Sadowski v. U.S. Postal Service, Civil Action No. RDB 08-2940.

• Decision Date: 17 August 2009
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. RDB 08-2940.
• Citation: 643 F.Supp.2d 749
• Parties: Gary T. SADOWSKI, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

643 F.Supp.2d 749

Gary T. SADOWSKI, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. RDB 08-2940.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

August 17, 2009.

Dilip B. Paliath, Preller and Preller, Towson, MD, for Plaintiff.

Ariana Wright Arnold, Rodney M. Walls, Rod J. Rosenstein, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, MD, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RICHARD D. BENNETT, District Judge.

Originally filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland, this single-count Complaint was brought by Plaintiff Gary T. Sadowski ("Plaintiff" or "Sadowski") against the United States Postal Service ("USPS"), its employee Rodney M. Walls, and Julia Weche, the personal representative of the estate of a former employee, Edward Weche. Plaintiff seeks damages for alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq. On November 4, 2008, Defendants removed the case from the Circuit Court for Baltimore County to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and § 1442.

Pending before this Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Individual Defendants (Paper No. 27), which seeks dismissal of Plaintiff's case as to Rodney M. Walls and Julia Weche under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties' submissions have been fully briefed and no hearing is necessary on this pending motion. See Local Rule 105.6 (D.Md.2008). For the following reasons, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Individual Defendants is GRANTED, and the individually named Defendants, Rodney M. Walls and Julia Weche, will be DISMISSED from this case.

BACKGROUND

The facts contained herein are taken largely from Plaintiff Gary T. Sadowski's Complaint and are viewed in his favor. See E. Shore Mkts., Inc. v. J.D. Assocs. Ltd. P'ship, 213 F.3d 175 (4th Cir.2000). Sadowski became employed at the United States Postal Service in 1987, and he worked at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center in Baltimore City under the supervision of Defendant Rodney M. Walls and Edward Weche at all relevant times. (Compl. ¶¶ 8-10.) Sadowski alleges that in September 2006 he was experiencing high blood pressure and insomnia and that his physician recommended that he apply for twelve weeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. (Id. ¶ 11.) Sadowski further alleges that he worked for the USPS for more than the statutorily-required 1250 hours in the twelve months preceding his request for leave, which was made on September 24, 2006. (Id. ¶¶ 9, 13.) Sadowski began his FMLA leave on or about September 24, 2006, and he received notice from the USPS on November 2, 2006 that his request for FMLA leave had been approved. (Id. ¶¶ 15, 16.)

Notwithstanding the approval notice, however, Sadowski also alleges he received a letter from the USPS dated October 30, 2006 that indicated that he was on Absent Without Leave ("AWOL") status, and that further directed him to complete additional paperwork. (Id. ¶¶ 17, 18.) Sadowski alleges that Defendant Walls entered the USPS bank of records and changed his FMLA leave to AWOL. (Id. ¶ 22.) Sadowski claims that he filed the additional paperwork on November 7, 2006, including a cover letter in which he asked if any other documentation was required. (Id. ¶ 19.) Sadowski claims that he did not receive a response to his cover letter, and that instead he received a notice to appear at a pre-disciplinary interview, which took place on November 30, 2006.¹ (Id. ¶¶ 20, 21.) After the interview, the USPS terminated Sadowski's employment by notice signed by Defendant Walls and Edward Weche. (Id. ¶ 26.)

On September 22, 2008, Sadowski filed his Complaint against the USPS, Rodney Walls, and Julia Weche (as the personal representative of the estate of Edward Weche) in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Sadowski's Complaint alleges that his termination violated the FMLA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2615, 2617, because he was statutorily entitled to twelve weeks of leave for his condition and because the Defendants retaliated against him for requesting and attempting to use this leave. Sadowski has not specifically declared his intent to sue Defendants Rodney Walls and Julia Weche in their individual (as opposed to official) capacities, but he has effectively done so by seeking damages from the personal estate of Edward Weche.

On November 4, 2008, the USPS, through the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, filed a Notice of Removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1446, thus removing this action from the Circuit Court for Baltimore County to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and § 1442. Sadowski filed a Motion to Remand under 28 U.S.C. § 1447 on November 19, 2008. This Court conducted a hearing on Sadowski's Motion to Remand on May 7, 2009, and the motion was denied for reasons stated on the record. Now pending is the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Individual Defendants under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Defendants have moved to dismiss the Complaint as to Rodney Walls and Julia Weche under both Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, but this Court will review the arguments only under the latter provision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 126 S.Ct. 1235, 163 L.Ed.2d 1097 (2006), the Supreme Court of the United States explained that "when Congress does not rank a statutory limitation on coverage as jurisdictional, courts should treat the restriction as nonjurisdictional in character." Id. at 516, 126 S.Ct. 1235. Thus, in Arbaugh, the Supreme Court held that the employee-numerosity requirement under Title VII was a factual issue that the plaintiff must initially allege and ultimately prove as an element of the cause of action. Id. This part of the Arbaugh decision is fully applicable to the issue presented herein, specifically whether public employees may be held individually liable under the FMLA. Consequently, this Court will not treat Defendants' arguments as challenging subject matter jurisdiction. Rather, Defendants' arguments challenge the substantive sufficiency of the Plaintiff's Complaint, and will be dealt with accordingly.

Under Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint must contain a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." See Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure authorizes the dismissal of a complaint if it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), and therefore a Rule 12(b)(6) motion tests the legal sufficiency of a complaint.

A complaint must be dismissed if it does not allege "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Under the plausibility standard, a complaint must contain "more than labels and conclusions" or a "formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action" in order to survive a motion to dismiss. Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Well-pleaded factual allegations contained in the complaint are assumed to be true "even if [they are] doubtful in fact," but legal conclusions are not entitled to judicial deference on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. See id. (stating that "courts `are not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation'" (citations omitted)).

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the legal framework of the complaint must be supported by factual allegations that "raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Id. On a spectrum, the Supreme Court has recently explained that the plausibility standard requires that the pleader show more than a sheer possibility of success, although it does not impose a "probability requirement." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ___ U.S. ____, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Instead, "[a] claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. At bottom, the court must "draw on its judicial experience and common sense" to determine whether the pleader has stated a plausible claim for relief. Id.

DISCUSSION

The precise issue raised in the pending motion is whether or not public employees, such as Defendant Walls and Edward Weche, can be held liable in their individual capacities for violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").² This is an issue previously addressed by this Court thirteen years ago, which now requires a more detailed analysis in light of subsequent case law. See Knussman v. State of Md., 935 F.Supp. 659, 664 (D.Md. 1996). Resolution of this strictly legal question centers on the FMLA's definition of "employer," which is contained in 29 U.S.C. § 2611(4)(A):

The term "employer"—

(i) means any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year;

(ii) includes—

(I) any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer to any of the employees of such employer; and (II) any successor in interest of an employer;

(iii) includes any "public agency", as defined in section 203(x) of this title; and

(iii) includes the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress.

29 U.S.C. § 2611(4)(A).

There is no directly applicable case law from either the Supreme Court or the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on the issue presented herein. There is also a nationwide split of decisional authority on this issue at both the appellate and trial levels, and the parties have agreed that the "courts are in some disarray over this issue." (See Defs.' Mot....