Wang v. Gen. Motors, LLC
| Decision Date | 05 March 2019 |
| Docket Number | Civil Case No. 18-10347 |
| Citation | 371 F.Supp.3d 407 |
| Parties | Shawn WANG, Plaintiff, v. GENERAL MOTORS, LLC and GM (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Ahmad A. Chehab, David A. Kotzian, Gasiorek Morgan Greco McCauley & Kotzian PC, Farmington Hills, MI, for Plaintiff.
Benjamin A. Anchill, U.S. Attorney's Office, Detroit, MI, Alexis A. Martin, Daniel G. Cohen, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PLLC, Birmingham, MI, for Defendants.
On January 30, 2018, Plaintiff filed this lawsuit against Defendants asserting the following claims: (I) age discrimination in violation of the federal Age Discrimination and Employment Act ("ADEA"); (II) age discrimination in violation of Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act ("ELCRA"); (III) race and ethnic discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 ; (IV) race and national origin discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"); and (V) race and national origin discrimination under the ELCRA. Defendants are General Motors, LLC ("GM") and GM (China) Investment Co., Ltd. ("GMCIC"). The matter is presently before the Court on GM's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or, alternatively, under the forum non conveniens doctrine. (ECF No. 11.) The motion has been fully briefed (ECF Nos. 14, 15.) GM and Plaintiff also filed supplemental briefs addressing the law of the People's Republic of China, which is relevant to arguments raised by GM. (ECF Nos. 22, 24-27.) Finding the facts and legal arguments sufficiently presented in the parties' briefs, the Court is dispensing with oral argument pursuant to Eastern District of Michigan Local Rule 7.1(f).
In its motion, GM states that it is seeking dismissal pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and (6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This Court previously addressed whether GM's motion is properly considered under Rule 12(b)(1) in an opinion and order issued on September 20, 2018. (ECF No. 21.) As the Court explained there, GM's challenges to Plaintiff's claims are not in fact challenges to the existence of subject matter jurisdiction. (Id. at Pg ID 406-09.) Rather, they are challenges to Plaintiff's ability to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Accordingly, the standards applicable to a Rule 12(b)(6)motion, rather than a Rule 12(b)(1) motion, govern GM's motion.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief[.]" Under this notice pleading standard, a complaint need not contain "detailed factual allegations," but it must contain more than "labels and conclusions" or "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action...." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A complaint does not "suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertions’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’ " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).
As the Supreme Court provided in Iqbal and Twombly , "[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ " Id. (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). "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. (citing Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). The plausibility standard "does not impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage; it simply calls for enough facts to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of illegal [conduct]." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955.
In deciding whether the plaintiff has set forth a "plausible" claim, the court must accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true. Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). This presumption, however, is not applicable to legal conclusions. Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 668, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Therefore, "[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Id. (citing Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).
Further, as stated in this Court's September 20, 2018 decision, "[t]he Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow courts to consider a broad spectrum of materials to determine an issue of foreign law, even when ruling on a motion to dismiss." (ECF No. 21 at Pg ID 410, citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 44.1.)
Plaintiff was born in China on July 3, 1957. (Compl. ¶¶ 7, 8, ECF No. 1 at Pg ID 2.) He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1999, and currently maintains only U.S. citizenship. (Id. ¶ 8, Pg ID 2.)
In February 1989, Plaintiff began working for GM in Canada. (Id. ¶ 9, Pg ID 3.) On or about July 1, 2009, GM transferred Plaintiff to a new job assignment at GMCIC as Senior Manager for Automotive Performance, Test and Validation in the Engineering Laboratories Department. (Id. ¶ 10, Pg ID 3.) The position was in Shanghai, China. (Id. ) As a United States citizen, Plaintiff was required to have a work visa and resident permit to work in China. (Id. ¶ 11, Pg ID 3.)
