Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_15-cv-01113/USCOURTS-caed-1_15-cv-01113-3/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Denny's Restaurant, Corp.
Defendant
HYE Foods
Defendant
Jessy
Defendant
Jeff Rowland
Defendant
Jermany Devon Thomas
Plaintiff

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JERMANY DEVON THOMAS,

Plaintiff,

v.

DENNY'S RESTAURANT, 

Defendant.

_____________________________________/

Case No. 1:15-cv-01113-LJO-SKO

ORDER DISMISSING PLAINTIFF'S 

COMPLAINT WITHOUT PREJUDICE 

AND WITH LEAVE TO AMEND

I. INTRODUCTION

On July 20, 2015, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging four causes of action against 

Defendant Denny's Restaurant, Corp. ("Denny's"). (Doc. 1). Plaintiff also filed an application to 

proceed in forma pauperis, but the Court deemed it incomplete and ordered Plaintiff to file an 

amended application. On August 13, 2015, Plaintiff filed an amended application to proceed in 

forma pauperis, which was granted. On September 18, 2015, Plaintiff filed a First Amended 

Complaint ("FAC"). (Doc. 9.) As Plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis, the FAC has been 

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screened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's FAC is 

dismissed without prejudice and with leave to file an amended complaint.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The complaint alleges Plaintiff is disabled as defined by the Americans with Disabilities 

Act ("ADA") because he has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of 

Autism. Plaintiff alleges that Denny's, his employer, discriminated against him on the basis of his 

disability. (Doc. 9, ¶¶ 4-5.) Plaintiff filed two "informal" complaints against his supervisors, and 

two "formal complaints" against his supervisors with an area field manager and with the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission. ("EEOC"). (Doc. 9, ¶ 5.) Plaintiff alleges he suffered an 

adverse employment decision because of the complaints he made, and he was subjected to a "very 

hostile working environment in which guests and employees alike deliberately attempted to force 

the plaintiff out of work by humiliation, general harassment, emotional abuse, and terror." (Doc. 

9, ¶ 5.)

On January 17, 2015, Plaintiff alleges that someone named "Jessy" and "two potential 

enjoining adverse litigants in this matter" made disparaging statements to "entering guests" about 

Plaintiff which were "false and alarming." (Doc. 9, ¶¶ 7-9.) 

III. DISCUSSION

A. Screening Standard

In cases where the plaintiff is proceeding in forma pauperis, the Court is required to screen 

each case, and shall dismiss the case at any time if the Court determines that the allegation of 

poverty is untrue, or the action or appeal is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon 

which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from 

such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). If the Court determines that the complaint fails to state a 

claim, leave to amend may be granted to the extent that the deficiencies of the complaint can be 

cured by amendment. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc).

In determining whether a complaint fails to state a claim, the Court uses the same pleading 

standard used under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). Under Rule 8(a), a complaint must 

contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” 

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “[T]he pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed 

factual allegations,’ but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me 

accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 

550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as 

true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 

557). “[A] complaint [that] pleads facts that is ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s liability . . . 

‘stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.’” Id. (quoting 

Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557). Further, although a court must accept as true all factual allegations 

contained in a complaint, a court need not accept a plaintiff’s legal conclusions as true. Id. 

“Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory 

statements, do not suffice.” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). Allegations of a pro se 

complainant are held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers. Haines 

v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972).

B. Plaintiff's Claim Under the ADA is Insufficiently Pled

Plaintiff's first cause of action appears to set out a claim under the ADA for retaliation he 

suffered as a result of conduct he engaged in which is protected under the ADA. Plaintiff alleges 

that Denny's discriminated against him on the basis of his disability and his disability was a 

moving factor in Denny's making an adverse employment decision regarding Plaintiff. More 

specifically, Plaintiff alleges he filed complaints against his supervisors complaining about an 

unspecified employment practice and was retaliated against by Denny's for that reason. 

The ADA contains a provision prohibiting retaliation against an individual who has 

opposed an act or practice made unlawful by the ADA. 

No person shall discriminate against any individual because such individual has 

oppose any act or practice made unlawful by this chapter or because such 

individual made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an 

investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter.

To sufficiently allege a retaliation claim for wrongful termination under the ADA, a 

plaintiff must allege facts sufficient to show (1) involvement in a protected activity, (2) an adverse 

employment action, and (3) a causal link between the two. Brown v. City of Tucson, 336 F.3d 

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1181, 1186-87 (9th Cir. 2003). Here, there are no facts alleged showing when Plaintiff engaged in 

protected activity, details about the protected activity, when the adverse employment action 

occurred, what individuals participated in the adverse employment action against Plaintiff, and 

facts showing a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment 

action. Without allegations regarding these elements, Plaintiff's claim is not sufficiently pled and 

must be dismissed with leave to amend. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 ("[A] complaint must contain 

sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.") 

(internal citation and quotation marks omitted). 

Plaintiff also cites to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA") in 

setting forth his first cause of action. Similar to Plaintiff's claim under the ADA, however, 

Plaintiff does not set forth sufficient facts to state a claim for retaliation under the FEHA. It is 

unclear what unlawful practices Plaintiff complained of to his supervisors, when these unlawful 

practices occurred, whether the adverse employment action taken against him was termination of 

his employment, and when the adverse employment action against him occurred. Without more 

factual details, Plaintiff has not stated a claim for relief under the FEHA.

C. Plaintiff's State Law Claim for Slander Per Se is Insufficiently Pled

Plaintiff's second cause of action is slander per se. Plaintiff alleges that several 

unidentified individuals, possibly other Denny's employees, made disparaging comments about 

Plaintiff to entering guests that Plaintiff found offensive and believes are unlawful. (Doc. 9, ¶¶ 6-

13.) 

