Socha v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers

• Decision Date: 25 March 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 94-0043-T.
• Parties: William SOCHA v. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, BRANCH NO. 57 (MERGED), John J. Pimentel, Jr., Individually and in his Official Capacity as President of Branch No. 57 (Merged) of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Raymond Sartini, Michael Szeliga, Robert Haupt, in their Capacities as Officers of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch No. 57 (Merged), National Association of Letter Carriers of the United States of America, Vincent R. Sombrotto, in his Official Capacity as President of National Association of Letter Carriers of the United States of America, Eric Lawson, in his Capacity as Postmaster, Town of Warren, Rhode Island, United States Postal Service and the United States Postal Service.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

883 F. Supp. 790

William SOCHA v. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, BRANCH NO. 57 (MERGED), John J. Pimentel, Jr., Individually and in his Official Capacity as President of Branch No. 57 (Merged) of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Raymond Sartini, Michael Szeliga, Robert Haupt, in their Capacities as Officers of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch No. 57 (Merged), National Association of Letter Carriers of the United States of America, Vincent R. Sombrotto, in his Official Capacity as President of National Association of Letter Carriers of the United States of America, Eric Lawson, in his Capacity as Postmaster, Town of Warren, Rhode Island, United States Postal Service and the United States Postal Service.

Civ. A. No. 94-0043-T.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

March 25, 1995.

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Joel D. Landry, Landry & Connors Law Associates, Providence, RI, for plaintiff.

Robert E. Savage, Warwick, RI, for Nat. Ass'n of Letter Carriers, Branch No. 57.

Anthony C. DiGioia, Asst. U.S. Atty., Providence, RI, for Eric Lawson, in his capacity as Postmaster, Town of Warren, RI, and U.S. Postal Service.

ORDER

TORRES, District Judge.

The Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lovegreen dated December 28, 1994, is hereby ACCEPTED for the reasons set forth in the Report and for the further reason that, despite having had ample opportunity to do so, the plaintiff has failed to comply with a prior order of this Court requiring him to set forth the specific facts on which his claims are based, the law or legal theory on which each claim is based and the specific damages or relief sought.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:

1. All claims against National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch No. 57, John J. Pimentel, Raymond Sartini, Michael Szeliga, Robert Haupt and Vincent R. Sombrotto (i.e., the union defendants) are dismissed.

2. Plaintiff is directed to appear at 10:00 a.m. on May 12, 1995, and show cause why his claims against the remaining defendants (i.e., the government defendants) as set forth in Counts 4, 6 and 7 should not be dismissed for reasons set forth in the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation.

3. Any claims for which sufficient cause is shown and the claims against the government defendants set forth in Count 3 are hereby assigned to the May trial calendar.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

LOVEGREEN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Presently before the court is the motion of defendants, National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO ("NALC"), Branch 57 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO ("Branch 57"), Vincent R. Sombrotto ("Sombrotto"), John J. Pimentel, Jr. ("Pimentel"), Raymond Sartini ("Sartini"), Michael Szeliga ("Szeliga") and Robert Haupt ("Haupt") (hereinafter, collectively, the "Union Defendants") to dismiss the plaintiff's, William Socha's, amended complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The plaintiff's complaint alleges that the Union Defendants breached the NALC constitution, breached their duty to represent plaintiff fairly, violated his rights to freedom of speech and assembly protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the plaintiff and libelled and slandered the plaintiff's reputation.

This matter has been referred to me for preliminary review, findings and recommended disposition. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B); D.R.I. Local Rule 32(c)(2). For the following reasons, I recommend that the Union Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint be granted.

Background

I. Procedural History

At the outset, an outline of the procedural history of this case will help to illustrate the context of this motion. On January 12, 1994, plaintiff filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of Rhode Island in and for the County of Providence against Branch 57, Pimentel, individually and in his capacity as President of Branch 57, Eric Lawson ("Lawson"), in his capacity as Postmaster for the Town of Warren, Rhode Island and the United States Postal Service. That original complaint asserted claims of employment discrimination, breach of duty of fair representation, libel and slander. Lawson and the Postal Service removed the action to this Court on February 10, 1994. Thereafter, Branch 57 and Pimentel moved for an order directing plaintiff to file a more definite statement of his complaint. That motion was granted on February 24, 1994 pursuant to D.R.I. Local Rule 12(a)(2), because no objection had been timely filed, and plaintiff had ten days thereafter in which to file a more definite statement of his complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(e). By March 29, 1994, plaintiff had failed to file a more definite statement as ordered, and Branch 57 and Pimentel correspondingly moved for an order striking the claims against them. That motion was referred to me, and at a hearing on May 23, 1994, I denied the motion to strike at that time, allowing plaintiff until June 6, 1994 to file a more definite statement. Otherwise, the motion to strike was to be granted.

