Castagna v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

Background

JoAnne Castagna alleged that the United States Army Corps of Engineers discriminated against her because of a disability. She asserted claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law against Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, and two Corps employees.

Motion to Dismiss

The defendants moved under Rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss Castagna’s amended complaint. The court stated that Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act provides the exclusive route for federal employees to bring employment-discrimination claims based on disability. Castagna did not dispute that legal rule. Instead, she asked the court to interpret her Americans with Disabilities Act claims as claims under the Rehabilitation Act.

The court declined to do so. It explained that the cases Castagna cited involved people without lawyers who received special consideration in interpreting their pleadings. Castagna was represented by counsel. The court also noted that she had already had an opportunity to amend her complaint in response to the defendants’ motion but did not address the defect the court identified.

Ruling and Next Proceedings

The court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss on the ground that Castagna’s disability-discrimination claims were brought under the wrong legal provisions. The opinion does not state that the claims were dismissed with or without prejudice. Instead, Judge Jesse M. Furman ordered oral argument on whether Castagna should receive permission to amend all of her claims, only some claims—such as claims concerning sick-leave discrimination—or none of them. The parties were also ordered to file Castagna’s Equal Employment Opportunity claim by March 3, 2023, because it did not appear to be in the record. Oral argument was scheduled for March 24, 2023.