California Civil Code § 46 sets forth the types of false and unprivileged publications which 

constitute slander. 

Slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, and also 

communications by radio or any mechanical or other means which:

1. Charges any person with a crime, or with having been indicted, convicted, or 

punished for crime;

2. Imputes in him the present existence of an infections, contagious, or loathsome 

disease;

3. Tends directly to injure him in respect to his office, profession, trade or 

business, either by imputing to him general disqualification in those respects 

which the office or other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing 

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something with reference to his office, profession, trade, or business that has a 

natural tendency to lessen its profits;

4. Imputes to him impotence or a want of chastity; or

5. Which, by natural consequence, causes actual damage.

Cal. Civ. Code § 46.

To sufficiently plead a claim for slander per se, a plaintiff must allege that (1) a defendant 

made one or more statements identified in California Civil Code § 46 to a person other than the 

plaintiff, (2) these people reasonably understood the statement was about the plaintiff, (3) these 

people reasonably understood the statements to be true, and (4) the statements were false. 

California Civil Jury Instructions ("CACI") 1700. There is some indication someone made 

reference to Plaintiff being an "AIDs victim," but it is not clear who made this statement or that 

those who heard the statements believed them to be true. The defendants named in the caption of 

the complaint include HYE Foods, Jeff Rowland, and "Jessy," but only Denny's is definitively 

identified in the substance of the complaint. Without more factual details, Plaintiff's claim for 

slander per se is not sufficiently pled and is DISMISSED without prejudice. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 

678 ("A pleading that offers labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a 

cause of action will not do.") (internal citation and quotation marks omitted).

D. Plaintiff's Claim for Invasion of Privacy is Not Sufficiently Pled

Plaintiff's third cause of action is for invasion of privacy by placing him in a false light. 

Plaintiff alleges that unidentified individuals invaded his right to privacy by making false 

statements about his medical information and depicting him as an AIDs victim. (Doc. 9, ¶¶ 14-

21.) 

To sufficiently set forth a claim for an invasion of privacy by placing the plaintiff in a false 

light, a plaintiff must plead that (1) the defendant made a public disclosure of a fact about the 

plaintiff; (2) the fact disclosed was false and portrayed the plaintiff in a false light; (3) the false 

light in which the plaintiff was placed would be highly offensive to a reasonable person; and 

(4) the defendant had knowledge of or acted in reckless disregard of the falsity of the publicized 

fact and the false light in which the plaintiff would be placed or the defendant acted negligently in 

failing to learn whether the publicized fact placed the plaintiff in a false light; and (5) the public 

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disclosure caused the plaintiff to sustain damages. California Book of Approved Jury Instructions 

("BAJI") No. 7.22.

While it appears the statement placing Plaintiff in a false light was that he had AIDs, it is 

not clear who made the statement and to whom it was published. Although the caption of the 

complaint names Jeff Rowland and "Jessy" without any last name, it is not clear whether either of 

these Defendants were responsible for the conduct alleged. Absent additional factual details, 

Plaintiff's claim is not sufficiently pled and is DISMISSED without prejudice. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 

678 ("A pleading that offers labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a 

cause of action will not do.") (internal citation and quotation marks omitted).

E. Plaintiff's Claim for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Plaintiff's fourth cause of action is for Intention Infliction of Emotional Distress. Plaintiff 

claims that when certain unidentified individuals made false statements about him, it caused him 

mental anguish and emotional distress. (Doc. 9, ¶¶ 22-25.) 

To sufficiently allege a claim for emotional distress, a plaintiff must establish facts 

showing (1) the defendant's conduct was outrageous, (2) the defendant intended to cause the 

plaintiff emotional distress, (3) the plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress, and (4) the 

defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's severe emotional distress. 

CACI No. 1600; Hughes v. Pair, 46 Cal. 4th 1035, 1050-51 (2009).

As with Plaintiff's other state law claims discussed above, Plaintiff does not identify what 

specific statements or conduct caused him emotional distress, who was responsible for these 

statements or conduct, what facts show the defendant intended to cause emotional distress to 

Plaintiff, and whether Plaintiff heard or witnessed the statements or conduct. Without additional 

factual allegations, Plaintiff's claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress is insufficiently 

pled and is DISMISSED without prejudice.

F. Plaintiff May File An Amended Complaint

Plaintiff has failed to plead sufficient facts to state a claim against Denny's Restaurant. 

Plaintiff's state law claims relate to conduct of individuals who are not sufficiently identified and 

who are not named as defendants in the complaint. Despite these deficiencies, it is not clear that 

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Plaintiff cannot set forth viable claims with additional factual allegations. As such, Plaintiff is 

entitled to amend his complaint.

Plaintiff is advised that an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See 

Lacey v. Maricopa County, 693 F.3d 896, 907 n.1 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc). The amended 

complaint must be "complete in itself without reference to the prior or superseded pleading." Rule 

220 of the Local Rules of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Once 

Plaintiff files an amended complaint, the original pleading no longer serves any function in the 

case. Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in an original complaint, each claim and the 

involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently alleged. If Plaintiff fails to file an amended 

complaint or fails to cure the deficiencies identified above, the Court will recommend that the 

complaint be dismissed with prejudice and without leave to amend.

IV. CONCLUSION AND ORDER

For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff's complaint does not state a claim upon which 

relief can be granted. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Plaintiff's complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice and with leave to amend;

2. Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint within 30 days from the date of this order; 

and

3. If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint or cure the deficiencies above, the 

complaint will be recommended for dismissal.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 30, 2015 /s/ Sheila K. Oberto 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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