Plater v. District of Columbia Dept. of Transp.

• Decision Date: 02 January 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 07-1789 (ESH).
• Citation: 530 F.Supp.2d 101
• Parties: Tesha Lamon PLATER, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

530 F.Supp.2d 101

Tesha Lamon PLATER, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 07-1789 (ESH).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

January 2, 2008.

Relinda Louisy, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Shana Lyn Frost, Office of the Attorney General, David J. Shaffer, Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLEN SEGAL HUVELLE, District Judge.

Plaintiff brought this action on behalf of her minor child against District of Columbia (the "District"), the District of Columbia Department of Transportation ("DOT"),¹ the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ("WMATA"), and Clear Channel Outdoor Inc.² Before the Court are defendants' motions to dismiss. For the reasons stated herein, WMATA's motion to dismiss will be granted and the District's motion to dismiss will be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Tesha Lamon Plater, is the mother of M.D.P., a five-year-old minor. (Compl. at ¶ 2.) On April 26, 2005, M.D.P. slipped and fell on broken glass and sustained injuries to his head, while waiting for a bus on the 2400 block of Alabama Avenue and Hartford Street, S.E., in Washington D.C. (Id. at ¶ 6.) M.D.P. was transported to the hospital for medical treatment as a result of the fall and plaintiff claims that he suffered "shock, pain, nervousness, anxiety, lacerations to his head, and excruciating headaches, which necessitated the insertion of staples to his head." (Id. at ¶ 19.) According to plaintiff, M.D.P. continues to suffer from headaches. (Id.)

A police report was filed on the date of the incident by an officer of the 7th District Metropolitan Police Department. (District's Ex. 3). On June 25, 2005, plaintiff sent a letter to the General Counsel of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation notifying him of the incident. (District's Ex. 1.) On May 30, 2006, plaintiff sent a second notification letter to the Mayor of the District of Columbia. (District's Ex. 2.)

On October 4, 2007, plaintiff filed her initial complaint with this Court, which was amended on December 7, 2007. Plaintiff's amended complaint, alleges four counts—(1) that defendants violated their duty to maintain their premises in a safe condition; (2) that defendants negligently designed and constructed the bus stand shelter; (3) that defendants violated their duty of care to M.D.P. as a business invitee; and (4) that defendants violated plaintiffs civil rights under the Fifth and Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The District and WMATA have each filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).

ANALYSIS

I. Standard of Review

A complaint must be dismissed pursuant to `Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if it fails to plead "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). At this stage, all reasonable factual inferences must be construed in plaintiff's favor, and all allegations in the complaint are presumed true. Maljack Prods., Inc., v. Motion Picture Ass'n of Am., Inc., 52 F.3d 373, 375 (D.C.Cir.1995). "However, the court need not accept inferences drawn by plaintiff[ ] if such inferences are unsupported by the facts set out in the complaint. Nor must the court accept legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations." Kowal v. MCI Comm'cns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C.Cir.1994). To Survive a motion to dismiss, the factual allegations of the plaintiff "must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Bell Atl., 127 S.Ct. at 1965.

II. WMATA's Motion to Dismiss

WMATA has moved to dismiss Counts 2 and 4 of plaintiffs amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. WMATA argues that Count 2, which alleges negligent design and construction, fails because WMATA has immunity from suit for government functions. (WMATA's Mot. at 2-3.) WMATA further argues that Count 4, which alleges violations of the Fifth and Eighth Amendments, fails because WMTA has immunity from suits brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and because WMATA is not a "person" subject to liability under that statute. (Id. at 3-4.) The Court will address each of these arguments in turn.

A. Negligent Design and Construction

Plaintiff's complaint alleges that WMATA negligently designed and constructed the bus shelter with "an unsafe material `glass,' and another material" and that WMATA "had knowledge that this `glass' was a dangerous and hazardous material for use in the Bus Stand/Shelter, but continued to use this dangerous and hazardous material on public sidewalk prior to and for a number of days after M.D.P. suffered injuries." (Compl. at ¶ 12.) WMATA maintains that it is immune from this type of claim. (WMATA's Mot. at 2-3.)

