Yoder v. Frontier Nursing Univ., Inc.

351 F.Supp.3d 934

Amy YODER, Plaintiff,

v.FRONTIER NURSING UNIVERSITY, INC., Defendant.

Case No. 3:17-cv-18

United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania.

Filed October 30, 2018

R. Emmett Madden, Law Office of R. Emmett Madden, Jenkintown, PA, for Plaintiff.

Kevin L. Colosimo, Frost Brown Todd LLC, Nicholas J. Koch, Frost Brown Todd, Pittsburgh, PA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KIM R. GIBSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Introduction

Pending before the Court are Defendant Frontier Nursing University's ("Defendant" or "FNU") Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 43) and Plaintiff Amy Yoder's ("Plaintiff") Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 47). This matter has been fully brief (ECF Nos. 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 53, 54) and is ripe for disposition.

This litigation arises from Defendant's dismissal of Plaintiff, a student at FNU, for violating its honor code. Plaintiff sued Defendant for breach of contract, alleging that "[a] contract for education existed between Defendant and Plaintiff" that Defendant breached by dismissing Plaintiff. (ECF No. 20 ¶¶ 32-33.) Plaintiff moves for summary judgment on her breach of contract claim, arguing that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to any of the elements of her claim. (ECF No. 47 at 2.) Defendant also moves for summary judgment, contending that Plaintiff's lawsuit is barred by the applicable statute of limitations and that Plaintiff failed to adequately plead or prove breach of contract. (ECF No. 43 at 1.) Because this Court agrees that Plaintiff's claim is unmistakably barred by Pennsylvania's four-year statute of limitations for breach of contract claims, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 43) and DENIES Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 47).

II. Jurisdiction & Venue

This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this case based on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). Furthermore, venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2), as a substantial portion of the events giving rise to Plaintiff's claim occurred in the Western District of Pennsylvania.

III. Procedural History¹

Plaintiff initiated this action by filing a Complaint on February 27, 2017. (ECF No. 1.) Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to 12(B)(6) (ECF No. 9) and Memorandum in Support thereof (ECF No. 10) on June 5, 2017. Plaintiff responded on July 24, 2017 (ECF No. 12) and filed a Memorandum of Law in Support of Her Response (ECF No. 19) on August 25, 2017. Also on August 25, 2017, Plaintiff moved to amend the Complaint (ECF No. 21). On January 4, 2018, this Court denied Defendant's Motion to Dismiss as moot and granted Plaintiff's Motion to Amend (ECF No. 26). Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint (ECF No. 20) thus became the operative complaint.

Following Plaintiff's Motion to Extend Discovery Deadlines (ECF No. 27), which this Court denied as lacking good cause on January 16, 2018 (ECF No. 30), Defendant filed its Answer and Affirmative Defense to Plaintiff's Amended Complaint (ECF No. 32). On March 13, 2018, Defendant filed a Motion to Compel Production of Documents and for Sanctions Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 37 and a corresponding Brief in Support (ECF Nos. 35, 36, 37, 38), which this Court granted (ECF No. 40) after considering Plaintiff's Response (ECF No. 39). This Court later ordered Plaintiff to pay Defendant's reasonable attorney's fees and costs for legal work performed on Defendant's Motion to Compel (ECF No. 42).

On August 21, 2018, Defendant filed its Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 43) and Memorandum in Support thereof (ECF No. 44), along with a Concise Statement of Material Facts (ECF No. 45). Plaintiff filed her Response on September 11, 2018 (ECF No. 48), which was not accompanied by responsive concise statements of material facts.² Defendant did not file a discretionary reply.

On September 11, 2018, Plaintiff also filed her own Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 47), Memorandum in Support (ECF No. 48), and Concise Statement of Material Facts (ECF No. 46). Defendant responded on October 5, 2018 (ECF No. 53) and included a Response to Plaintiff's Concise Statement of Material Facts (ECF No. 54). Plaintiff did not file a discretionary reply.

