Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_13-cv-02327/USCOURTS-azd-2_13-cv-02327-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 42:2000e Job Discrimination (Employment)

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WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

ANNETTE J. NGANJE, an individual, )

) 

 Plaintiff, ) 

) 

vs. ) 

)

CVS Rx SERVICES, INC., )

) No. 2:13-cv-2327-HRH

 Defendant. )

__________________________________________) 

O R D E R

Motion to Dismiss

Defendant moves to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. This motion is opposed. Oral 1 2

argument was requested but is not deemed necessary. 

Background

Plaintiff is Annette J. Nganje. Plaintiff is black, African in race, and originally from

Cameroon, West Africa. Plaintiff began working for defendant CVS Rx Services, Inc. as a

3

Docket No. 8. 1

Docket No. 15. 2

Original Complaint at 3, ¶ 10, Docket No. 1. 3

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 1 of 19
pharmacist in June 2005 in Minnesota. In 2007, plaintiff moved to Arizona, where she

4

continued to work for defendant. Plaintiff worked at defendant’s Store 01719 in Queen 5

Creek, Arizona. Plaintiff “was the only black pharmacist in the CVS district in which she 6

worked.” Jennifer Richmond was plaintiff’s Pharmacy Manager; John Cerni was her 7

District Manager; and Don Mott was her Store Manager.

8

Plaintiff alleges that “Cerni has treated her with hostility not shown to non-black,

non-African employees.” Plaintiff alleges that Cerni “mishandled [her] immigration 9

paperwork ... which ... required [her] to take a forced leave of absence for several

months....” Plaintiff alleges that in January 2010, Cerni “wrote her up” “for alleged

10

customer service issues based on complete hearsay – ignoring the many customer thank

yous and emails communicated to CVS regarding” plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that Cerni 11

Id. at 2, ¶ 4. 4

Id. at ¶ 8. 5

Id. at 3, ¶ 9. 6

Id. at ¶ 11. 7

Id. at ¶ 12. 8

Id. at ¶ 13. 9

Id. at ¶ 14. 10

Id. at ¶ 16. 11

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 2 of 19
“interview[ed] other Store employees soliciting them for anything negative about [her] that

he could use to write her up.” 

12

Plaintiff alleges that Cerni “wrote [her] up again in October 2011 for ‘staying too long

at work’ – a problem perpetuated by [defendant’s] refusal to provide trained pharmacy

technicians to the Store....” Plaintiff alleges that she was written up a third time by Cerni 13

“in February 2012 for following CVS policy in dealing with a drug-seeking customer.”14

Plaintiff alleges that Cerni “was not present for the situation but simply assumed that [she]

was in the wrong and the customer was in the right....” Plaintiff alleges that when she 15

“confronted Cerni with the policy, [he] altered the write-up to be for something else, but left

it in place.” 

16

Plaintiff alleges that in 2010, Cerni “pulled rank to conduct [her] annual review

(instead of her immediate supervisor handling it) ... and gave her a negative review.”17

Plaintiff alleges that Cerni “did not conduct the reviews of other employees at the Store.”18

Id. at ¶ 17. 12

Id. at 4, ¶ 18. 13

Id. at ¶ 20 (emphasis omitted). 14

Id. at ¶ 21. 15

Id. at ¶ 22. 16

Id. at ¶ 23. 17

Id. at ¶ 24. 18

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Plaintiff alleges that in November 2012, Cerni and Richmond gave her a “coaching

session” for poor performance and that Cerni required her to stay in the employee lounge

after the coaching session, even though she was ill. Plaintiff alleges that when she told 19

Cerni she was ill, he “replied mockingly, ‘I thought you were going to say that and you look

fine to me.’” Plaintiff alleges that she “asked to be allowed to go home, but Mr. Cerni 20

informed her it would be ‘job abandonment’ if she left.” Plaintiff alleges that she “even 21

asked Mr. Cerni to fire her so she could just leave” but he “said ‘no, stay in the lounge until

you are ready to return to work.’” Plaintiff alleges that Cerni “would not even allow [her] 22

to leave to go to the pharmacy to obtain her feminine products from her purse to deal with

her monthly period.” Plaintiff alleges that when she “made this request, Mr. Cerni said, 23

‘what makes you think I will let you do that?” Plaintiff alleges that after sitting in the 24

employee lounge for one hour, she fainted and “[t]he front store supervisor found and

awakened [her].” Plaintiff alleges that she then “called 911 and the ambulance came and 25