At a pretrial conference, District Judge Ernest Torres ordered the plaintiff to file an amended complaint by June 6, 1994, requiring it to "set forth the specific particulars as to the facts on which the claims are based and ... in separate counts the precise nature of each claim and the basis for the claim. If it's based on State Law, Federal Law, common law and if so, what the theory is behind each of the claims. It shall set forth, specifically, the damages alleged and the relief being sought." (Transcript of 5/31/94 conference, Def.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss ("Def.'s Mem."), Ex. A.) The plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on June 6, 1994 which added as parties the NALC, Sombrotto, in his official capacity as President of the NALC and Sartini, Szeliga and Haupt, in their capacities as Officers of Branch 57 and asserted a number of claims more fully addressed subsequently herein.

Worth noting also, is that the plaintiff apparently filed a Statement of Elements in an attempt to explain his claims in the Amended Complaint. The Union Defendants assert that plaintiff was ordered by the Court to provide such a statement with accompanying citations to legal authorities. No such order is evident from the Court's docket. Nevertheless, the plaintiff's Statement of Elements is little more than a regurgitation of his claims in the Amended Complaint.

II. The Amended Complaint

In the General Allegations section of the Amended Complaint the plaintiff alleges that he has been employed by the U.S. Postal Service at the Warren, Rhode Island Post Office since May 31, 1980, has been a member in good standing of Branch 57 at all times material to the Amended Complaint and has a diagnosed history of "major depression related to job stress." (Complaint ¶¶ 9-11.) In that section, plaintiff sets forth a series of alleged disciplinary actions taken against him by Lawson and the Postal Service. Some of these disciplinary actions are alleged to have been taken at the behest of Pimentel. Id. ¶¶ 26 and 32. Plaintiff also alleges that on a number of occasions NALC, Branch 57 or Pimentel refused to or failed properly to represent him in regard to these disciplinary actions. Id. ¶¶ 28, 31, 35 and 39. In addition, plaintiff alleges that Pimentel harassed plaintiff in a manner that was outside the scope of Pimentel's employment by the U.S. Postal Service and his duties as President of Branch 57. Id. ¶ 37. Pimentel is also alleged to have interfered with the plaintiff's mail prior to its delivery to plaintiff's residence. Id. ¶ 36.

The Amended Complaint contains seven counts which are recurrently imprecise and unorthodox. Count One, entitled Breach of NALC Constitution, alleges that Pimentel and the NALC breached a duty to uphold and perform the agreements set forth in the NALC constitution. Id. ¶¶ 41 and 42. Count Two, entitled Breach of Duty of Fair Representation, states that Pimentel and the NALC breached a duty to represent plaintiff fairly "in any and all action arising under the NALC constitution." Id. 45 and 46. Counts Three and Five, entitled Violation of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly, respectively, allege that the NALC, Branch 57, Pimentel, Lawson and the Postal Service violated plaintiff's right to freedom of speech and the NALC, Branch 57, and Pimentel violated plaintiff's right to freedom of assembly, both guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Id. ¶¶ 49, 50, 58 and 59. Further, plaintiff alleges in Count Five that "the actions of Branch No. 57, Pimentel and NALC constitute a violation of Title IV of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 ("LMRDA"), ... 29 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. ...." Id. ¶ 60.

Count Four, alleges that the NALC, Branch 57, Pimentel, Lawson and the Postal Service intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the plaintiff. Count Six, entitled Libel and Slander, avows that Pimentel, Lawson and other member of NALC and employees of the Postal Service have libelled and slandered plaintiff. Id. ¶ 63, 66 and 68. Lastly, Count Seven alleges that the Defendants violated R.I.Gen.Laws § 42-112-1 and Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States. Id. ¶ 74.

Discussion

I. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) Standard.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides for dismissal of an action if that action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The First Circuit Court of Appeals has recognized a tension among precedents regarding the particularity of pleading required to overcome a Rule 12(b)(6) motion and has noted that "the degree of specificity with which the operative facts must be stated in the pleadings varies depending on the case's context."...