Hall v. St. Mary's Seminary & University, Civil No. L-08-3281.

• Decision Date: 16 April 2009
• Docket Number: Civil No. L-08-3281.
• Citation: 608 F.Supp.2d 679
• Parties: L. HALL, Plaintiff, v. ST. MARY'S SEMINARY & UNIVERSITY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

608 F.Supp.2d 679

L. HALL, Plaintiff, v. ST. MARY'S SEMINARY & UNIVERSITY, Defendant.

Civil No. L-08-3281.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

April 16, 2009.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Leslie R. Stellman, Hodes Pessin and Katz PA, Towson, MD, for Plaintiff.

David G. Sommer, Steven G. Metzger, Gallagher Evelius and Jones LLP, Baltimore, MD, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM

BENSON EVERETT LEGG, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff L. Hall ("Ms. Hall") has brought this action alleging discrimination pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq., ("Section 504"), Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., ("ADA"), and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. ("Title IX"). Ms. Hall's Complaint also charges Defendant St. Mary's Seminary & University ("St. Mary's") with breach of contract under Maryland law. Now pending is St. Mary's Motion to Dismiss or, in the alternative, for Summary Judgment. Docket No. 9. The Court has reviewed the papers thoroughly and deems oral hearing unnecessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the following reasons, the Court will GRANT Defendant's Motion to Dismiss.

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Factual Background

This action originates in events that occurred while Ms. Hall was enrolled as a student at St. Mary's. Ms. Hall matriculated in September 2001 in pursuit of a Master of Arts in Theology and Certificate in Religious Education. Because St. Mary's is a recipient of federal funds, it is subject to the strictures of various federal laws, including Section 504 and Title IX.¹ In her Amended Complaint, Ms. Hall charges that St. Mary's denied her request for reasonable accommodations, "including, but not limited to those both explicitly and implicitly enumerated in Saint Mary's Seminary & University/Ecumenical Institute's Academic Catalog and Student Handbook as well as provided under the law." Docket No. 7 ¶ 5. Ms. Hall selfidentifies as an "otherwise qualified individual with a disability" under Section 504, but fails to specify the nature of her "physical and mental impairments" in her Complaint. Id. ¶ 6. The alleged perpetrators of this "pattern of escalating harassment" are identified as various University administrators, including Dean Michael Gorman ("Dean Gorman"), Assistant Dean Patricia Fosarelli, and Registrar Patricia Grega. Id.

Ms. Hall further charges that the Defendant retaliated against her in response to her "repeated requests for accommodation" through the following acts: (1) denying her the right to inspect and amend her student records, (2) denying her an extension on academic work, (3) abusive and hostile conduct, including "accusations spoken in public places" and "issuing the Plaintiff numerous reprimands regarding innocuous conduct and communications," (4) imposing disciplinary actions, (5) circulating "false allegations that the Plaintiff had engaged in acts of academic dishonesty," (6) placing her on probation and suspension, (7) an eventual expulsion in September 2006, and (8) circulating correspondence with false allegations of plagiarism. Id. ¶ 8. Ms. Hall also claims to have been subjected to gender discrimination by Dean Gorman, Ms. Fosarelli, and Ms. Grega, through their display of "a paternalistic attitude on the one hand and a punitive attitude on the other" and being labeled as "aggressive" in a purportedly discriminatory manner. Id. ¶ 10.

Ms. Hall asserts that her expulsion has damaged her future career prospects in the field of ethics. Id. ¶ 9. Moreover, she charges that the disciplinary actions taken against her violate the policies espoused by St. Mary's Academic Catalog and Student Handbook. Id. ¶ 30. Ms. Hall seeks damages and injunctive relief in the form of expunging her records of "any and all adverse information" related to the disciplinary actions taken against her by St. Mary's. Id. ¶ 33. She also seeks attorney's fees and costs. Id.

B. Procedural Background

Ms. Hall initially filed suit in the Baltimore City Circuit Court, seeking millions of dollars in damages based on counts of defamation, libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. See Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial, L. Hall v. St. Mary's Seminary & University, No. 07-7674 (Cir. Ct. Balt. City 2007) (hereinafter, "State Complaint" or "State Suit").² In the State Complaint, Ms. Hall made similar allegations against the University and Dean Gorman as those asserted in the pleadings for the instant suit (hereinafter, "Federal Complaint" or "Federal Suit").

