U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Scott Medical Health Center, P.C.

MOTION for Judicial Notice re MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction

W.D. Pa.July 29, 2016

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Civil Action: 2:16-cv-00225-CB Plaintiff, v. SCOTT MEDICAL HEALTH CENTER, P.C. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Defendant. MOTION FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE AND NOW, comes Defendant, SCOTT MEDICAL HEALTH CENTER, P.C., by and through its attorneys, MARGOLIS EDELSTEIN and CHARLES H. SAUL, ESQUIRE, and hereby files the following Motion for Judicial Notice: 1. On March 1, 2016, Plaintiff Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a Complaint alleging that Defendant Scott Medical Health Center, P.C. (“Scott Medical”) discriminated against a former employee due to the employee’s sexual orientation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Ecf Doc. 1). 2. On May 9, 2016, Scott Medical filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and (6) (Ecf Doc. 11), based, inter alia, on an argument that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation. 3. On May 31, 2016, the EEOC filed a Response to Scott Medical’s Motion to Dismiss (Ecf Doc. 16); on June 20, 2016, Scott Medical filed a Reply to the EEOC’s Response (Ecf Doc. 38); and on June 29, 2016, the EEOC filed a Sur-Reply Brief (Ecf Doc. 43). Case 2:16-cv-00225-CB Document 44 Filed 07/29/16 Page 1 of 3 4. By Order dated June 29, 2016, this Court granted the EEOC leave to file a Sur Reply Brief and also ordered that no additional briefing would be accepted (Ecf Doc. 42). 5. Subsequent to Scott Medical filing its Reply Brief on June 20, 2016, the following decisions were rendered on the issue before this Court as to whether sexual orientation discrimination is prohibited under Title VII a) On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7 th Circuit ruled in the case of Hively v. Ivy Tech Cmty. College, ___ F.3d ___ , 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 13746 (7 th Cir. 2016), that sexual orientation discrimination is beyond the scope of Title VII. b) On July 20, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia reiterated its position that Title VII does not support a claim of discrimination based upon sexual orientation and once again stated that the EEOC advisory opinion in Baldwin v. Foxx, EEOC DOC 0120133080, 2015 EEOPUB LEXIS 1905, 2015 WL 4397641 (July 16, 2015), heavily relied upon by the EEOC in the instant case, “does not persuade” to the contrary. Hinton v. Va. Union Univ., __ F. Supp. ___, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95049 (E.D.Va. 2016). c) Similarly, on June 29, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut found, “Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination does not include a prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination.” Pelletier v. Purdue Pharma L.P., ___ F. 2d ____, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84099 (D. Conn. 2016). Case 2:16-cv-00225-CB Document 44 Filed 07/29/16 Page 2 of 3 WHEREFORE, Scott Medical respectfully asks that this Court take notice of the above decisions in considering Scott Medical’s Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. Respectfully submitted, MARGOLIS EDELSTEIN /s/ Charles H. Saul CHARLES H. SAUL, ESQUIRE Pa. I.D. #19938 525 William Penn Place, Suite 3300 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 355-4961 csaul@margolisedelstein.com Counsel for Defendant Case 2:16-cv-00225-CB Document 44 Filed 07/29/16 Page 3 of 3 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Civil Action: 2:16-cv-00225-CB Plaintiff, v. SCOTT MEDICAL HEALTH CENTER, P.C. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Defendant. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this ___ day of ________________ 2016, Defendant’s Motion for Judicial Notice is hereby GRANTED. BY THE COURT _____________________________________ Judge Cathy Bissoon Case 2:16-cv-00225-CB Document 44-1 Filed 07/29/16 Page 1 of 1