IV. Factual History

The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise noted.³

Plaintiff, a Pennsylvania resident and citizen of Pennsylvania, attended FNU, a private university, via online instruction. (ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 1-3; ECF No. 45 ¶¶ 1-2; ECF No. 46 ¶¶ 1-2; ECF No. 54 ¶¶1-2.) In February 2012, Plaintiff emailed another student a copy of her notes for a class entitled "NM617." (ECF No. 45 ¶ 3; ECF No. 45-4 at 1; ECF No. 46 ¶ 5; ECF No. 54 ¶ 5.) Those notes included the questions and answers to quizzes that the other student had yet to take. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 3; ECF No. 45-4 at 2; ECF No. 46 ¶ 5; ECF No. 54 ¶ 5.) Plaintiff also provided assistance to that student by giving her answers to complete a research assignment. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 4; ECF No. 45-4 at 1; ECF No. 45-5 at 2.) Once a staff member at FNU discovered that Plaintiff forwarded information to the other student, including quizzes and answers to those quizzes, Plaintiff was referred to FNU's Honor Code Council for an alleged Honor Code violation. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 5; ECF No. 45-4 at 2; ECF No. 46-3 at 2.)

FNU's Honor Code Policy, in relevant part, states:

Students may be dismissed for violation of FNU standards of conduct. Violations of the expected standards of conduct, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Cheating: Cheating is the attempt to gain improper advantage in an academic evaluation. Among the forms that this kind of dishonesty can take are: obtaining a copy of an examination before it is officially available, learning an examination question from another student before taking the examination, or consulting an unauthorized source during an examination. These sources could include electronic sources, paper sources, or human sources. Submitting part or all of work done by another student as one's own work is also cheating. This also includes sharing your own work with other students in any form (via email, posting on the internet, etc.).

(ECF No. 45 ¶¶ 6, 8; ECF No. 45-6 at 1-2.) The Honor Code Council determined that Plaintiff committed an Honor Code violation. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 7; ECF No. 45-5 at 2.) As a result, FNU's Administrative Team dismissed Plaintiff from FNU on March 13, 2012. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 9; ECF No. 45-7; ECF No. 45-8 at 1; ECF No. 45-9; ECF No. 46 ¶ 9.) Plaintiff's appeal of her dismissal was denied on April 24, 2012. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 10; ECF No. 45-10.) Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit on February 7, 2017. (ECF No. 1; ECF No. 45 ¶ 11; ECF No. 46 ¶ 11.)

V. Legal Standard

"Summary judgment is appropriate only where ... there is no genuine issue as to any material fact ... and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Melrose, Inc. v. Pittsburgh , 613 F.3d 380, 387 (3d Cir. 2010) (quoting Ruehl v. Viacom, Inc. , 500 F.3d 375, 380 n.6 (3d Cir. 2007) ); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Issues of fact are genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ; see also McGreevy v. Stroup , 413 F.3d 359, 363 (3d Cir. 2005). Material facts are those that will affect the outcome of the trial under governing law. Anderson , 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The Court's role is "not to weigh the evidence or to determine the truth of the matter, but only to determine whether the evidence of record is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Am. Eagle Outfitters v. Lyle & Scott Ltd. , 584 F.3d 575, 581 (3d Cir. 2009). "In making this determination, ‘a court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draw all inferences in that party's favor.’ " Farrell v. Planters Lifesavers Co. , 206 F.3d 271, 278 (3d Cir. 2000) (quoting Armbruster v. Unisys Corp. , 32 F.3d 768, 777 (3d Cir. 1994) ).

The moving party bears the initial responsibility of stating the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex , 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the moving party meets this burden, the party opposing summary judgment "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials" of the pleading, but "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Saldana v. Kmart Corp. , 260 F.3d 228, 232 (3d Cir. 2001) (quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 587 n.11, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) ). "For an issue to be genuine, the nonmovant needs to supply more than a scintilla of evidence in support of its position – there must be sufficient evidence (not mere allegations) for a reasonable jury to find for the nonmovant." Coolspring Stone Supply v. Am. States Life Ins. Co. , 10 F.3d 144, 148 (3d Cir. 1993) ; see also Podobnik v. U.S. Postal Serv. , 409 F.3d 584, 594 (3d Cir. 2005) (noting that a party opposing summary judgment "must present more than just bare assertions, conclusory allegations or suspicions to show the existence of a genuine issue") (internal quotation marks omitted).

VI. Discussion

In this case, Defendant argues that it is entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiff's breach of contract claim because Plaintiff's claim is barred by Pennsylvania's four-year statute of limitations. (ECF No. 44 at 4.) Plaintiff counters that Kentucky's fifteen-year statute of limitations governs (ECF No. 48 at 4), and that even if Pennsylvania's shorter statute of limitations applies, the statute of limitations did not start to run until December 17, 2014 (id. at 5). The Court agrees with Defendant that Plaintiff's breach of contract claim is clearly...