Id. at ¶ 25. 19

Id. at ¶ 26. 20

Id. at 5, ¶ 27. 21

Id. at ¶ 29. 22

Id. at ¶ 30. 23

Id. at ¶ 31. 24

Id. at ¶¶ 32-33. 25

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 4 of 19
took [her] to the hospital where she was diagnosed with dehydration, vomiting, and

hypokalemia....”26

Plaintiff alleges that Cerni also “accused [her] in front of staff and customers for an

alleged ‘disarray’ of medications - never bothering to inquire as to whether [she] was

responsible for the problem – when in fact the practice of the Store made that the problem

of the previous shift.” Plaintiff alleges that “Cerni’s accusations, tone of voice, and actions 27

were so hostile that [she] felt compelled to call the police in fear for her safety.” 

28

Plaintiff alleges that when she “directed Mr. Cerni to performance problems

regarding the inexperienced Pharmacist in Charge who was creating some of the issues for

which Mr. Cerni was blaming [her], Mr. Cerni warned her (in Ms. Richmond’s presence):

‘watch what you say, I trained her” and refused to follow up on [plaintiff’s] complaint.”29

Plaintiff also alleges that “Cerni did not pay [her] an end of year bonus in 2012 despite

paying bonuses to the other Store employees.”30

Plaintiff alleges that “when the pharmacy became extremely crowded, other(white)

pharmacists were allowed, upon their request, to close the drive-through window at the

Id. at ¶ 34. 26

Id. at ¶ 35. 27

Id. at ¶ 36. 28

Id. at 5-6, ¶ 37. 29

Id. at 6, ¶ 38. 30

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 5 of 19
Store to deal with the crowd inside. CVS management denied [her] request to close the

drive-through every time she asked.” Plaintiff further alleges that on January 12, 2013, 31

when she “arrived at the Store as a customer to fill her husband’s prescription ... [a] white

pharmacist was working that day, and the drive through window was closed....”32

On December 20, 2012, plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. In

the charge, plaintiff alleges that she was discriminated against based on race, color, gender,

and national origin. Plaintiff alleged that she had been 33

subjected to harassment and hostile work environment by John

Cerni. Examples include, but are not limited to, being intimidated and disrespected; being written up; he interfered with my

annual evaluation; he refused to give me a pay raise for 2012; he

threatened to fire me; held me in the breakroom against my will

when I was ill and told me it would be considered job abandonment if I left when I was sick; etc. As a result of the hostile work

environment, I was forced to call the police.[ ]

34

Plaintiff alleges she was given a “negative ‘coaching and counseling’” on January 22,

2013 by Richmond and Brad Dudley. Plaintiff alleges that “[u]pon information and belief, 35

[defendant] was aware of [her] charge of discrimination at the time Mr. Dudley and Ms.

Id. at ¶ 39. 31

Id. at ¶¶ 40-41. 32

Charge of Discrimination at 1, Exhibit A, Original Complaint, Docket No. 1. 33

Id. 34

Original Complaint at 6, ¶ 43. Defendant contends that Dudley is a CVS Human 35

Resources Business Partner. 

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 6 of 19
Richmond gave her” the January 22, 2013 coaching and counseling[.] Plaintiff alleges that 36

she resigned from her employment with defendant on January 22, 2013 because “[w]ith the

unresolved stress, accusations, unwarranted management pressure, and recent medical

issues piling up ... she felt that she had no [other] choice....” 

37

On August 16, 2013, the EEOC issued a right to sue notice. On November 14, 2013, 38

plaintiff commenced this action. In plaintiff’s first cause of action, she asserts Title VII

hostile work environment and constructive discharge claims. Plaintiff’s second cause of

action is a Title VII retaliation claim in which plaintiff alleges that “[d]efendant has retaliated

against [her] by issuing her an unwarranted negative employment action in January 2013

after she complained of discrimination in the workplace....” Plaintiff’s third cause of action 39

is a § 1981 racial discrimination claim. Plaintiff’s fourth cause of action is entitled “equitable

relief.”40

Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, defendant now moves

to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint with prejudice. 

