Dumas v. Hurley Med. Ctr.

• Decision Date: 26 July 2011
• Docket Number: Case No. 10–12661.
• Citation: 837 F.Supp.2d 655
• Parties: Lowana Shanell DUMAS, Plaintiff, v. HURLEY MEDICAL CENTER, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

837 F.Supp.2d 655

Lowana Shanell DUMAS, Plaintiff,

v.HURLEY MEDICAL CENTER, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 10–12661.

United States District Court,

E.D. Michigan,

Southern Division.

July 26, 2011.

Lowana Shanell Dumas, Flint, MI, pro se.

Joan N. Pierson, Sean M. Siebigteroth, Williams Firm, Grand Blanc, MI, Thomas L. Kent, City of Flint Department of Law, Flint, MI, Richard G. Mack, Miller, Cohen, Detroit, MI, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS

ROBERT H. CLELAND, District Judge.

On July 6, 2010, Plaintiff Lowana Shanell Dumas initiated the above-captioned case by filing a complaint against Defendant City of Flint, Defendants AFSCME Council 25, AFSCME Local 1603, Deloris Lots, and Patricia Ramirez (collectively “AFSCME”), and Defendant Hurley Medical Center, together with the remaining individual Defendants (collectively “Hurley”). The complaint contained eighty-nine counts against eighteen Defendants. On February 4, 2011, Plaintiff filed her first amended complaint. Following further motions, a second amended complaint was filed on May 5, 2011, consisting of ten counts. Pending before the court are three motions to dismiss filed by Flint, Hurley, and AFSCME. Plaintiff responded on June 20, 2011,¹ and no replies have been filed. Having reviewed the motion and supporting briefs, the court concludes that a hearing is not necessary. E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(f)(2). For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motions will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

For the purpose of Defendants' motions to dismiss, the allegations in Plaintiff's second amended complaint will be accepted as true. Plaintiff's statement of fact indicates that she had been an employee of Hurley, and this case arises out of certain events relating to her employment and eventual termination. Beginning in August 2007, Plaintiff began working at Hurley Medical Center as a laboratory clerk under the supervision of Deloney. Plaintiff informed Deloney prior to beginning work that she suffered physical and mental disabilities, and Deloney assured Plaintiff that reasonable accommodations would be made. Upon beginning employment, Plaintiff became covered by a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between Hurley and AFSCME. Hurley also provided her with information about the retirement benefits available to her as an employee of Hurley through the City of Flint's employee retirement system.

Problems soon began to arise between Plaintiff and other laboratory clerks, the individual nonsupervisory Hurley Defendants. These coworkers apparently harbored racial animus toward Plaintiff, as well as finding Plaintiff's personality, physical appearance, and cultural affinities objectionable. They repeatedly referred to Plaintiff in a derogatory manner, physically harassed Plaintiff by intentionally bumping into her, and falsely accused her of misconduct or incompetence to the laboratory supervisor. Although Deloney initially supported Plaintiff against these attacks, she eventually joined in their harassment. Whether intentionally or otherwise, Deloney revealed confidential medical information regarding Plaintiff's disabilities to her coworkers, which resulted in increasing their abuse of Plaintiff. After that point, Plaintiff's continuing complaints were ignored and met with increasing hostility.

Seeing no response from her immediate supervisor, Plaintiff approached her union representatives to discuss filing a grievance. The AFSCME representative, Thompson, refused or failed to initiate the established grievance procedure. Thereafter, Plaintiff approached Parker to file an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) complaint. Although Parker indicated that previous investigations had been conducted for similar allegations against the laboratory clerks and supervisors, no action was taken beyond the filing of a complaint.

