Douglas v. Evans
| Decision Date | 12 May 1995 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 94-D-327-N. |
| Citation | 888 F. Supp. 1536 |
| Parties | Sandra DOUGLAS, Plaintiff, v. James H. EVANS, in his Individual Capacity as former Attorney General of Alabama; and Jeff Sessions, in his Official Capacity as present Attorney General of Alabama, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
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Ann K. Wiggins, Robert L. Wiggins, Jr., C. Paige Williams, Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs, Birmingham, AL, for plaintiff.
Robert D. Segall, Kenneth Lamar Thomas, Montgomery, AL, for defendants.
DE MENT, District Judge.
Presently before the court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, filed April 7, 1994. Plaintiff filed a response and supporting brief in opposition to Defendant's motion on May 3, 1994. A comprehensive and detailed analysis of the pleadings and applicable law compels the conclusion that Defendant's motion is due to be granted in part and denied in part.
Jurisdiction is proper, as Plaintiff alleges violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 2000e et seq. (hereinafter "Title VII"), the Equal Protection and Free Speech clauses of the United States Constitution as made applicable to the states by Amendment XIV, and 29 U.S.C. 621 et seq., the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (hereinafter "ADEA").2 Moreover, the court exercises supplemental jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367 as Plaintiff claims violations of Alabama statutory law. Personal jurisdiction and venue are not contested.
Plaintiff, Sandra Douglas, (hereinafter Ms. "Douglas" or the "Plaintiff") has served over thirteen years and under three Attorneys General during her tenure with the Alabama Attorney General's Office. Plaintiff has served with distinction as is evidenced by the evaluations she received during her employment. Douglas has, at all relevant times, served in the Attorney General's Utility section. Although she does not possess a law degree, Douglas claims that she has served as the Chief of that section for ten years and supervised attorneys who were assigned to the Consumer Utility Section.
In late 1991, the auditing staff of the Public Service Commission (hereinafter the "PSC") issued a show cause order inquiring as to the manner in which South Central Bell accounted for profits generated by its affiliate, Bell Advertising and Publishing Corporation (hereinafter "BAPCO") for several years. Allegedly, the audit substantiated the conclusion reached by Plaintiff that Alabama South Central Bell consumers were entitled to refund of possibly as much as forty million dollars ($40,000,000.00). After consulting with James Evans (hereinafter Mr. "Evans" or the "Defendant"), the Attorney General for the State of Alabama, regarding this concern, Defendant agreed to take the necessary action to resolve the matter.3 Accordingly, Douglas filed a notice on Defendant's behalf manifesting Defendant's intent to intervene in the action which was set for hearing in October, 1991. However, the hearing never took place as the PSC canceled the meeting unexpectedly.
In December, 1991, Douglas claims to have learned that South Central Bell and the PSC were clandestinely engaging in settlement negotiations regarding the BAPCO matter. Consequently, Plaintiff allegedly requested, and Evans granted her, permission to take all necessary actions to halt the covert discussions. However, Plaintiff never received the opportunity to place her plan into work because the PSC settled the case on January 16, 1992. Plaintiff believes that this settlement was not in good faith.
Douglas asked Defendant about appealing the PSC's order in late January, 1992. Two meetings were conducted in which discussions of the issue of whether Mr. Evans should appeal the PSC's order transpired. Following these meetings, Plaintiff believed that Defendant would not appeal from the PSC's order. Plaintiff claims that she then contacted Ronald W. Wise, Esq., who concluded that the BAPCO merited judicial review. Douglas then filed an action in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama.4
Within days after filing the aforementioned lawsuit, Deputy Attorney General Bill Mayer replaced Douglas as Director of Consumer Utility — a position Plaintiff had held, as aforesaid, for ten years. Plaintiff was allegedly told that if she did not accept a transfer to the Consumer Protection Division of the office, Defendant would abolish her position. However, Douglas allegedly refused to transfer voluntarily. Plaintiff contends that harassment ensued and has persisted since that day. Plaintiff avers that the harassment culminated in her transfer to the isolated surroundings of the Alabama Statehouse basement, where she is allegedly deprived of the congeniality associated with the professional rapport of her colleagues. The alleged harassment has also caused a purported deprivation of meaningful job assignments, ostracism by Mr. Evans, repayment of sick and annual leave before their accrual, loss of reserved parking space and loss of a personal computer at work. Douglas contends that the aforementioned acts are the fruits of retaliation for voicing her opinion on a matter of public concern.