Id. at ¶ 44. 36

Id. at 7, ¶ 45. 37

Exhibit B, Original Complaint, Docket No. 1. 38

Original Complaint at 8, ¶ 60, Docket No. 1. 39

Id. at 10. 40

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Discussion

“Rule 12(b)(6) authorizes courts to dismiss a complaint for ‘failure to state a claim

upon which relief can be granted.’” In re Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litig., 697

F.3d 869, 875 (9th Cir. 2012) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)). “To avoid dismissal, the

complaint must provide ‘more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the

elements of a cause of action will not do.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.

544, 555 (2007)). “[A] plaintiff must ‘allege sufficient factual matter ... to state a claim to

relief that is plausible on its face.’” OSU Student Alliance v. Ray, 699 F.3d 1053, 1061 (9th

Cir. 2012) (quoting Pinnacle Armor, Inc. v. United States, 648 F.3d 708, 721 (9th Cir. 2011)). 

In evaluating a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court accepts the complaint’s well-pleaded factual

allegations as true and draws all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the

plaintiff.” Adams v. U.S. Forest Srvc., 671 F.3d 1138, 1142-43 (9th Cir. 2012). 

Defendant first argues that plaintiff’s constructive discharge and retaliation claims 

must be dismissed because plaintiff has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies as to

these claims. “Title VII claimants generally establish federal court jurisdiction by first

exhausting their EEOC administrative remedies.” Sosa v. Hiraoka, 920 F.2d 1451, 1456 (9th

Cir. 1990). ““Each incident of discrimination and each retaliatory adverse employment

decision constitutes a separate actionable ‘unlawful employment practice.’” Nat'l R.R.

Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 111, 114 (2002). “‘[I]ncidents of discrimination not

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included in an EEOC charge may not be considered by a federal court unless the new claims

are like or reasonably related to the allegations contained in the EEOC charge.’” Sosa, 920

F.2d at 1456. (quoting Green v. Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools, 883 F.2d

1472, 1475-76 (9th Cir. 1989)). “If the judicial complaint presents a new theory of liability

requiring a different factual basis, neither of which is present in the administrative charge,

the new theory is not like or reasonably related to the previous charge because the agency

could not have had adequate notice of it.” Ng v. Potter, Case No. C09–192Z, 2009 WL

3836045, at *5 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 12, 2009). 

Plaintiff’s claims for constructive discharge and retaliation are based on the January

22, 2013 “coaching and counseling” she received from Richmond and Dudley. Her EEOC

charge contained no allegations related to the January 22, 2013 event. In fact, her EEOC

charge could not have contained such allegations as it was filed on December 20, 2012). The

allegations relating to the January 22, 2013 coaching and counseling are also not reasonably

related to the allegations in plaintiff’s EEOC charge which pertained to a hostile work

environment. Thus, it would appear that plaintiff has failed to exhaust her administrative

remedies as to her constructive discharge and retaliation claims. See Ong v. Cleland, 642

F.2d 316, 320 (9th Cir. 1981) (court held that Ong had not exhausted her administrative

remedies as to a constructive discharge claim because she had not amended her EEOC

charge to include allegations relating to a constructive discharge and she “did not allege

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 9 of 19
administratively that her employer had engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination

against her”); Zhang v. Honeywell Int’l Inc., Case No. 06-1181-PHX–MHM, 2007 WL

2220490, at *3 (D. Ariz. Aug. 1, 2007) (court held that Zhang had failed to exhaust her

administrative remedies as to her retaliation claim because her EEOC charge made no

mention of retaliation and contained no description of any retaliatory conduct by the

defendant). Because it appears that plaintiff has failed to exhaust her administrative

remedies as to her constructive discharge andretaliationclaims,these claims are dismissed.41

These claims are not, however, dismissed with prejudice because it is possible that

plaintiff has exhausted her administrative remedies as to these claims. Although her

complaint contains no such allegations, plaintiff contends that on January 23, 2013, she sent

an email to the EEOC investigator assigned to her case advising that she had been forced to

resign. If the EEOC were on notice that plaintiff was claiming she had been forced to resign

and that defendant had retaliated against her, then plaintiff may have exhausted her

administrative remedies. See Wiederhold v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., 888 F. Supp. 2d 1065,

1087-88 (D. Or. 2012) (court found that the plaintiff had exhausted her administrative

remedies as to a constructive discharge claim, in part because she had advised the EEOC

Because plaintiff’s constructivedischarge claimisdismissedonexhaustion grounds, 41

the court need not consider defendant’s argument that plaintiff has failed to allege sufficient

facts to support her constructive discharge claim. 

