Hinton v. Va. Union Univ.

• Decision Date: 04 May 2016
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:15cv569
• Citation: 185 F.Supp.3d 807
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
• Parties: Terry Hinton, Plaintiff, v. Virginia Union University, Defendant.

185 F.Supp.3d 807

Terry Hinton, Plaintiff,

v.Virginia Union University, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 3:15cv569

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia.

Signed May 4, 2016

Filed May 5, 2016

Richard F. Hawkins, III, The Hawkins Law Firm PC, Richmond, VA, for Plaintiff.

Robyn Gray Davis, Gilbert E. Schill, McGuireWoods LLP, Richmond, VA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Robert E. Payne, Senior United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Virginia Union University's MOTION TO DISMISS COMPLAINT (Docket No. 3). For the reasons stated below, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Terry Hinton ("Hinton") filed this action against Virginia Union University ("VUU") alleging four counts: (1) a Title VII sex discrimination claim; (2) a Title VII retaliation claim; (3) a Title VII retaliatory harassment claim; and (4) an Equal Pay Act claim. (Compl., Docket No. 1). The factual allegations forming the basis for these claims are set out as they are pleaded in the Complaint, according all favorable inferences to the Plaintiff.

Hinton, an openly gay male, has been employed as an administrative assistant at VUU since October 2006. (Compl. ¶¶ 4-6). In early 2008, Hinton provided deposition testimony and a declaration in support of a former VUU professor who filed a Title VII religious discrimination claim against VUU; the case was "resolved." (Compl. ¶¶ 7, 9). In 2008, Hinton also filed his own Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"); the complaint was "resolved." (Compl. ¶¶ 8-9).

Hinton alleges that he was (and is to this day) paid less than his fellow female administrative assistants, noting that he is "the only male administrative assistant in VUU's Academic Affairs Department and is paid less than the four most comparable female administrative assistants in the Department. Indeed, three of the four individuals have less seniority than Hinton and the fourth has only been with VUU for one more month than Hinton." (Compl. ¶ 20). "There are no differences in seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production" between Hinton and the female administrative assistants, and "[t]he only meaningful difference between the four comparable VUU administrative assistants" and Hinton is the difference in gender. (Compl. ¶ 20). In May 2013, Hinton "raised the issue of unequal pay to his then-supervisor," complaining specifically that his "female comparators were paid higher wages than he was." (Compl. ¶ 22). That unnamed supervisor informed Hinton that VUU would not increase his wage to match that of his female counterparts. (Compl. ¶ 22).

Before August 1, 2013, Hinton had never been reprimanded or disciplined for talking about sex with co-workers, lending money to or borrowing money from coworkers, talking about "University business, such as the transfers of fellow employees or the salary information of VUU employees," or "generally talking about personal matters with fellow VUU employees." (Compl. ¶ 12).

However, on or about August 1, 2013, Dr. Latrelle Green ("Green") became Interim Dean of the School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, a move that also made her Hinton's direct supervisor. (Compl. ¶ 10). Green was "aware of Hinton's past outspoken support for his own civil rights and the rights of others. She was also aware of Hinton's prior EEOC charge." (Compl. ¶ 11). On August 6, 2013, Green "verbally counseled" Hinton to stop engaging in "petty gossip." (Compl. ¶ 13). On August 29, 2013, Green "told [Hinton] that he had already been warned to stop engaging in ‘drama and recurring gossip’ and told him to cease." (Compl. ¶ 14). On September 6, 2013, Green "wrote Hinton a letter in which she detailed many instances of alleged ‘unprofessional misconduct.’ " (Compl. ¶ 15). "The letter served as a written reprimand and was placed in Hinton's personnel file." (Compl. ¶ 15). Hinton's Complaint states that he engaged in no unprofessional conduct, and that "most of the items identified ... are false or grossly exaggerated." (Compl. ¶ 16). At some unspecified point after September 6, 2013, Green refused to let Hinton take classes at Virginia Commonwealth University ("VCU") (Compl. ¶ 19), notwithstanding that other VUU employees had been allowed to take classes at VCU for some time. (Compl. ¶ 34). Hinton characterizes this refusal as "retaliation." (Compl. ¶ 19).

Hinton filed a second EEOC charge at in 2013, but the Complaint does not state when the 2013 charge was filed. VUU states that the 2013 EEOC charge was filed on September 10, 2013, in response to Dr. Green's reprimands. (Def.'s Mem 10; Docket No. 4, Ex. C).¹

At some unspecified point before August 2015, Green ceased to be Hinton's supervisor. Hinton's subsequent supervisor gave Hinton permission to take classes at VCU. (Compl. ¶ 19).

