Jones v. Bernanke

685 F.Supp.2d 31

Charles B. JONES, Plaintiff,

v.Ben BERNANKE, Chairman of The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 04-1696(RMU).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Decided: Feb. 15, 2010.

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John L. Kuray, Board of Governors of The Federal Reserve System, Katherine H. Wheatley, Federal Reserve System Board of Governors, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RICARDO M. URBINA, District Judge. Granting The Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Supplement the Complaint Denying Without Prejudice the Plaintiff's Motion for Discovery I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the court on the plaintiff's motion for leave to supplement his complaint and motion for discovery. The plaintiff, a former employee of the Federal Reserve, commenced this action alleging that the defendant discriminated against him on the basis of his age and gender and retaliated against him for participating in protected activity, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C §§ 633a et seq., and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-l et seq. The court granted summary judgment to the defendant on all of the plaintiffs claims. On appeal, the Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff's discrimination claims but remanded the plaintiff's retaliation claims for further proceedings. The plaintiff now moves to supplement his complaint to add claims of additional retaliatory treatment and constructive discharge. In addition, the plaintiff seeks discovery pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f).

Because the plaintiff's proposed supplemental claims are not futile and because permitting supplementation would not significantly prejudice the defendant, the court grants the plaintiff's motion for leave to supplement the complaint. The court however, denies without prejudice the plaintiff's Rule 56(f) motion for discovery as that motion is premature.

II. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The factual background and procedural history underlying this case are detailed in the prior decisions of this court and the Circuit. See, e.g., Mem. Op. (Mar. 10 2008) at 56-58; Jones v. Bernanke, 557 F.3d 670, 672-74 (D.C.Cir.2009). By way of brief background, the plaintiff alleges that in March 1998, Michael Martinson, his then-supervisor, did not promote him to a managerial position and instead selected a younger woman for the position. Am Compl. ¶©9-10. The plaintiff suspected that his age or gender was a factor in his non-selection, but did not file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") because Martinson and another supervisor, William Ryback, assured him that he would receive a onelevel promotion. Id. ¶¶ 11-12. After the promised promotion did not materialize, in November 1999, the plaintiff filed an informal charge with the defendant's EEOC office. Id. ¶ 17. The plaintiff then filed a formal administrative complaint in January 2000. See Def.'s First Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 4.

The plaintiff alleges that after he filed the administrative complaint, Martinson unjustifiably downgraded his performance evaluations from "outstanding" in 1999 to "commendable" in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Am. Compl. ¶ 18. The plaintiff contends that these "false" and "disparaging" performance evaluations were given in retaliation for his participation in protected EEOC activity. Id. ¶ 27.

The plaintiff filed his original complaint in this court on October 4, 2004, alleging that the defendant unlawfully retaliated against him in violation of Title VII and the ADEA by giving him downgraded performance evaluations for the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. See generally Compl. On December 13, 2005, the court granted summary judgment to the defendant on all of the plaintiff's claims except for the one based on his performance evaluation for the year 2000. See generally Mem. Op., 402 F.Supp.2d 294 (D.D.C. 2005).

On August 29, 2006, the court granted the plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint to assert a disparate treatment claim under Title VII and the ADEA based on his non-selection for the manager position. See generally Mem. Op., 445 F.Supp.2d 53 (D.D.C.2006). In a memorandum opinion dated June 11, 2007, the court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment on his non-selection claim and allotted thirty days for the defendant to file a motion addressing the retaliation claim based on the 2000 performance evaluation. See generally Mem. Op., 493 F.Supp.2d 18 (D.D.C.2007). On March 10, 2008, the court granted summary judgment to the defendant on the plaintiffs remaining retaliation claim based on his 2000 performance evaluation, thus disposing of all of the plaintiffs claims. See generally Mem. Op., 538 F.Supp.2d 53 (D.D.C.2008).

On appeal, the Circuit affirmed the court's dismissal of the plaintiff's disparate treatment claim, but reversed the court's ruling on the plaintiff's claim regarding his 2000 performance evaluation, holding that the plaintiff had offered sufficient evidence to permit a reasonable jury to believe that the performance evaluation constituted retaliation. Jones, 557 F.3d at 674, 679-81. In addition, the Circuit reversed the court's ruling on the plaintiffs claims based on his 2001, 2002 and 2003 performance evaluations and remanded those claims for further proceedings. Id. at 681.