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 10 of 19
that she had resigned). Thus, plaintiff will be given leave to amend as to her constructive

discharge and retaliation claims.

Defendant next argues that plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim should be

dismissed because it is not plausible. “At the motion to dismiss stage, [plaintiff] need not

support h[er] allegations with evidence, but h[er] complaint must allege sufficient facts to

state the elements of a hostile work environment claim.” Johnson v. Riverside Healthcare

System, LP, 534 F.3d 1116, 1122 (9th Cir. 2008). In order to state a prima facie hostile work

environment claim, plaintiff must allege facts showing that “(1) the defendant[] subjected

her to verbal or physical conduct based on her race[, color, or national origin]; (2) the

conduct was unwelcome; and (3) the conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter

the conditions of her employment and create an abusive working environment.” Surrell v.

Calif. Water Service Co., 518 F.3d 1097, 1108 (9th Cir. 2008). 

Defendant argues that plaintiff has not alleged any verbal or physical discriminatory

conduct that occurred because of her race, color, or national origin. Defendant contends that

plaintiff’s allegations of discriminatory conduct all relate to her performance and that such

allegations are insufficient to state a hostile work environment claim. Defendant compares

plaintiff’s allegations to those of the plaintiff in Surrell. Surrell alleged

that Cal Water and Cox subjected her to a hostile work environment based on comments Cox made to her from 1998 to 2002.

On at least one occasion, Cox confronted Surrell in front of a

customer about failing to perform an aspect of her job. Cox also

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accused Surrell, in front of a customer and co-worker, of failing

to pay attention to her job and, in turn, causing the company to

lose money. Surrell asserts that this accusation was based on

paperwork that did not belong to her. Also, on more than one

occasion, Cox told Surrell that she was too slow with her work.

Id. at 1108. The court found that Surrell had failed to make out a prima facie case for a 

hostile work environment claim because “ she presents no evidence that Cox’s comments

were based on race. These comments were all performance related.” Id. at 1108-09. 

Defendant also relies onAmobiv. Arizona Board of Regents, Case No. 2:10–cv–01561

JWS, 2011 WL 308466 (D. Ariz. Jan 28, 2011). There, the plaintiff alleged that her supervisor

“disparaged [her] work, reprimanded her without cause, and falsely accused her of

cancelling a class and of publishing irregularities.” Id. at *4. The court found the plaintiff’s

allegations of a hostile work environment were insufficient to state a plausible hostile work

environment claim because they were not made based on the plaintiff’s race, but rather

related to her performance. Id. 

Similarly here, defendant argues that plaintiff’s allegations all have to do with job

performance and there is nothing in her complaint to suggest that any of the conduct was

motivated by her race, color, or national origin. Defendant acknowledges that plaintiff has

alleged that she was not permitted to close the drive-through window to deal with in-store

customers while white pharmacists were permitted to do so. But, defendant argues that this

allegation is insufficient to make plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim plausible

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because plaintiff alleges she observed this on January 23, 2013, the day after she resigned. 

Thus, defendant insists that plaintiff has not alleged that any of the conduct to which she

was subjected was because of her race, color, or national origin. 

Plaintiff ‘s complaint contains sufficient factual allegations to suggest that she was

subjected to discriminatory conduct. She has alleged that each of the actions taken by Cerni

were “because of [her] race, color and national origin” and that Cerni “treated her with

hostility not shown to non-black, non-African employees.” For purposes of the instant 42

motion, this causal connection must be taken as true. In addition, acts contributing to a

hostile work environment do not need to be specifically racial in nature because 

[f]acially neutral incidents may be included ... among the

“totality of the circumstances” that courts consider in any

hostile work environment claim, so long as a reasonable

fact-finder could conclude that they were, in fact, based on

[color, race, or national origin]. But this requires some circumstantial or other basis for inferring that incidents []neutral on

their face were in fact discriminatory.

