May 9, 2007). Accordingly, the Court will not regard defendant's exhaustion argument as an attack on this Court's subject matter jurisdiction.³

Nor will the Court address defendant's motion as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). That course would be inappropriate here because both parties refer to and rely on matters outside the pleadings, and when "matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court [on a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) ], the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56." FED.R.CW.P. 12(d). Therefore, as both parties have had an adequate opportunity to present all materials pertinent to summary judgment, see FED.R.CIV.P. 12(d), the Court will consider those "matters outside the pleadings" on which the parties rely, and treat defendant's motion as a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56.

B. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment may be granted only if "the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits [or declarations] show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(C); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Holcomb v. Powell, 433 F.3d 889, 895 (D.C.Cir.2006). "A fact is `material' if a dispute over it might affect the outcome of a suit under the governing law; factual disputes that are 'irrelevant or unnecessary' do not affect the summary judgment determination." Holcomb v. Powell 433 F.3d at 895 (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505). An issue is "genuine" if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Holcomb v. Powell, 433 F.3d at 895. When a motion for summary judgment is under consideration, "the evidence of the non-movant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in [his] favor." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also Mastro v. Potomac Electric Power Co., 447 F.3d 843, 849-50 (D.C.Cir.2006); Aka v. Washington Hospital Center, 156 F.3d 1284, 1288 (D.C.Cir.1998) (en banc); Washington Post Co. v. Dep't of Health and Human Services, 865 F.2d 320, 325 (D.C.Cir.1989). On a motion for summary judgment, the Court must "eschew making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence." Czekalski v. Peters, 475 F.3d 360, 363 (D.C.Cir.2007).

The non-moving party's opposition, however, must consist of more than mere unsupported allegations or denials and must be supported by affidavits, declarations or other competent evidence setting forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. See FED.R.CIV.P. 56(e)(2); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The non-moving party is "required to provide evidence that would permit a reasonable jury to find" in his favor. Laningham v. U.S. Navy, 813 F.2d 1236, 1242 (D.C.Cir.1987). If the evidence is "merely colorable" or "not significantly probative," summary judgment may be granted. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see Scott v. Harris, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 1776, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) ("[W]here the record taken as a whole could not lead, a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, `there is no genuine issue for trial.'") (quoting Matsushita Electric Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). To defeat summary judgment, a plaintiff must produce more than "a scintilla of evidence to support his claims." Freedman v. MCI Telecommunications Corp., 255 F.3d 840, 845 (D.C.Cir.2001).

IV. THE CORE COMPENSATION SYSTEM AND PLAINTIFFS' CLAIMS

Beginning in 2000, the FAA gradually "converted" most (but not...