Mitchell v. Henderson, No. Civ.A. DKC2000-56.
| Citation | 128 F.Supp.2d 298 |
| Decision Date | 23 January 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A. DKC2000-56. |
| Parties | Julie W. MITCHELL v. William J. HENDERSON. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
Douglas E. Rosenfeld, Law Office, Derwood, MD, for Plaintiff.
Nadira Clarke, Office of the U.S. Atty., Baltimore, MD, for Defendant.
Plaintiff, Julie Mitchell, has filed an action alleging employment discrimination pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. against Defendant, William J. Henderson, Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service ("USPS"). In addition to the Title VII claim, Plaintiff requests a declaratory judgment with respect to USPS's efforts to collect a portion of Plaintiff's settlement monies as reimbursement for previously awarded injury compensation benefits pursuant to the Federal Employees Compensation Act ("FECA"), 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq. Presently pending before this court is Defendant's motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment. The issues have been fully briefed, and no hearing is deemed necessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the following reasons, the court shall GRANT Defendant's motion to dismiss as to the Title VII claim and enter a declaration concerning subrogation rights under FECA.
This pending lawsuit arises from a previous action Plaintiff brought against the Postmaster General, and Richard Price, her co-employee, alleging workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. Mitchell v. Price, DKC 96-3011. On June 10, 1997, Mitchell signed a settlement agreement dismissing her claims against USPS. However, Mitchell continued her private action against Price. She also expressly reserved her right to pursue FECA benefits1 from the government. Paper No. 1, Exhibit 1, 3-4.
Once Plaintiff commenced discovery against Mr. Price, USPS, as a non-party to the lawsuit, invoked the Touhy regulations. See 39 C.F.R. § 265.12 (2000). The Touhy regulations articulate the procedures for obtaining Postal Service employee testimony or agency records for the purposes of private litigation. Id. at § 265.12(c) — (d). Relying on these regulations, USPS took the position that for Mitchell's lawsuit against Price, she would have to pay USPS prescribed amounts for the Postal employees she deposed or requested for trial. Id. at § 265.12(g). USPS also warned Plaintiff that the costs assessed against her would be higher for trial proceedings than for deposition testimony. Paper No. 1, Exhibit 4 at 2. Although still disputing that the Touhy regulations applied, Plaintiff's counsel agreed to the reimbursement and USPS subsequently produced the employees to testify. In correspondence dated March 18, 1999, USPS agreed to waive its rights to reimbursement if and only if there was a settlement prior to trial. See Paper No. 1, Exhibit 5. On March 30, 1999, plaintiff settled her private case with Mr. Price for the amount of $8,000.00, and thus was not required to reimburse the witness fees.
Prior to Plaintiff's settlement, however, USPS advised Mitchell of the government's subrogation rights under FECA for monies collected from third party liability suits. Paper No. 1, Exhibit 5. Following the settlement proceeding, Plaintiff was advised of this once again. Paper no. 1, Exhibit 7.
On March 31, 1999, Mitchell filed a motion to deny or reduce payment of settlement proceeds to USPS in the original action. This court denied the motion for lack of jurisdiction because USPS was no longer a party to the action. Subsequently on September 10, 1999, Mitchell filed a formal EEO complaint alleging retaliation in violation of Title VII. USPS denied her claim in a final agency decision issued on October 7, 1999. Plaintiff then filed this instant suit. Currently pending before the court is Defendant's motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment.
Generally, on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion the court considers not only the complaint, but also any exhibits actually attached or referred to as part of the complaint. Pension Benefit Guar. Corp. v. White Consolidated Industries, 998 F.2d 1192, 1196 (3rd Cir.1993). Where, on such a motion to dismiss other "matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56." Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). "In interpreting the requirements of this rule, the [Fourth Circuit] has held that the term reasonable opportunity requires that all parties be given `some indication by the court ... that it is treating the 12(b)(6) motion as a motion for summary judgment,' with the consequent right in the opposing party to file counter affidavits or pursue reasonable discovery." Gay v. Wall, 761 F.2d 175, 177 (4th Cir. 1985) (quoting Johnson v. RAC Corp., 491 F.2d 510, 513 (4th Cir.1974) (citations omitted)).