Alfano v. Costello, 294 F.3d 365, 378 (2d Cir. 2002). Contrary to plaintiff’s contention, it is

not sufficient that plaintiff has alleged that she is the only black pharmacist in the CVS

district in which she worked. See Hawkins v. AT & T, Case No. 3:12–CV–1173–L, 2013 WL

4505154, at *5 (N.D. Tex. 2013 Aug. 23, 2013) (the plaintiff’s allegations “that she was the

only African American woman in her group” and that “she was the only one in the group

Original Complaint at 3, ¶¶ 13 & 15, Docket No. 1. 42

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Case 2:13-cv-02327-HRH Document 17 Filed 02/11/14 Page 13 of 19
that had a problem at work ... fall far short of stating a race or sex discrimination claim for

which relief can be granted”). But, plaintiff has alleged other facts that suggest disparate

treatment because of color, race or national origin, including that she was never allowed to

close the drive-up window even though white pharmacists were allowed to and that she

was not paid a year-end bonus when other non-black Store employees were paid a bonus.43

Plaintiff has also alleged that she was subjected to questionable discipline and counseling,

was singled out for a review by Cerni, and was singled out when defendant was applying

company policies (the drug-seeking customerincident). Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts

from which an inference could be made, at least at the motion to dismiss stage, that Cerni’s

treatment of plaintiff was because of her race, color, or national origin. 

But even if the comments and conduct that plaintiff has alleged could be construed

to have been because of plaintiff’s race, color, or national origin, defendant argues that

plaintiff has still failed to state a plausible hostile work environment claim because the

conduct alleged was not severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions and terms of

plaintiff’s employment. “Whether a working environment is objectively ‘abusive’ ‘can be

determined only by looking at all the circumstances,’ which ‘may include the frequency of

the discriminatory conduct; its severity; whether it is physically threatening or humiliating,

or a mere offensive utterance; and whether it unreasonably interferes with an employee’s

Original Complaint at 6, ¶¶ 38-39, Docket No. 1. 43

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work performance.... [N]o single factor is required.’” E.E.O.C. v. Prospect Airport Services,

Inc., 621 F.3d 991, 999 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. 17,

23 (1993)). In Amobi, 2011 WL 308466, at *4, for instance, the plaintiff alleged that her

supervisor had “disparaged [her] work, reprimandedher without cause, andfalsely accused

her of cancelling a class and of publishing irregularities.” The court found that these three

alleged incidents of discriminatory conduct “were not sufficiently severe or pervasive to

sustaina hostile work environment claim....” Id. In Guevara v. Marriott Hotel Services, Inc.,

Case No. C 10–5347 SBA, 2013 WL 1164961, at *1 (N. D. Cal. March 20, 2013), the plaintiff’s

complaint “identifie[d] a number of incidents that occurred during [p]laintiff's employment

with Marriott from late 2003/early 2004 to September 2008 which [p]laintiff claim[ed]

contributed to a racially hostile work.” The “[p]laintiff also allege[d] that he was subjected

to verbal conduct based on race at the arbitration hearings following his termination when

‘Marriott management’ provided false and misleading testimony regarding the events

surrounding his termination.” Id. at *7. The court found that the plaintiff’s “allegations ...

do not demonstrate that the conduct [p]laintiff was allegedly subjected to was sufficiently

severe or pervasive to establish an actionable hostile work environment claim” because

“[t]he incidents [p]laintiff relies upon to state a hostile work environment claim are isolated,

sporadic events that took place over several years. They are not the type of frequent,

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unwelcome verbal or physical acts that have been found to alter the conditions of

employment and create an abusive work environment.” Id. at *8. 

Similarly here, defendant argues that plaintiff’s allegations are insufficient to state a

plausible hostile work environment claim as they do not suggest that she was subjected to

conduct that was severe and pervasive. At best, defendant contends that plaintiff has 

alleged one incident that occurred because of race, color, or national origin (the closing of

the drive through) and that one incident cannot be considered pervasive. 

Plaintiff has alleged more than one incident of discriminatory conduct. She has

alleged that Cerni engaged in numerous incidents of discriminatory conduct, including

soliciting negative comments from other employees in order to levy discipline on her,

disregarding company policy in order to levy discipline on her, and withholding her yearend bonus. And, the fact that she has alleged that she felt compelled to call the police on one

occasion is sufficient to suggest that the alleged discriminatory conduct was severe. In sum,

plaintiff has stated a plausible hostile work environment claim.

