Uttilla v. City of Memphis

• Decision Date: 02 April 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-2729.,98-2729.
• Citation: 40 F.Supp.2d 968
• Parties: Frances UTTILLA, Suzanne Colsey, J.P. Colsey, Betty Anderson Judy Neal, and Kevin Lofton, on Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF MEMPHIS, City of Nashville, City of Knoxville, Tennessee Highway Department, and J. Bruce Saltsman, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Tennessee Highway Department, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Tennessee

Page 968

40 F.Supp.2d 968

Frances UTTILLA, Suzanne Colsey, J.P. Colsey, Betty Anderson Judy Neal, and Kevin Lofton, on Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF MEMPHIS, City of Nashville, City of Knoxville, Tennessee Highway Department, and J. Bruce Saltsman, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Tennessee Highway Department, Defendants.

No. 98-2729.

United States District Court, W.D. Tennessee.

April 2, 1999.

Sherri A. McDonough, L. Oneal Sutter, Harrill & Sutter PLLC, Little Rock, AR, for plaintiffs.

Sara L. Hall, Charmiane G. Claxton, City Attorneys Office, Memphis, TN, for City of Memphis, defendant.

John L.* Kennedy, Kimberly M. Frayn, Metropolitan Department of Law, Nashville, TN, for City of Nashville, defendant.

Michael S. Kelley, Sharon E. Boyce, City of Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, for City of Knoxville, defendant.

Michael A. McMahan, Kenneth O. Fritz, City Attorney's Office, Chattanooga, TN, for City of Chattanooga, defendant.

Leslie Ann Bridges, State Attorney General's Office, Civil Litigation and State Services Div., Nashville, TN, for Tennessee Highway Department, defendant.

ORDER ON TENNESSEE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT'S MOTION TO DISMISS¹

DONALD, District Judge.

Before this court is Defendant's, Tennessee Highway Department ("THD") motion to dismiss Plaintiffs', Frances Uttilla, Suzanne Colsey, J.P. Colsey, Betty Anderson, Judy Neal, and Kevin Lofton, complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendant contends that Plaintiffs' complaint constitutes a suit against the State of Tennessee and, as such, is barred by the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution. Defendant further contends that Congress' attempt to abrogate the States' Eleventh Amendment immunity exceeded its constitutional authority and therefore cannot serve as a valid basis to strip Tennessee of its immunity.

Plaintiffs bring this suit on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated alleging that Defendants, City of Memphis, City of Nashville, City of Knoxville, City of Chattanooga, and the THD violated their rights under Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 ("ADA") and the regulations implementing that statute found at 28 C.F.R. Part 35, and section 794 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 701-796 ("Rehabilitation Act") and the regulations implementing that statute found at 45 C.F.R. Part 45. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants have failed to: 1) conduct self-evaluations of their existing facilities, services, policies and practices which receive federal funds in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act, 2) develop a schedule for providing curb ramps or other sloped areas where pedestrian walks cross curbs, 3) reasonably accommodate disabled individuals in the construction of new facilities or alteration of old facilities and 4) make reasonable modifications to current policies and procedures in order to give meaning to the ADA, such as enacting and enforcing ordinances prohibiting obstructions of sidewalks. Plaintiffs request relief from this allegedly discriminatory treatment in the form of a declaratory judgment finding Defendants in violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act and a court order requiring Defendants to: 1) undergo a proper self-evaluation of structures, policies, and procedures upon notice and hearing, 2) develop and implement a proper transition plan within a reasonable time, 3) develop and implement a schedule for curb ramps within a reasonable time, 4) make all changes required under federal law at Defendants' facilities, and 5) provide accessible parking meters or reserved on-street parking. Moreover, Plaintiffs also request a reasonable attorney's fee and all costs incurred in furthering this litigation.

For the following reasons, the court reaffirms Plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of the THD and denies the THD's motion to dismiss as to the Commissioner of the THD.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Due to the nature of the issues raised by this motion to dismiss, the court deems it appropriate to review that portion of the procedural history relevant to Plaintiffs' claims against Defendant. On August 20, 1998, Plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that their causes of action were brought on behalf of themselves and the class of individuals similarly situated to the named plaintiffs. Defendant filed this motion to dismiss on October 19, 1998. On December 28, 1998, Plaintiffs filed a motion to amend their complaint by substituting the Commissioner of the THD, J. Bruce Saltsman, in his official capacity as defendant in lieu of the THD. On December 30, 1998, this court issued an order granting Plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint as requested. On January 11, 1999, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint substituting Commissioner Saltsman as the named defendant instead of the THD.