In its motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment, Defendant has asked the court to consider material outside of the pleadings related to the Title VII claim. Plaintiff objects to this conversion because no discovery has taken place and has supported that opposition with a certificate under Rule 56. Specifically, Plaintiff asks for discovery on issues related only to her Title VII claim. In light of these facts, the court does not convert the motion as to the Title VII claim and instead analyzes it under the more lenient standard of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. However, the court shall analyze the request for declaratory relief under a summary judgment standard as the parties do not dispute any material facts. In addition, the court may take judicial notice of its own records, the case file in DKC 96-3011, without converting to a motion for summary judgment. 5A Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1364 at 479 (2d ed.1990).
A motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) ought not be granted unless "it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). All that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require of a complaint is that it contain "`a short and plain statement of the claim' that will give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Id. at 47, 78 S.Ct. 99; Comet Enterprises Ltd. v. Air-A-Plane Corp., 128 F.3d 855, 860 (4th Cir.1997). In reviewing the complaint, the court accepts all well-pled allegations of the complaint as true and construes the facts and reasonable inferences derived therefrom in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Ibarra v. United States, 120 F.3d 472, 473 (4th Cir.1997). The court must disregard the contrary allegations of the opposing party. A.S. Abell Co. v. Chell, 412 F.2d 712, 715 (4th Cir.1969). The court need not, however, accept unsupported legal conclusions, Revene v. Charles County Comm'rs, 882 F.2d 870, 873 (4th Cir.1989), legal conclusions couched as factual allegations, Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986), or conclusory factual allegations devoid of any reference to actual events, United Black Firefighters v. Hirst, 604 F.2d 844, 847 (4th Cir.1979).
"Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee in retaliation for that employee's opposition to, or complaint about, an unlawful employment practice." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) (2000). "To establish a prima facie case of retaliation", Mitchell "must show that 1)[she] was engaged in a protected activity; 2)[her] employer took adverse employment action against [her]; and 3) a sufficient causal connection existed between [her] protected activity and [her] employer's adverse employment action." Hopkins v. Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., 77 F.3d 745, 754 (4th Cir.1996) (citing to McNairn v. Sullivan, 929 F.2d 974, 980 (4th Cir.1991)).
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant retaliated against her for filing an EEO complaint by impeding her litigation against Mr. Price. Specifically, Mitchell asserts that USPS invoked the Touhy regulations as retaliation for her pursuit of the initial lawsuit against USPS. Relying on the Touhy regulations, USPS demanded Mitchell identify its employees that she wanted to depose as well as reimburse the organization for their time.
Mitchell fails to allege a prima facie case of discrimination because her assertions fall short of the allegation that USPS took an adverse employment action against her. Title VII liability arises from tangible employment actions, which the Court has recently defined to include not only "`hiring, firing, failing to promote, ... significant change in benefits, but also reassignment with significantly different responsibilities.'" Boone v. Goldin, 178 F.3d 253, 256 (4th Cir.1999) (quoting Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 761, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 141 L.Ed.2d 633 (1998)).
However, "Congress did not intend Title VII to provide redress for trivial discomforts endemic to employment." Id. The Fourth Circuit has also specified that "there are many interlocutory or mediate decisions having no immediate impact upon employment conditions which were not intended to fall within ... Title VII." Page v. Bolger, 645 F.2d 227, 233 (4th Cir.1981); see also Munday v. Waste Mgmt. Of N. Am., Inc., 126 F.3d 239, 243 (4th Cir.1997), cert. denied., 522 U.S. 1116, 118 S.Ct. 1053, 140 L.Ed.2d 116 (1998) (...
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