Patane v. Babson Coll.

SEBASTIANO PATANE, Plaintiff, v. BABSON COLLEGE, MARK POTTER, Individually and in his official capacity asAssociate Dean of the Graduate School at Babson College, MICHAEL CUMMINGS,Individually and in his official capacity as Professor in the Blended Learning Program atBabson College; and JESSICA HOSE, Individually and in her official capacity asAssociate Director of the Part Time MBA Program at Babson College, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-11603-ADB

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

May 18, 2021

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS

BURROUGHS, D.J.

Plaintiff Sebastiano Patane ("Plaintiff"), who is proceeding pro se, asserts various claims against Babson College ("Babson"), Mark Potter, Ph.D. ("Dr. Potter"), Michael Cummings, MBA, Ph.D. ("Dr. Cummings"), and Jessica Hose ("Ms. Hose," and together with Babson, Dr. Potter, and Dr. Cummings, "Defendants") in connection with Plaintiff's participation in and dismissal from Babson's Master of Business Administration Blended Learning Program (the "MBA Program"). [ECF No. 18 ("Am. Compl.")]. Currently before the Court is Defendants' motion to dismiss (1) Plaintiff's entire complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) because his claims are barred by res judicata and (2) Plaintiff's complaint as to Dr. Potter and Ms. Hose pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(5) because Plaintiff failed to properly serve those defendants. [ECF No. 13]. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion is GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from the amended complaint, [Am. Compl.], the well-pleaded allegations of which are taken as true for the purposes of evaluating the motion to dismiss. See Ruivo v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 766 F.3d 87, 90 (1st Cir. 2014). As it may on a motion to dismiss, the Court has also considered "documents incorporated by reference in [the complaint], matters of public record, and other matters susceptible to judicial notice." Giragosian v. Ryan, 547 F.3d 59, 65-66 (1st Cir. 2008) (alteration in original) (quoting In re Colonial Mortg. Bankers Corp., 324 F.3d 12, 20 (1st Cir. 2003)).

Plaintiff is a former graduate student in the MBA Program, which he attended between October 2015 and May 2017. [Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1-3, 188]. Plaintiff resides in Norwood, Massachusetts. [Id. ¶ 35]. He is a first-generation immigrant from Sicily, who relocated to the United States approximately six years before he enrolled at Babson. [Id. ¶ 39]. Babson is a private co-educational college located in Babson Park, Massachusetts. [Id. ¶ 36]. Dr. Potter is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Babson. [Id. ¶ 37]. Dr. Cummings is a professor in the MBA Program. [Id. ¶ 38]. Ms. Hose is "the Associate Director of [the] Part Time MBA Program" at Babson. [Id. at 1].¹

Plaintiff enrolled part time in the MBA Program in September 2015 and began attending the program on October 27, 2015. [Am. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 45]. During the Fall 2015 semester, Plaintiff was assigned to a team and he worked with that team on several group assignments. [Id. ¶ 3]. Throughout the semester, Plaintiff's team experienced numerous interpersonal issues and had trouble working together. [Id. ¶¶ 4-11, 55-76]. Plaintiff's teammates regularly "cut him off" and excluded his contributions from group projects. [Id. ¶¶ 6-7]. They used Plaintiff as a "scapegoat," attributed their problems to Plaintiff, and would "often resort[] to stereotypes surrounding Plaintiff's cultural background to . . . substantiate their complaints against" him. [Id. ¶¶ 5, 9-10].

In November 2015, Plaintiff and his teammates separately reached out to their professors regarding the team conflicts. [Am. Compl. ¶¶ 77-79]. Plaintiff sought help from one of his professors, Professor Bonnevie, and told him that he wanted to raise his team problems with "the Dean." [Id. ¶¶ 77-78]. Professor Bonnevie discouraged Plaintiff from pursuing his complaints and from escalating them to the Dean. [Id. ¶ 78]. Plaintiff's teammates, however, were encouraged to escalate their complaints. [Id. ¶ 79]. That same month, Ms. Hose, Dr. Potter, and other professors exchanged emails about the problems within Plaintiff's team. [Id. ¶¶ 80-82]. In one of these emails, sent by Ms. Hose to Dr. Potter, Ms. Hose noted that Plaintiff "was less active than his peers and that he did not fit well academically in the Program." [Id. ¶ 82].

On December 4, 2015, Plaintiff and his team met with one of their professors, Professor Marcinowski, to discuss the team's progress and an upcoming in-class presentation. [Am. Compl. ¶ 83]. Plaintiff's team eventually excluded him from contributing to that presentation, but Professor Marcinowski did not ask Plaintiff about this exclusion. [Id. ¶ 84]. Later that month, Plaintiff "received correspondence" from Professor Marcinowski stating that Plaintiff was missing assignments and not performing well in his class. [Id. ¶ 86]. Plaintiff informed Professor Marcinowski that he was struggling in part due to his worsening health condition.² [Id. ¶ 86]. Despite this, Professor Marcinowski did not tell Plaintiff of available assistance through the Student Learning Center, and offered to assist Plaintiff only four days before the end of the course. [Id. ¶¶ 87, 90]. Professor Marcinowski also corresponded with Dr. Potter and Ms. Hose and told them that Plaintiff had missed assignments and was struggling in class. [Id. ¶ 88].