On or about August 1, 2015, Charon Morgan became Director of Engineering at GMCIC and, in that capacity, was Plaintiff's immediate supervisor. (Id. ¶ 12, Pg ID 3.) Plaintiff believes that Ms. Morgan's supervisor was Tobias1 Suenner, GMCIC's Vice President for Vehicle Engineering, who in turn reported to Kenneth L. Kelzer, who worked in the United States as GM's Vice President of Global Vehicle Components and Subsystems. (Id. ¶ 13, Pg ID 3.)
On or about January 24, 2017, Ms. Morgan and Grace Zheng, GMCIC's Human Resources Manager, informed Plaintiff that he was going to be mandatorily retired on July 3, 2017, when he turned sixty years-old. (Id. ¶ 15, Pg ID 3.) Plaintiff objected, noting that David Reeck, a colleague who was transferred to GMCIC around the same time as Plaintiff, worked in China for GMCIC until he was sixty-five years-old. (Id. ¶ 16, Pg ID 4.) Plaintiff believes Mr. Reeck, who is Caucasian, is a United States Citizen and not of Chinese national origin. (Id. ¶ 17, Pg ID 4.) At a subsequent meeting with Ms. Morgan on February 17, 2017, Plaintiff tried to reverse the decision to mandatorily retire him. (Id. ¶ 18, Pg ID 4.) In response, Ms. Morgan analogized Plaintiff's situation to Kevin Wang, a locally hired engineer manager who was a Chinese citizen. (Id. ¶ 19, Pg ID 4.)
On February 23, 2017, Plaintiff sent Ms. Morgan an email, stating that the decision to mandatorily retire him at age sixty contradicted a company memorandum he became aware of in 2009, when he transitioned to his job position in China. (Id. ¶ 20, Pg ID 4.) Entitled "Retirement Age" with a GM logo heading and an effective date of April 1, 2000, the memo reads in relevant part:
(Compl. ¶ 21, ECF No. 1 at Pg ID 5, emphasis removed.) Ms. Morgan responded to Plaintiff's email on February 24, 2017, "clarify[ing] that there's no business needs to extend your employment after your legal retirement age in China which is 60 years old according to applicable China law." (Id. ¶ 22, Pg ID 5.)
In an email to Ms. Morgan and Ms. Zheng on March 13, 2017, Plaintiff disputed Ms. Morgan's claim that there was no business need to retain him, pointing out that there was a posting for Plaintiff's same and/or similar position already on "GM Global Internal Jobs." (Id. ¶ 24, Pg ID 5.) The following day, Ms. Zheng responded, asserting that "business need" refers to the continuation of employment of the employee, not the job position. (Id. ¶ 26, Pg ID 6.)
In his March 13, 2017 email to Ms. Morgan and Ms. Zheng, Plaintiff also asked to be transferred back to the United States if he could not continue working in China. (Id. ¶ 25, Pg ID 5.) Plaintiff made several other contacts with GM, attempting to obtain positions in the United States. He was unable to secure a position, however. (Id. )
On May 16, 2017, Ms. Morgan and Ron Fraser authored a mass email using the GM logo announcing that Plaintiff "will retire after 28 years of service." (Id. ¶ 27, Pg ID 6.) The email also announced that Gregory Schone had been appointed as the new manager of GM China Engineering Laboratories and would be relocating to Shanghai, China. (Id. ¶ 28, Pg ID 6.) Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Schone is a substantially younger Caucasian who had been working for GM in the United States. (Id. )
On July 1, 2017, Plaintiff was involuntarily retired. (Id. ¶ 29, Pg ID 6.) He thereafter returned to his home in Clarkston, Michigan, and filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). (Id. ¶¶ 1, 31, Pg ID 2, 6.) The EEOC issued a right-to-sue letter on January 17, 2018. (Id. ) As indicated, Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit a short time later, on January 30, 2018.
GM contends that GMCIC is a foreign company, which GM does not...
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