Following remand, the plaintiff filed this motion to supplement the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(d). See generally PL's Mot. to Supplement Compl. The plaintiff seeks to add a claim regarding the performance evaluation he received in 2004, which assigned the plaintiff a marginal rating in several performance categories and which the plaintiff contends was retaliatory like the performance evaluations given in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. See id. at 8-13. In addition, the plaintiff seeks to add a claim for constructive discharge, alleging that the defendant's retaliatory behavior forced him to resign from his position in August 2005. See id.

On June 29, 2009, the plaintiff filed a motion for discovery. See generally PL's Mot. for Discovery. Through this motion, the plaintiff seeks to augment the discovery he obtained at the administrative level under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(f), which authorizes discovery to permit a party to obtain facts essential to justify its opposition to a motion for summary judgment. See generally id.

Both motions are now ripe. See generally Def.'s Opp'n to PL's Mot. to Supplement Compl. & PL's Mot. for Discovery ("Def.'s Opp'n"); PL's Reply in Support of Mot. to Supplement Compl. ("PL's Reply"). The court now turns to an analysis of the applicable legal standards and the parties' arguments.

III. ANALYSIS

A. The Court Grants the Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Supplement the Complaint

1. Legal Standard to Supplement a Pleading Pursuant to Rule 15(d)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(d) authorizes the court, "upon reasonable notice and upon such terms as are just," to permit a party to serve a supplemental pleading setting forth events which have occurred since the filing of the original complaint. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(d). The rule's basic aim is "to make pleadings a means to achieve an orderly and fair administration of justice." Gomez v. Wilson All F.2d 411, 417 (D.C.Cir.1973) (quoting Griffin v. County School Bd., 377 U.S. 218, 227, 84 S.Ct. 1226, 12 L.Ed.2d 256 (1964)). Supplements under Rule 15(d) always require leave of the court, and should be "freely granted when doing so will promote the economic and speedy disposition of the entire controversy between the parties, will not cause undue delay or trial inconvenience, and will not prejudice the rights of any of the other parties to the action." Hall v. CIA 437 F.3d 94, 100 (D.C.Cir.2006) (citing United States v. Hicks, 283 F.3d 380, 385 (D.C.Cir.2002)); Wildearth Guardians v. Kempthorne, 592 F.Supp.2d 18, 23 (D.D.C.2008) (noting that leave to supplement under Rule 15(d) "should be freely given unless there is a good reason, such as futility, to the contrary") (quoting Willoughby v. Potomac Elec. Power Co., 100 F.3d 999, 1003 (D.C.Cir.1996)). The court has broad discretion in determining whether to allow supplemental pleadings in the interests of judicial economy and convenience. Wildearth Guardians, 592 F.Supp.2d at 23.

2. The Parties' Arguments

The plaintiff seeks leave to supplement his complaint to add a retaliation claim based on his 2004 performance evaluation and a claim for constructive discharge. See generally PL's Mot. to Supplement Compl. He asserts that the proposed claim regarding his 2004 performance evaluation is merely a continuation of the claims concerning the retaliatory perform- ance evaluations he received in 2000, 2001 2002 and 2003. Id. at 8. Likewise, the plaintiff contends that his constructive discharge claim is "connected" to the original complaint in that his forced resignation was the result of the defendant's ongoing retaliatory performance evaluations, which precluded him from any further career advancement. Id. at 9. Given the fact that the proposed supplemental claims represent a continuation of the claims raised in the complaint, the plaintiff argues, the defendant can claim neither surprise nor prejudice and the court should permit supplementation.¹ Id. at 12.

The defendant contends that the court should deny the plaintiff's motion to supplement as futile. See generally Def.'s Opp'n. The defendant argues that the plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies for either claim, such that those claims would be subject to dismissal if the court granted leave to supplement. Id. at 6-9. In addition, the defendant contends that the plaintiff has failed to state a claim for retaliation or constructive discharge because he has not asserted a set of allegations that would plausibly support either claim. Id. at 3-5, 9-10. Lastly, the defendant contends that...