II. STANDARD

The appropriate standard to employ when reviewing a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction turns upon the nature of the motion. If the 12(b)(1) motion attacks the plaintiff's complaint on its face, the court is required to consider the allegations of the complaint as true. RMI Titanium Co. v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 78 F.3d 1125, 1134 (6th Cir.1996). When responding to a facial attack on subject matter jurisdiction, the plaintiffs burden is not onerous. Musson Theatrical, Inc. v. Federal Express Corp., 89 F.3d 1244, 1248 (6th Cir. 1996). On the contrary, the plaintiff can "survive the motion by showing any arguable basis in law for the claim made." Id. However, if the 12(b)(1) motion attacks the existence of subject matter jurisdiction in fact, apart from the pleadings, "no presumptive truthfulness attaches to plaintiff's allegations." Id. Rather, the plaintiff then has the burden to prove the existence of jurisdiction. Ohio Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. United States, 922 F.2d 320, 324 (6th Cir. 1990). Moreover, when the Rule 12(b)(1) motion is a factual attack, the court "has wide discretion to allow affidavits, documents and even a limited evidentiary hearing to resolve disputed jurisdictional facts." Id. at 325. Ultimately, the court must "weigh the conflicting evidence to arrive at the factual predicate that subject matter jurisdiction exists or does not exist." Id.

Here, Defendant attacks the sufficiency of Plaintiffs' complaint based on the legal doctrine of Eleventh Amendment immunity. Because this motion to dismiss is a facial attack on Plaintiffs' complaint, the court will employ the familiar Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss standard as set forth below. See Ohio Nat'l Life Ins. Co. at 325 (referring to the standard of review for Rule 12(b)(1) facial attacks as similar to that employed under 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss).

Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is appropriate where there is no set of facts which would entitle the plaintiff to recover. Hammond v. Baldwin, 866 F.2d 172, 175 (6th Cir.1989). In reviewing a defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a district court should construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether the plaintiff undoubtedly can prove no set of facts in support of his claims that would entitle him to relief. Meador v. Cabinet for Human Resources, 902 F.2d 474, 475 (6th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 867, 111 S.Ct. 182, 112 L.Ed.2d 145 (1990). If an allegation is capable of more than one inference, it must be construed in the plaintiff's favor. Sinay v. Lamson & Sessions Co., 948 F.2d 1037, 1039-40 (6th Cir.1991). As the Supreme Court said in Hishon v. Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984), "[a] court may dismiss a complaint only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon, at 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229.

A district court may not grant a defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss based on its disbelief of the plaintiffs factual allegations. In Re Sofamor Danek Group, Inc., 123 F.3d 394 (6th Cir.1997), cert. denied., Murphy v. Sofamor Danek Group, ___ U.S. ___, 118 S.Ct. 1675, 140 L.Ed.2d 813 (1998). It is not the court's function to weigh evidence or evaluate the credibility of witnesses. Miller v. Currie, 50 F.3d 373, 377 (6th Cir.1995). Rather, the court should accept all well-pleaded facts as true and not consider matters outside the pleadings. Hammond, at 175.

Although a court reviewing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss should construe the plaintiff's complaint liberally, "more than bare assertions of legal conclusions is ordinarily required to satisfy federal notice pleading requirements." Scheid at 436. Rather, a plaintiff's complaint will not survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) unless it contains "either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory." Id. Accordingly, a district court need not accept as true conclusions of law or unwarranted factual inferences. Morgan v. Church's Fried Chicken, 829 F.2d 10, 12 (6th Cir. 1987).

III. ANALYSIS

A. Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Defendant contends that Plaintiffs' claims against it under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are barred in this court because the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution forbids federal courts from exercising jurisdiction over suits brought by private parties against an unconsenting State. The Eleventh Amendment states:

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

U.S. CONST. amend. XI.

By its own terms, this amendment appears to only prohibit residents of another State or a foreign country from bringing suit against a State in federal court. However, the ...