Defendant next argues that plaintiff’s § 1981 claim should be dismissed because it is

not plausible. “‘Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 provides that “[a]ll persons

within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and

Territory to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens.”’“ Morrow v. City

of Oakland, Case No. C 11–02351 LB, 2012 WL 2133755, at *9 (N.D. Cal. June 12, 2012)

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(quoting Johnson v. Lucent Technologies Inc., 653 F.3d 1000, 1005–08 (9th Cir. 2011)(quoting

42 U.S.C. § 1981(a)). “A Section 1981 claim is sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss if

it alleges that the plaintiff suffered discrimination in employment on the basis of race.” Id. 

Defendant argues that all plaintiff has done is assert conclusory allegations that she

was discriminated against “based on her race in the performance, modification, and

termination of her employment contract, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms,

and conditions of the contractual relationship.” But, defendant argues that plaintiff has 44

failed to allege any factual support for these allegations. While plaintiff alleges that

defendant “imposed higher requirements and more stringent standards on [her] than those

imposed on similarly-situated white individuals”, defendant argues that plaintiff does not 45

allege who imposed these requirements and standards nor what these requirements and

standards were. Defendant compares plaintiff’s allegations to those in Flores v. City of

Phoenix, Case No. CV–11–492–PHX–GMS, 2012 WL 293371 (D. Ariz. Feb. 1, 2012); and

Matthews v. NPMG Acquisition Sub, LLC, Case No. CV 09–2326–PHX–MHM, 2010 WL

3023300 (D. Ariz. July 30, 2010). In Flores, 2012 WL 293371, at *3, the plaintiff alleged that

the “Defendant intentionally discriminated against [him] on the account of his race ... by

denying him the equalterms, privileges, and conditionsof his employment.” The court held

Complaint at 9, ¶ 65, Docket No. 1. 44

Id. at ¶ 66. 45

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that “[s]uchbroadand conclusory allegations do not, however, put Defendant on notice that

the termination itself is alleged to have been motivated by racial animus or raise Plaintiff's

right to relief above the speculative level. Plaintiff has failed, therefore, to state a claim for

racial discrimination.” Id. (citations omitted). In Matthews, 2010 WL 3023300, at *6, the

plaintiffs alleged that

(2) Defendant subjected plaintiffs, as employees, to unwelcome

racial harassment, including racial comments and slurs by

Defendant’s managers and/or employees, which fractured

plaintiffs’ contractual relationship because of race; and (3) That

discriminatory conduct and racial discrimination by defendant

diminished and destroyed the contractual relationship between

plaintiffs and defendant, and caused plaintiffs to be discriminated against because of their race.

The court held that these allegations were insufficient because they were nothing more than

“a threadbare recital [of] § 1981‘s elements....” Id. Similarly here, defendant argues that

plaintiff’s complaint is devoid of any specific factual content supporting her allegation that

she was intentionally discriminated against because of her race.

Plaintiff has adequately alleged a § 1981 claim. Her complaint sets out specific

requirements imposed on her, such as the company policy for drug-seeking customers, the

company discipline policies, and the policy regarding the drive-through window. And she

alleges that Cerni and Richmond applied these policies to her differently than they were

applied to non-black employees. Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts to suggest that she was

intentionally discriminated against because of her race. 

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Finally, defendant argues that plaintiff’s fourth cause of action should be dismissed. 

In her fourth cause of action, plaintiff seeks equitable relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e5(g). “Section 2000e–5(g) allows the court to award ‘equitable relief as [it] deems

appropriate,’ for Title VII violations.” McCue v. State of Kan., Dep’t of Human Resources,

165 F.3d 784, 791 (10th Cir. 1999). But, it does not create an independent cause of action. See

Baldwin v. Duke Energy Corp., Case No. 3:12CV212–MOC–DSC, 2012 WL 3564021, at *4

(W.D.N.C. July 13, 2012) (“well-established that claims for... equitable relief are not separate

causes of action”). Plaintiff’s fourth cause of action is dismissed. 

Conclusion

Defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff’s 46

constructive discharge, retaliation, and “equitable relief” claims are dismissed. Defendant’s

motion is otherwise denied. Plaintiff is given leave to amend as to her claims for

constructive discharge and retaliation. If plaintiff is seeking equitable relief, she should do

so in the prayer of her amended complaint. Plaintiff’s amended complaint, should she

choose to file one, shall be filed on or before March 4, 2014. 

DATED at Anchorage, Alaska, this 11th day of February, 2014. 

/s/ H. Russel Holland 

United States District Judge

Docket No. 8. 46

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