Varma v. Gutierrez

• Citation: 421 F.Supp.2d 110
• Decision Date: 21 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 04-1825(RBW).,CIV.A. 04-1825(RBW).
• Parties: S.K. VARMA, Plaintiff, v. Carlos GUTIERREZ, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Defendant.
• Court: United States District Courts. United States District Court (Columbia)

421 F.Supp.2d 110

S.K. VARMA, Plaintiff, v. Carlos GUTIERREZ, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Defendant.

No. CIV.A. 04-1825(RBW).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

March 21, 2006.

Appeal from the Secretary of the Department of Commerce.

S.K. Varma, Washington, DC, Pro se.

John C. Truong, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WALTON, District Judge.

The pro se plaintiff, S.K. Varma, brings this action against Carlos M. Gutierrez ("the defendant") in his official capacity as the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce ("DOC"), alleging numerous violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq. (2000), the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 791 et seq. (2000), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. (2000), during the plaintiffs employment as a patent examiner with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"). Currently before the Court is the defendant's motion to (1) substitute Jonathan Dudas, the Director of the USPTO, as the named defendant and (2) dismiss or transfer the complaint on improper venue grounds under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(3).¹ For the reasons stated below, the Court concludes that the defendant has been improperly named and that the District of Columbia is not the appropriate venue for the litigation of this action. The Court therefore substitutes Jonathan Dudas as the named defendant and transfers this matter to the Eastern District of Virginia.

I. Background

The plaintiff is a patent examiner formerly employed by the USPTO. Amended Complaint ("Am.Compl.") ¶ 15. Throughout her tenure, the plaintiff was assigned to the USPTO's principal office, located at the time in Arlington, Virginia.² Def.'s Mem., Exhibit ("Ex.") 1, Declaration of J. David Richardson ("Richardson Decl.") ¶ 2.³ The plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to an array of discriminatory, retaliatory, and harassing behavior over the course of her employment at the USPTO, beginning in September 1999 and culminating in her termination on October 16, 2002. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 16-40. Following her termination, the plaintiff filed a mixed-case complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board ("MSPB"). Id. ¶ 42. She then appealed the unfavorable MSPB decision to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Am. Compl., Ex. A (letter from the plaintiff to the EEOC dated August 4, 2004). On September 23, 2004, the EEOC affirmed the decision of the MSPB that "the [USPTO's] actions [with regard to the plaintiff] were justified." Am. Compl., Ex. C (EEOC decision) at 1. Approximately one month later, on October 21, 2004, the plaintiff filed this action seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief. Am. Compl. at 35.

The plaintiffs original complaint named Jonathan Dudas, Director of the USPTO, as the defendant. Complaint ("Compl.") ¶ 6. On February 17, 2005, the plaintiff amended her complaint, substituting the DOC Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, as the named defendant.⁴ Am. Compl. ¶ 9. The plaintiff stated that Secretary Gutierrez "is the head of the DOC, and as such is responsible for personnel action, omissions, and practices within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, DOC." Id. In both her original and amended complaints, the plaintiff stated that "[v]enue is properly before this Court because the Defendant is located in Washington, D.C." Compl. ¶ 4; Am. Compl. ¶ 7.

On August 23, 2005, the defendant filed its motion to substitute named defendants and to dismiss or transfer this action on improper venue grounds. The defendant asserts that the USPTO exercises "independent control over personnel decisions and processes as well as administrative and management functions." Def.'s Mem. at 3. It consequently contends that Mr. Dudas, as the head of the USPTO, is the appropriate defendant in this case. Id. at 4-5. In response, the plaintiff reiterates that Secretary Gutierrez is the proper defendant because he "has the oversight of the Patent and Trademark Office." Pl.'s Opp. ¶ 6. The defendant also argues that venue is improper in the District of Columbia because (1) the acts complained of by the plaintiff occurred in Virginia; (2) the principal office of the USPTO is located in Virginia; and (3) the plaintiffs employment records are maintained in Virginia. Def.'s Mem. at 6-8. The plaintiff does not directly address the defendant's arguments regarding venue, except to ask that the defendant's motion to transfer or dismiss be denied. See generally Pl.'s Opp. ¶¶ 1-14.