Plaintiff claims that Deputy Attorney General Mayer vacated the Director of Consumer Utility position in January, 1993. However, she was not promoted to her former position despite her qualifications. Instead, Plaintiff contends, Anita Young was hired into the position. According to Douglas, Ms. Young is a newly licensed, younger, African-American, female attorney. In June, 1993, Plaintiff filed a charge of race and age discrimination against Defendant for failure to promote her to the newly vacated position in January, 1993. Douglas alleges that the filing of the EEOC charge lead to intensified retaliation.
On March 15, 1994, Plaintiff instituted the above-styled action. Douglas amended her complaint on May 3, 1995. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant's acts amount to violations of the following federal constitutional and statutory provisions: procedural and substantive due process, First Amendment right to engage in free political speech, equal protection clause of the United States Constitution, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 2000e et seq., Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Plaintiff also claims that Defendant violated §§ 32-26-10 and 36-26-23 of the Alabama Code because the alleged adverse employment decision was not predicated on merit and competition. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and prospective injunctive relief against Defendant in his official capacity and pecuniary damages against Defendant in his individual capacity. Subsequently, Defendant filed the pleading presently before the court contending that Amendment XI to the United States Constitution shields him from liability in his official capacity regarding Plaintiff's federal law claims. Evans claims that qualified immunity shields him from liability in his individual capacity in the context of Plaintiff's federal law claims. Also, Defendant avers that the federal claims asserted by Plaintiff require heightened pleading, and Plaintiff has failed to so plead. Moreover, Evans contends that the Alabama statutory provisions underlying Plaintiff's state law claims do not permit private rights of action and, even if the provisions permitted private rights of actions, the decision to reassign Plaintiff is within the discretion of the Attorney General. Therefore, according to Defendant, Douglas' complaint as amended is due to be dismissed in accordance with Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant may move to dismiss a complaint on the ground that the plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. A Rule 12(b)(6) motion questions the legal sufficiency of a complaint; therefore, in assessing the merit of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court must assume that all the factual allegations set forth in the complaint are true. See, e.g., United States v. Gaubert, 499 U.S. 315, 326-28, 111 S.Ct. 1267, 1276, 113 L.Ed.2d 335 (1991); Powell v. Lennon, 914 F.2d 1459, 1463 (11th Cir.1990). Moreover, all factual allegations are to be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See e.g., Sofarelli v. Pinellas County, 931 F.2d 718, 721 (11th Cir.1991), see also Brower v. County of Inyo, 489 U.S. 593, 598, 109 S.Ct. 1378, 1382, 103 L.Ed.2d 628 (1989).
The movant on motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause upon which relief may be granted "sustains a very high burden."5 Jackam v. Hospital Corporation of America Mideast, Ltd., 800 F.2d 1577, 1579 (11th Cir. 1986) (citing Currie v. Cayman Resources Corp., 595 F.Supp. 1364, 1376 (N.D.Ga.1984)). The United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held, "motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim should be denied unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of its claims." Jackam, 800 F.2d at 1579 (quoting Bracewell v. Nicholson Air Services, Inc., 680 F.2d 103, 104 (11th Cir.1982)), see also Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 2232, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984).
The obvious explanation for this heightened, and almost insurmountable, standard is that discovery usually discloses many facts that are not available absent an in depth search for the truth. At this stage, the court's function is not to accord weight or credibility to the pleadings heretofore filed. It is patently unfair to deprive a plaintiff of his or her day in court at this juncture because no discovery has been conducted. However, Defendant is not without reprieve to avoid preparing for an action that is not trial-worthy. Summary judgment has...
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Ross v. State of Ala., Civ. A. No. 95-D-622-S.
...altered its previous sentiments concerning heightened pleading and finds that it incorrectly stated the law in Douglas v. Evans, 888 F.Supp. 1536 (M.D.Ala.1995) (DeMent, J.) (finding that heightened pleading is not required in any § 1983 litigation). In reversing itself, the court stresses ......