Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-00953/USCOURTS-caed-2_15-cv-00953-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal - Employment Discrimination

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

TIFFANY BAKER; TESSA TODD,

Plaintiffs,

v.

UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.; 

and DOES 1-50,

Defendants.

No. 2:15-cv-00953-JAM-EFB

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND 

DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT’S 

MOTION TO STRIKE

Defendant United Natural Foods, Inc. (“UNFI” or “Defendant”) 

employed Plaintiff Tiffany Baker (“Baker” or “Plaintiff”) for 

several years, then fired her when it allegedly could no longer 

accommodate her disability. Defendant now moves to strike 

certain portions of Plaintiff’s allegations. The Court grants 

the motion only insofar as Plaintiff does not oppose it.1

///

///

 

1 This motion was determined to be suitable for decision without 

oral argument. E.D. Cal. L.R. 230(g). The hearing was 

scheduled for September 2, 2015.

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I. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff suffers from medical conditions including chronic 

back pain and degenerative disk disease. FAC ¶ 8. During 

Plaintiff’s employment, Defendant accommodated her disability by 

allowing her to work from home for part of the week. FAC ¶¶ 6, 

9. 

After seven years of working with this arrangement,

Defendant’s human resources representatives began contacting 

Baker requesting doctor’s notes. FAC ¶¶ 15-18. Shortly 

thereafter, they informed her that “they could no longer 

accommodate her doctor’s orders.” FAC ¶ 19. They then fired 

her. FAC ¶¶ 20-23.

Baker sued Defendant alleging disability discrimination, 

medical condition discrimination, failure to provide a reasonable 

accommodation (all under California’s Fair Employment and Housing 

Act (“FEHA”)), and wrongful termination. She joins Plaintiff 

Tessa Todd in alleging wage and hour violations, and violations 

of the Unfair Competition Law. Among their requests for relief 

in the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) (Doc. #9) Plaintiffs seek 

“...compensatory damages, emotional distress damages and punitive 

damages according to proof.” (FAC, Prayer for relief, p.16) 

Defendant brings this motion to strike all references to the 

claim for punitive damages, as well as words and phrases that 

Defendant finds “redundant, immaterial or impertinent.” (Doc. 

#16). Plaintiffs oppose the motion in part (Doc. #17).

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II. OPINION

A. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) permits a court to

“strike from a pleading . . . any redundant, immaterial, 

impertinent, or scandalous matter.” Motions to strike are 

“disfavored”; they “should not be granted unless the matter to be 

stricken clearly could have no possible bearing on the subject of 

the litigation.” Rees v. PNC Bank, N.A., 2015 WL 1548952, at *3 

(N.D. Cal. Apr. 7, 2015) (citation and quotation marks omitted). 

In ruling on a 12(f) motion, the Court must view the pleadings in 

the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Platte Anchor 

Bolt, Inc. v. IHI, Inc., 352 F. Supp. 2d 1048, 1057 (N.D. Cal. 

2004).

B. Analysis

 Plaintiffs do not oppose Defendant’s motion as to certain 

allegations, and, given this concession, the Court strikes the

specific references to harassment, and “safety violations,”

identified in Defendant’s moving papers as well as the punitive 

damages claims for all causes of action except the FEHA claims. 

Plaintiffs oppose the remainder of the motion.

Defendant argues that the FEHA punitive damages claims are

inadequate because Plaintiffs do not plead that an “officer, 

director, or managing agent” had “advance knowledge and conscious 

disregard [of], authoriz[ed], [or] ratifi[ed] [an] act of 

oppression, fraud or malice[.]” Mot. at 2:18-20. Plaintiffs 

contend that the FAC pleads that Jason Cloutier engaged in such 

behavior, and that he should be considered a managing agent. 

Opp. at 4.

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A plaintiff may plead a defendant’s state of mind warranting

punitive damages generally. Rees, 2015 WL 1548952, at *6; Somera 

v. Indymac Fed. Bank, FSB, 2010 WL 761221, at *10 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 

3, 2010) (“Under federal pleading standards, defendant's argument 

that plaintiff must plead specific facts to support allegations 

for punitive damages is without merit.”). But where a corporate 

defendant is involved, punitive damages are only available if the 

claims involve the actions of “an officer, director, or managing 

agent of the corporation.” Cal. Civ. Code § 3294(b). The key 

inquiry is whether the individual “guide[d] corporate policy.” 

Cruz v. HomeBase, 83 Cal.App.4th 160, 167-68 (2000) (citing White 

v. Ultramar, Inc., 21 Cal.4th 563 (1999)); see Taylor v. Trees, 

Inc., 58 F. Supp. 3d 1092, 1106 (E.D. Cal. 2014) (“A plaintiff 

must demonstrate that an alleged managing agent exercises 

substantial discretionary authority over significant aspects of a 

corporation’s business.”) (citation and quotation marks omitted). 

The FAC here alleges, “Baker is informed and believes, and 

thereon alleges, that his [sic] termination by defendants, and 

each of them, was done with an intent to cause injury to BAKER. 

As a consequence of aforesaid oppressive, malicious, and 

despicable conduct, BAKER is entitled to an award of punitive 

damages . . . .” FAC ¶ 56. Although general, this statement 

sufficiently pleads oppression and malice. Somera, 2010 WL 

761221, at *10 (“[A] plaintiff may include a ‘short and plain’ 

prayer for punitive damages that relies entirely on unsupported 

and conclusory averments of malice or fraudulent intent.”) 

(citation and quotation marks omitted). 

The FAC also adequately pleads the involvement of a managing 

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agent. First, Cloutier, as a “member of [Defendant’s] National 

HR office,” FAC ¶ 15, plausibly had substantial authority over 

“significant aspects of [Defendant’s] business” – namely, its 

human resources department. And even if Cloutier was not a 

managing agent, Plaintiffs have also alleged that Baker was 

instructed to “provide a doctor’s note to UNFI within two weeks 

so that UNFI can determine if they could continue to accommodate 

her[.]” FAC ¶ 15. This statement indicates that Defendant 

(through some agent) knew of Baker’s employment arrangement and 

sought the doctor’s note. See Robinson v. Managed Accounts 

Receivables Corp., 654 F. Supp. 2d 1051, 1055, 1066 n.13 (C.D. 

Cal. 2009) (inferring involvement of corporation’s agents where 

defendant’s employee allegedly represented that she was 

“authorized” to engage in the offending behavior). 

Because Plaintiffs have pled malice and oppression, as well 

as the involvement of a managing agent, the punitive damages 

claims under FEHA remain pertinent to this case. The Court 

therefore will not strike them.

III.ORDER

For the reasons set forth above, the Court DENIES 

Defendant’s motion to strike punitive damages from the FEHA 

claims (first through third causes of action). The Court GRANTS 

Defendant’s motion to strike as to the references to harassment, 

“safety violations,” and punitive damages related to the other 

claims. IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 22, 2015

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