To illustrate, both the State and Federal Complaints allege that Dean Gorman (or St. Mary's, "through its agents, officers and employees") "engaged in a pattern of escalating harassment directed towards Plaintiff," which included "public display of disdain, disbelief [and scorn] targeting the Plaintiff in connection with her use of [a] service dog. See State Complaint ¶ 4; Federal Complaint ¶ 6.

In addition, both Complaints allege a pattern of harassment, though the State Complaint does so in greater detail and catalogues several illustrative examples. For instance, in the State Complaint Ms. Hall describes an incident occurring in December 2004, "in which Defendant Gorman needlessly traumatized the Plaintiff by publicly questioning her, in a loud and abusive tone of voice, as to why she needed the use of a service dog on campus." Id. ¶ 5. Another example from May 24, 2005 describes a meeting between Dean Gorman and Ms. Hall "in connection with a letter written to Plaintiff, accusing her of engaging in assertive written communications with members of the Institute faculty," during which Dean Gorman is alleged to have "verbally abused the Plaintiff" in the presence of faculty and administrators. Id. ¶ 6. On December 19, 2005, Ms. Hall reports that Dean Gorman interrupted a meeting between herself and Ms. Fosarelli, which apparently added to the alleged "pattern of harassment" because the interruption occurred "in a public place on the Institute's campus." Id. ¶ 7. In a subsequent episode involving Dean Gorman, Ms. Hall describes the following "harassing" behavior: "scowling, frowning, aggressiveness, use of a threatening tone of voice, and a barrage of accusations" in response to "a routine note which Plaintiff sent to one of her professors requesting extra time to complete an assignment." Id. ¶ 8. Ms. Hall reports that she reacted to this confrontation so severely as to suffer a "catastrophic blackout" which "triggered short-term amnesia due to trauma." Id. Finally, the State Complaint refers to a letter dated November 15, 2006 from Dean Gorman to members of the faculty accusing Ms. Hall of plagiarism in reference to a final paper. Id. ¶ 9.³

The Baltimore City Circuit Court dismissed the suit with prejudice on January 15, 2008 without written opinion, but based its decision upon "the reasons set forth in the Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment." Order Dismissing Case, L. Hall v. St. Mary's Seminary & Univ., 07-7674 (Cir.Ct.Balt.County, Jan. 15, 2008). Ms. Hall has now brought suit in this Court against St. Mary's (but not the individual defendants) alleging three federal causes of action and one additional state cause of action for breach of contract. St. Mary's moves for dismissal of the Federal Complaint on grounds of res judicata and failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

II. STANDARD, OF REVIEW

St. Mary's seeks to dismiss this suit on a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, motion for summary judgment. Ordinarily, a complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) unless it appears beyond all doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of its claim which will entitle her to relief. See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); Labram v. Havel, 43 F.3d 918, 920 (4th Cir.1995). In order to survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a plaintiff must plead plausible, not merely conceivable, facts in support of her claim. See Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The complaint must state "more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. The Court must, however, "accept the factual allegations of the complaint as true and must view the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." GE Inv. Private Placement Partners II v. Parker, 247 F.3d 543, 548 (4th Cir.2001).

In deciding Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, this Court must necessarily consider matters outside the pleadings. We need not, however, convert Defendant's motion to dismiss into one for summary judgment, provided that we simply take judicial notice of facts from Plaintiff's prior judicial proceeding, over which there are no disputed issues of material fact. See Andrews v. Daw, 201 F.3d 521, 524 n. 1 (4th Cir.2000).

III. ANALYSIS

Defendant raises the affirmative defense of res judicata, among others, in support of its Motion to Dismiss. We must apply Maryland law in determining the preclusive effect of the prior dismissal of Ms. Hall's State Suit. See Laurel Sand & Gravel, Inc. v. Wilson, 519 F.3d 156, 161-62 (4th Cir.2008) ("Generally, the preclusive effect of a judgment rendered in state court is determined by the law of the state in which the judgment was rendered."). The doctrine of res judicata (or claim preclusion) serves to "prevent[ ] litigation of all grounds for, or defenses to, recovery that were previously available to the parties, regardless of whether they were asserted or determined in the prior proceeding." Peugeot Motors of Am., Inc. v. Eastern Auto Distributors, Inc., 892 F.2d 355, 359 (4th Cir.1989) (quoting Brown v. Felsen, 442 U.S. 127, 131, 99 S.Ct. 2205, 60 L.Ed.2d 767...