Opinion
Civil Action No. 12-cv-01260-RPM
08-02-2012
MARY WILSON, Plaintiff, v. BRADLEY PETROLEUM, INC., a Colorado corporation, Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. RICK SCHOLL, Third-Party Defendant.
Senior District Judge Richard P. Matsch
ORDER DISMISSING THIRD-PARTY COMPLAINT
The defendant filed a third-party complaint against Rick Scholl, claiming negligence in the performance of his employment duties resulting in the filing of this lawsuit by plaintiff Mary Wilson, claiming a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, claiming a sexually hostile or offensive work environment and retaliatory discharge from employment. The plaintiff's allegations include alleged misconduct of Rick Scholl but the claim is against the employer for its responses. The third-party defendant Rick Scholl filed a motion to dismiss on July 16, 2012, based on Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), asserting insufficiency of the allegations in the third-party complaint to state a claim under Colorado law. Bradley Petroleum, Inc., filed its opposition on August 1, 2012, addressing the viability of a claim of negligence against its employee.
What is not addressed in the motion to dismiss but which this Court recognizes is that the third-party complaint is not an appropriate third party practice under Fed.R.Civ.P. 14. That is particularly true in recognition of the fact that this Court has no independent jurisdictional basis for that pleading because it does not allege a federal claim and there is no diversity of citizenship between Bradley Petroleum, Inc.,and Rick Scholl.
Accordingly, because the third-party complaint does not allege liability of Rick Scholl for the federal claims made against Bradley Petroleum, Inc., and because this Court would not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claim pleaded, it is
ORDERED that the third-party complaint against Rick Scholl is dismissed.
BY THE COURT:
__________________________
Richard P. Matsch, Senior Judge