II. Standard of Review

In considering a motion to dismiss for lack of proper venue under Rule 12(b)(3), "the Court accepts the plaintiff['s] well-pled factual allegations regarding venue as true, draws all reasonable inferences from those allegations in the plaintiffs] favor, and resolves any factual conflicts in the plaintiff['s] favor." Quarles v. Gen. Inv. &amp Dev. Co., 260 F.Supp.2d 1, 8 (D.D.C.2003) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also 2215 Fifth St. Assocs. v. U-Haul Intern., Inc., 148 F.Supp.2d 50, 54 (D.D.C.2001) (stating that courts will grant a 12(b)(3) motion if "facts [are] presented that . . . defeat [the] plaintiffs assertion of venue") (citation omitted). "Because it is the plaintiffs obligation to institute the action in a permissible forum, the plaintiff usually bears the burden of establishing that venue is proper." Freeman v. Fallin, 254 F.Supp.2d 52, 56 (D.D.C.2003) (citations omitted). However, if the plaintiff is proceeding pro se, the factual allegations contained in her complaint should be held "to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers." Sparrow v. United Air Lines, Inc., 216 F.3d 1111, 1113 n. 2 (D.C.Cir.2000) (quoting Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972)) (quotation marks omitted).

III. Analysis

A. Substitution of the Defendant

The plaintiff states in her amended complaint that Secretary Gutierrez is properly named as the defendant because he "is responsible for personnel action, omissions, and practices within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office." Am. Compl. ¶ 9. The defendant argues, on the other hand, that Jonathan Dudas, as the Director of the USPTO, is the "official agency head" for the purposes of the plaintiff s lawsuit and should thus be substituted as the named defendant. Def.'s Mem. at 4. The Court agrees with the defendant.

Neither party disputes that civil actions filed following the disposition of an EEOC complaint must name "the head of the [allegedly discriminating] department, agency, or unit . . . [as] the defendant." 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e)-16(c) (2000). The USPTO is "an agency of the United States[ ] within the Department of Commerce," and, among other autonomous responsibilities, it "exercise[s] independent control of its . . . personnel decisions and processes." 35 U.S.C. § 1(a) (2000). Thus, while the USPTO is a part of the DOC, it cannot be said, as the plaintiff claims, that Secretary Gutierrez "is responsible for personnel action, omissions, and practices within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office." Am. Compl. ¶ 9. Rather, the Director of the USPTO, Jonathan Dudas, as the head official of the USPTO—the alleged discriminating agency—is the proper defendant in this case.

The Court's conclusion is supported by Munson v. Evans, No. 02-195(JDB) (D.D.C. Nov. 26, 2002), which also held that the Director of the USPTO is the head of the agency for the purposes of employment discrimination lawsuits. The District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the District Court in Munson twice, stating in its second decision that "[t]he Director of the [USPTO] is the head of the alleged discriminating agency in [the] petitioner's complaint, and is therefore the appropriate defendant." In re: Gene M. Munson, No. 03-5034, 2003 WL 21396874, at * 1 (D.C.Cir. June 12, 2003). Accordingly, the Court grants the defendant's motion to substitute the Director of the USPTO as the named defendant.

B. Venue

The defendant also argues that the District of Columbia is the improper venue for this action, because (1) the acts complained of by the plaintiff occurred in Virginia; (2) the principal office of the USPTO is located in Virginia; and (3) the plaintiffs employment records are maintained in Virginia. Def.'s Mem. at 6-8. The Court agrees.

It is clear that the District of Columbia is not the appropriate venue for the plaintiff's Title VII claim. Under the relevant provision of Title VII, venue is proper

[1] in any judicial district in the State in which the unlawful employment practice is alleged to have been committed, [2] in the judicial district in which the employment records relevant to such practice are maintained and administered, or [3] in the judicial district in which the aggrieved person would have worked but for the alleged unlawful employment practice, but if the respondent is not found within any such district, such an action may be brought [4] within the judicial district in which the respondent has his principal office.

42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(3) (2000). Venue is improper in the District of Columbia under each of these criteria. First, the unlawful employment practice is alleged to have been committed entirely within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richardson Decl. ¶¶ 2-3 (stating that the plaintiff worked in Virginia and that "the personnel office, where the USPTO makes hiring, removal, and other personnel decisions" is located in Virginia); see generally Am. Compl. Second, the plaintiffs personnel records are maintained in St. Louis, Missouri, and all relevant employment litigation records are maintained in Virginia. Richardson Decl. ¶¶ 4, 5. Third, the plaintiff makes no allegation that she would have worked in the District of Columbia but for the alleged unlawful employment practices. See generally Am. Compl. Finally, resort to the final...