In August 2015 (after Green ceased to be Hinton's supervisor), Green "candidly admitted to Hinton that one of the reasons she gave Hinton the September 6, 2013 reprimand letter" was that Dr. Claude Perkins ("Perkins"), the President of VUU, "told her to do so because he had a problem with Hinton's sexual orientation." (Compl. ¶ 18).

On these facts, Hinton presents four counts against VUU. Count I alleges Title VII discrimination on the basis that: (1) Hinton is entitled to Title VII's protection against sex discrimination; (2) Hinton was reprimanded in August and September 2013 because Perkins (VUU's president) did not like his sexual orientation; and (3) as a direct result of that reprimand, Hinton suffered a "loss of potential occupational opportunities" and various emotional harms. (Compl. ¶¶ 26-29). Count II alleges Title VII retaliation on the basis that: (1) Hinton engaged in protected activities in 2008 and 2013; (2) VUU retaliated against Hinton by disciplining him in August and September 2013 ("based on false allegations and in a manner that was disparate to other VUU employees") and refusing to allow him to take VCU classes; and (3) as a direct result of that retaliation, Hinton suffered a "loss of potential occupational opportunities" and various emotional harms. (Compl. ¶¶ 33-36). Count III alleges Title VII retaliatory harassment, on the basis that: (1) Hinton engaged in protected activities in 2008 and 2013; (2) VUU retaliated against Hinton by disciplining him in August and September 2013 ("based on false allegations and in a manner that was disparate to other VUU employees") and refusing to allow him to take VCU classes; and (3) as a direct result of that retaliatory harassment, Hinton suffered a "loss of potential occupational opportunities" and various emotional harms. (Compl. ¶¶ 39-41).² Count IV alleges that Hinton, a male, was paid less than his comparable female counterparts.

VUU filed this Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 3) along with a Memorandum of Law in Support (Docket No. 4) ("Def.'s Mem."). VUU seeks to dismiss all four counts pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (failure to state a claim) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(4) (insufficient process). Plaintiff filed a Memorandum in Opposition (Docket No. 7) ("Pl.'s Opp."), and Defendant filed a Reply (Docket No. 9) ("Def.'s Reply").

DISCUSSION

A motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) challenges the legal sufficiency of a complaint. Jordan v. Alternative Resources Corp., 458 F.3d 332, 338 (4th Cir.2006). Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2)"requires only a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." McCleary – Evans v. Maryland Dep't of Transp., State Highway Admin., 780 F.3d 582, 585 (4th Cir.2015) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ).

When deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a court "draw [s] all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff." Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc., 591 F.3d 250, 253 (4th Cir.2009). However, while the court must "will accept the pleader's description of what happened" and "any conclusions that can be reasonably drawn therefrom," the court "need not accept conclusory allegations encompassing the legal effects of the pleaded facts," Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1357 (3d ed.1998) ; Chamblee v. Old Dominion Sec. Co., L.L.C., No. 3:13CV820, 2014 WL 1415095, *4 (E.D.Va.2014). Nor is the court required to accept as true a legal conclusion unsupported by factual allegations. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678–79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). "Twombly and Iqbal also made clear that the analytical approach for evaluating Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss requires courts to reject conclusory allegations that amount to mere formulaic recitation of the elements of a claim and to conduct a context-specific analysis to determine whether the well-pleaded factual allegations plausibly suggest an entitlement to relief." Wright & Miller,supra; Chamblee, supra. In sum, a 12(b)(6) motion should be granted if, "after accepting all well-pleaded allegations ... as true and drawing all reasonable factual inferences from those facts in the plaintiff's favor, it appears certain that the plaintiff cannot prove any set of facts in support of his claim entitling him to relief." Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 178 F.3d 231, 244 (4th Cir.1999).

These principles govern resolution of VUU's motion. Each count will be considered in turn.

A. Count I: Title VII Discrimination

VUU's motion will be granted as it pertains to Count I because Title VII does not afford a claim for sexual orientation discrimination and thus Hinton does not belong to a protected class. In the alternative, Hinton does not plead that VUU took a cognizable "adverse employment action" against him." Count I will be dismissed.

1. Title VII Does Not State a Claim for Sexual Orientation Discrimination

VUU seeks dismissal of Count I because Title...