"It is well-established that WMATA is a quasi-governmental entity created and governed by an `interstate compact' among Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia," Jones v. WMATA, 742 F.Supp. 24, 25 (D.D.C.1990), which "enjoys the Eleventh Amendment immunity of the two signatory states." Barbour v. WMATA, 374 F.3d 1161, 1163 (D.C.Cir.2004) (citing Morris v. WMATA, 781 F.2d 218, 219-20 (D.C.Cir.1986)). While the WMATA Compact does contain a limited waiver of WMATA's sovereign immunity for certain torts, immunity is "preserved for `torts occurring in the performance of a governmental function.'" Abdulwali v. WMATA, 315 F.3d 302, 304 (D.C.Cir.2003) (quoting D.C. Code. Ann. § 9-1107.01(80)). "Governmental functions are those functions which are for the benefit of the general public ... includ[ing] planning decisions or decisions involving governmental discretion." Nathan v. WMATA, 653 F.Supp. 247, 248 (D.D.C.1986) (citations omitted).

Based on this case law, courts in this jurisdiction regularly "invoke[ ] governmental function immunity to reject similar negligent design claims against WMATA." Jones, 742 F.Supp. at 25 (holding that WMATA's decisions regarding the design of the escalator and the widths of the slots in the escalator treads). See also Abdulwali, 315 F.3d at 305 (design and placement of warning signs in Metro cars); Warren v. WMATA, 880 F.Supp. 14, 19 (D.D.C.1995) (choice of glass in bus window); Dant v. District of Columbia, 829 F.2d 69, 74 (D.C.Cir.1987) (automated fare card system). WMATA's design decision with respect to the bus shelters is therefore protected by sovereign immunity, and plaintiffs negligent design claim in Count II is dismissed with respect to WMATA.

B. 42 U.S.C. § 1983

Plaintiff also alleges in Count IV that WMATA's failure "to make the public sidewalk and Bus Stand/Shelter safe in a black neighborhood, in Southeast Washington D.C., ... safe for M.D.P. ... constituted [c]ruel and unusual punishment" and that' "M.D.P.[ ] was also subjected to unequal treatment because ... the location of the accident where M.D.P.[] sustained the injuries was in a black neighborhood...." (Compl. at ¶ 18.) Based on this allegation, plaintiff argues that WMATA is liable under § 1983 for violating M.D.P.'s Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights.

WMATA has moved to dismiss this count, arguing that WMATA is not a "person" under § 1983 and that it retains sovereign immunity against suits brought under § 1983. The Court concurs. "Several courts have dismissed § 1983 claims against WMATA on immunity grounds," Lucero-Nelson v. WMATA, 1 F.Supp.2d 1, 7 (D.D.C.1998), and plaintiff has failed to present any basis for distinguishing those cases. See also Disability Rights Council of Greater Washington v. WMATA, 239 F.R.D. 9, 20 (D.D.C.2006); Sampson v. WMATA, 2005 WL 3276277, at *3 (D.D.C. 2005). Furthermore, this Court has previously held that "as an arm of the state WMATA is not a `person' within the meaning of § 1983. Lucero-Nelson, 1 F.Supp.2d at 7-8 (citing Will v. Michigan Dep't of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989)). Plaintiff's § 1983 claims against WMATA are therefore dismissed.³

III. District of Columbia's Motion to Dismiss

The District has also filed a motion to dismiss, asserting that plaintiffs common law claims must be dismissed for failure to comply with the notice requirements of D.C. Code § 12-309, and that plaintiff's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims should be dismissed because she has failed to state a cognizable claim under either the Fifth or Eighth Amendments.

A. D.C. Code § 12-309

The District argues that plaintiff's common law claims for negligence (Counts I-III) must be dismissed because plaintiff failed to comply with the notice requirements of D.C. Code § 12-309. In response, plaintiff argues that either the police report filed immediately after the incident or the letter that plaintiff sent to the General Counsel of the Department of Transportation constitutes proper notice under D.C. Code § 12-309.⁴ (Opp'n at 12-13.)

D.C. Code § 12-309 provides, in relevant part:

An action may not be maintained against the District of Columbia for unliquidated damages to person or property unless, within six months after the injury or damage was sustained, the claimant, his agent, or his attorney has given notice in writing to the Mayor of the District of Columbia of the approximate time, place, cause, and circumstances of the injury or damage. A report in writing by the Metropolitan Police Department, in regular course of duty, is a sufficient notice under this section.

D.C. Code § 12-309. This statute is designed "to (1) protect the District of Columbia against unreasonable claims and (2) to give reasonable notice to, the District of Columbia so that the facts may be ascertained and, if possible, deserving claims adjusted and meritless claims resisted." Pitts v. District of Columbia, 391 A.2d 803, 807 (D.C.1978). The "case law has firmly...