Garrido v. New York City Department Of Education

Background

Isabel Garrido sued the New York City Department of Education and Rachelle Klainberg, alleging discrimination under federal laws concerning race and contracting rights, a federal civil-rights statute, and the New York City Human Rights Law. Garrido alleged that she was suspended without pay and later terminated after being accused of using corporal punishment on a student. She claimed that Klainberg, the principal of the school where Garrido worked, treated a white male employee more favorably after he was accused of similar conduct.

The claims against the Department of Education had previously been dismissed with prejudice. Klainberg had not appeared in the case, and the Clerk later entered a default against her. Garrido then moved for default judgment.

Default and Service of Process

Klainberg cross-moved to set aside the default and to dismiss the amended complaint. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(c), a court may set aside an entry of default for good cause. The court considered the preference for resolving disputes on their merits and the requirement that a defendant be properly served before a default judgment can be entered.

The court found that Garrido did not meet her burden of showing proper service. Although the filed certificate checked a box for personal service, the document indicated that the summons and complaint had been delivered to Helen Kaufman, a colleague at the Department of Education, rather than to Klainberg personally. The certificate did not show that Kaufman was authorized to accept service or that the papers were mailed to Klainberg as required by the applicable state-law service procedure. The amended complaint was mailed to an address at the Tweed Courthouse, but Klainberg stated that she had never been assigned to work there and never received the papers.

The court also rejected Garrido’s late request for a hearing about service. It concluded that a hearing was unnecessary because the manner of service was not disputed and the papers themselves showed the relevant method of delivery.

Motion to Dismiss

The court applied the standard for a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. A complaint must allege enough facts to make liability reasonably plausible, and courts accept factual allegations as true while disregarding legal conclusions presented as facts.

The court agreed with the earlier ruling dismissing Garrido’s claims against the Department of Education. It concluded that the amended complaint did not provide even minimal support for the allegation that Klainberg suspended or terminated Garrido because of her race or national origin. The court also agreed that Garrido and the white male employee were not shown to be similarly situated for purposes of the discrimination claims, and that Garrido had not alleged other comparable employees who were suspended or terminated because of race or national origin. Garrido’s personal belief about the reason for her suspension and termination was not enough to state a discrimination claim.

Disposition

The court denied Garrido’s motion for default judgment, granted Klainberg’s motion to set aside the default, and granted Klainberg’s motion to dismiss. Garrido’s claims against Klainberg were dismissed with prejudice, and the court directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.