After Plaintiff's complaint, Deloney retaliated by changing Plaintiff's work schedule and duties. Deloney further altered policies in contradictory ways in order to aggravate Plaintiff's mental disabilities. Upon the request of one of Plaintiff's coworkers, Marsh, Deloney rescheduled Plaintiff's work hours in violation of the CBA. However, AFSCME refused to take appropriate action despite Plaintiff's continued requests to initiate the grievance procedure. As a result of the foregoing, Plaintiff received three disciplinary reports, two suspensions, and one termination on November 30, 2007. The disciplinary reports purported to be issued on different dates, with repeated failures to comply with Hurley policies. A letter terminating Plaintiff's employment with Hurley followed on December 19, 2007.

II. STANDARD

When ruling on a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the court must construe the complaint in a light most favorable to the plaintiff and accept all the factual allegations as true. Tackett v. M & G Polymers, USA, LLC, 561 F.3d 478, 488 (6th Cir.2009) (citing Gunasekera v. Irwin, 551 F.3d 461, 466 (6th Cir.2009)). In doing so, “the court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff.” Directv, Inc. v. Treesh, 487 F.3d 471, 476 (6th Cir.2007). Yet, the court “need not accept as true legal conclusions or unwarranted factual inferences.” Id. (quoting Gregory v. Shelby Cnty., 220 F.3d 433, 446 (6th Cir.2000)). Although a heightened fact pleading of specifics is not required, “[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Twombly held that a “showing that the pleader is entitled to relief” requires the allegation of sufficient facts “to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of [illegal conduct].” 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In so stating, the Court spoke in terms of “plausibility,” rather than mere “conceivability.” Id.

Though decidedly generous, this standard of review does require more than the bare assertion of legal conclusions. “[A] plaintiff's obligation to provide the ‘grounds' of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of a cause of action's elements will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)). Further, the complaint must “give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)abrogated on other grounds by Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In application, a “complaint must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory.” Eidson v. State of Tenn. Dep't of Children's Servs., 510 F.3d 631, 634 (6th Cir.2007) (citation omitted). Therefore, “to survive a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must allege facts that, if accepted as true, are sufficient to raise a right to relief above the speculative level and to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Hensley Mfg. v. ProPride, Inc., 579 F.3d 603, 609 (6th Cir.2009) (citations and internal quotation omitted). Despite these requirements, a court cannot grant a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) based upon its disbelief of a complaint's well-pled factual allegations. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e) allows for the filing of a motion for a more definite statement, and gives the district court the discretion to grant such motion if the pleading complained of “is so vague or ambiguous that the party cannot reasonably prepare a response.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(e). “Polishing the pleadings by means of motion practice is rarely worth the effort.” Compuware Corp. v. International Business Machines, 259 F.Supp.2d 597, 600 (E.D.Mich.2002) (quoting 5 Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1218, at 185 (1990)). “Any evidentiary detail a defendant may require is more properly the subject of discovery.” Id. (citing Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Assoc., 26 F.Supp.2d 1001, 1009 (W.D.Mich.1998)).

III. DISCUSSION

Defendants move to have Plaintiff's second amended complaint dismissed in its entirety, asserting that it fails to comport with the court's previous orders and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This argument overreaches. Although the complaint contains some untenable claims and is not as artfully crafted as most complaints drafted by attorneys, it presents a short and concise statement of Plaintiff's claims. It is well established that pro se “pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than those prepared by an attorney.” Urbina v. Thoms, 270 F.3d 292, 295 (6th Cir.2001) (citing Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 92 S.Ct. 1079, 31 L.Ed.2d 263 (1972) and Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972)). Therefore, the court will consider each count of the complaint.

A. Count 1

Plaintiff's first count alleges that “Hurley Medical Center and Local 1603 failed to honor terms and conditions set forth [in the CBA], including the grievance procedure and the progressive discipline procedure.” (Pl. 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 59.) This presents an adequately pleaded hybrid § 301 claim against Hurley and AFSCME.

A hybrid § 301 suit implicates the interrelationship among a union member, his union, and his employer. White v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc., 899 F.2d 555, 561 (6th Cir.1990). Under § 301, jurisdiction exists when a union member alleges a breach of a collective bargaining agreement:

Suits for violation of contracts between an employer and a labor organization representing employees in an industry affecting commerce ......