United States District Court, D. New Hampshire
Demetrio F. Aspiras, III, Esq.
Lisa
Marie Brady, Esq.
Brian
J.S. Cullen, Esq.
Melissa A. Hewey, Esq.
ORDER
Joseph
DiClerico, Jr. United States District Judge
Lisa
Marie Brady, proceeding pro se, brings federal and state
claims against the School Board of the Somersworth School
District; Jeni Mosca, the Superintendent of Schools; Pamela
MacDonald, the Special Education Director; and Jeanne
Kincaid, counsel for the school district, arising from the
termination of Brady’s employment. Kincaid moves to
dismiss the claims against her pursuant to Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Brady did not file a
response to the motion.
Standard
of Review
In
considering a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), the court assumes
the truth of the properly pleaded facts and takes all
reasonable inferences from those facts that support the
plaintiff’s claims. Mulero-Carrillo v.
Roman-Hernandez, 790 F.3d 99, 104 (1st Cir. 2015). The
court also considers documents submitted with the complaint,
“matters of public record, and facts susceptible to
judicial notice.” Guadalupe-Baez v. Pesquera,
__ F.3d __, 2016 WL 1592690, at *2 (1st Cir. Apr. 20,
2016). Conclusory legal allegations, however, are not
credited for purposes of a motion to dismiss. Id. at
*3. Based on the properly pleaded facts, the court determines
whether the plaintiff has stated “a claim to relief
that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007).
Background
The
allegations in the complaint are not presented in a coherent
sequential narrative but instead state legal conclusions with
reference to documents and data submitted with the complaint.
The following background information pertaining to the claims
against Jeanne Kincaid is summarized from the complaint.
Brady
is a licensed special education teacher who was tenured in
the Somersworth School District and was working at the
Somersworth Middle School. While Brady was working there,
staff in the school district made a film called
“Axel” about a special education student in the
district. The film was funded by an educational grant. Brady
disagreed with the methods that were used and shown in the
film.
In
September of 2012, Brady complained to the administrators of
the Somersworth School District about the film and also filed
complaints of criminal fraud based on the grant for the film
with “multiple NH State and federal agencies.”
Brady was dissatisfied with the responses to her complaints
and notified the press about her charges of criminal fraud
against the Somersworth School District. In March of 2013,
Pamela MacDonald put a warning in Brady’s employee
file. Brady disputed the warning with a written rebuttal and
a grievance.
In
March of 2014, Mosca accused Brady of violating RSA 141-H:2
and transferred Brady from the middle school to an elementary
school in the district.[1] Brady’s counsel accused the
school district of violating New Hampshire’s
Whistleblower Act. Brady made charges of educational grant
fraud against Mosca, MacDonald, and others to the New
Hampshire Commissioner of Education. In September and October
of 2014, Brady tried unsuccessfully to appeal the decision to
transfer her to the New Hampshire Department of Education.
Brady also brought a complaint to the New Hampshire
Department of Labor, accusing the Somersworth School District
of violating the Whistleblowers’ Protection
Act.[2]
Mosca
hired an investigator to address the issues of Brady’s
complaints and activities. The investigator issued a report
on December 4, 2014, with findings that Brady had violated
the Family Educational and Privacy Act and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, had “behaved in a
non-professional manner, in violation of the Somersworth
Staff ...