Plaintiff's problems with his team continued into the Spring 2016 semester. See [Am. Compl. ¶¶ 91-104]. During that semester, Plaintiff and his teammates attended two courses, "Strategy" and "Data, Models and Decisions." [Id. ¶ 91]. In late April 2016, Plaintiff's teammates excluded him from a group assignment. [Id. ¶¶ 92-93]. Plaintiff informed Professor Cummings, who taught "Strategy," about the problems within the team and sent evidence of his teammates' hostility. [Id. ¶¶ 91, 94-95].

On April 22, 2016, the tension within the group escalated and Plaintiff was confronted by his teammates. [Am. Compl. ¶¶ 96-97]. They yelled at Plaintiff, blamed Plaintiff for the team's "late progress," and one of the teammates threatened Plaintiff by saying "[s]top speaking or I will say that you are being aggressive to the girls!" [Id.]. After the incident, one of Plaintiff's teammates went to the Admissions Office. [Id. ¶ 99]. Plaintiff was then interrogated by the campus police about the incident and was ultimately asked to return to class and not to interact with other students. [Id. ¶ 100].

After the April 22, 2016 incident, Plaintiff again sought help from Professor Bonnevie and also reached out to Dr. Cummings to ask for a meeting about the incident. [Am Compl. ¶¶ 105-06]. Dr. Cummings denied Plaintiff's request for a meeting. [Id. ¶ 106]. Meanwhile, Plaintiff's teammates told other students about the incident, falsely saying that Plaintiff was involved in a physical altercation. [Id. ¶ 104]. Eventually, on April 25, 2016, the "Class Representative" reached out to Dr. Potter and expressed that students in the MBA Program had concerns about working with Plaintiff. [Id.]. On that same day, Ms. Hose sent an email to Dr. Potter, Dr. Bonnevie, Associate Dean Nan Langowitz, and others recommending that Plaintiff be dismissed from the MBA Program because of these team conflicts, noting that Plaintiff's "duality"— pleasant with administrators but "antagonistic towards his peers"—was concerning and related to Plaintiff's cultural differences. [Id. ¶¶ 139-41]. Dr. Potter also wrote to Associate Dean Nan Langowitz recommending Plaintiff's dismissal. [Id. ¶ 142]. Dean Langowitz informed Dr. Potter that Plaintiff's actions were insufficient grounds for his dismissal based on Babson's policies and community standards. [Id. ¶ 143].

On April 26, 2016, Dr. Potter, Associate Dean Langowitz, Dr. Cummings, and others exchanged emails looking for a workaround to Plaintiff's team issues that would allow Plaintiff to complete his coursework. [Am. Compl. ¶¶ 110-11]. In these exchanges, Dr. Cummings referred to Plaintiff as "a cancer" and "a snake." [Id. ¶¶ 110-11]. That same day, Dr. Cummings asked Plaintiff to complete his course work alone and to work alone on the final exam. [Id. ¶¶ 112, 114]. Dr. Cummings also told Plaintiff that he would be responsible for individual posts, but would not be responsible for any further group posts in the class. [Id. ¶ 114]. Plaintiff accepted these conditions. [Id. ¶ 115]. Plaintiff assumed that Dr. Cummings would credit Plaintiff for his contributions to team assignments that were completed prior to the April 22, 2016 incident. [Id. ¶ 116]. Plaintiff also requested that Dr. Cummings let him do extra work to make up for any shortcomings caused by team issues, [id. ¶ 117], but Professor Cummings denied the request, [id. ¶ 118].

On May 5, 2016, after the end of the Spring 2016 semester, Dr. Cummings wrote to Dr. Potter and Ms. Hose to inform them that Plaintiff had received a failing grade in his class. [Am. Compl. ¶ 124]. Dr. Cummings explained that the grade was due to Plaintiff's insufficient class postings, lack of class engagement, and a B grade on the final paper. [Id.]. On May 6, 2016, Plaintiff learned of his failing grade and began the grade dispute process. [Id. ¶ 125]. Plaintiff also sought an explanation for his failing grade from Dr. Cummings. [Id. ¶ 126]. Dr. Cummings told Plaintiff that he failed due to poor participation in class. [Id. ¶ 127]. While this grade dispute was ongoing, Ms. Hose informed Plaintiff that the Academic Standard Committee (the "Committee") had placed him on academic probation because his GPA was under the MBA Program's required 2.80 GPA and because he had failed a course. [Id. ¶ 145]. Ms. Hose failed to inform Plaintiff of his right to appeal the Committee's decision concerning academic probation. [Id. ¶ 148]. During the grade dispute process, Plaintiff complained that Dr. Cummings failed to...