Opinion

Lawrence v. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Corporation

Court
District Court, E.D. Louisiana
Filed
Feb 4, 2021
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 22.3%

The opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

SHAWNDRIKA LAWRENCE CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS NO. 20-1985

SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA LEGAL SECTION D (3)

SERVICES CORPORATION

ORDER

Before the Court is Defendant Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss.1 Before the Court is also Plaintiff Shawndrika

Lawrence’s Motion for Reconsideration, Modification of the Court’s Scheduling Order,

and for Recusal of the Judge and Case Manager.2 Plaintiff’s Motion is opposed.3

Plaintiff also separately file a Motion seeking recusal of the District Judge.4 After

careful consideration of the parties’ memoranda, the applicable law, and the record,

the Court grants Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss and denies Plaintiff’s Motions in

their entirety.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This case is Plaintiff Shandrika Lawrence’s fifth lawsuit arising from the same

facts involving a housing matter in St. Bernard Parish. According to Plaintiff’s

Complaint, in April 2015 she entered into an attorney-client agreement with

1 R. Doc. 18.

2 R. Doc. 30.

3 R. Doc. 33.

4 R. Doc. 34.

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Corporation (“SLLS”), under which SLLS agreed

to provide legal assistance to Lawrence in connection with an “ongoing mold related

housing dispute that occurred during [Plaintiff’s] tenancy and occupancy . . . at . . .

2817 Packenham Dr. in Chalmette, Louisiana.”5 On April 13, 2016, Hannah Adams

of SLLS filed a state-court Petition on behalf of Lawrence in the 34th Judicial District

Court for St. Bernard Parish against Center Properties, L.L.C., seeking damages in

connection with Lawrence’s tenancy at 2817 Packenham Drive.6 Plaintiff alleges that

Adams made various false statements in the original Petition,7 and that Adams and

opposing counsel made false representations to the state court.8 On January 23,

2019, Lawrence terminated her attorney-client agreement with SLLS and proceeded

with the litigation pro se.9 She soon after filed an Amended and Supplemental

Petition, which purported to bring various federal claims.10

Plaintiff now brings suit against SLLS. In her Complaint, Lawrence alleges

that she has been diagnosed with an unnamed disability, and that SLLS violated the

Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act of 1973 through various acts

and omissions.11 Her contention seems to be that because she is disabled, and

because SLLS receives federal funds, SLLS violated the ADA and Rehabilitation Act

5 R. Doc. 2 at 2 ¶ 9.

6 Id. at 9-10 ¶ 44.

7 Id. at 10-11 ¶¶ 48, 50, 52.

8 Id. at 14 ¶ 65.

9 Id. at 18 ¶ 79.

10 Id. at 18-19 ¶¶ 81-84.

11 R. Doc. 2 at 20 ¶¶ 86-88.

by failing to adequately represent her. Lawrence also brings legal malpractice and

breach of fiduciary duty claims against SLLS.12

This is not Plaintiff’s first federal litigation arising out of the same operative

facts. On March 7, 2019 Plaintiff attempted to remove her state-court litigation from

the 34th Judicial District Court to the Eastern District of Louisiana.13 Because a

Plaintiff may not remove his or her own state-court suit, this Court remanded the

case to state court.14 Plaintiff then voluntarily dismissed her state-court claims.15

On January 22, 2020, Plaintiff filed suit in this Court against Center Properties and

various others associated with Plaintiff’s brief residence at Packenham Drive.16 This

Court found that Plaintiff’s federal claims were time barred, declined supplemental

jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s state-law claims, and dismissed the case.17 Plaintiff also

filed a previous suit against SLLS on December 30, 2019 arising out of the same facts

in which she alleged claims nearly identical to the state-law claims she alleges here.18

That case was dismissed as the Court found it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over

the claims.19 Lawrence has also filed suit against the St. Bernard Parish Clerk of

Court for discrimination and defamation arising out of events surrounding her state-

court lawsuit.20 That suit remains pending before this Court.

12 Id. at 21-25 ¶¶ 89-105.

13 See Docket No. 19-2197, R. Doc. 1.

14 Docket No. 19-2197, R. Doc. 11.

15 Docket No. 20-247, R. Doc. 45 at 21 ¶ 96.

16 See Docket No. 20-247, R. Doc. 1.

17 Docket No. 20-247, R. Doc. 74.

18 Docket No. 19-14787, R. Doc. 1.

19 Docket No. 19-14787, R. Doc. 15.

20 Docket No. 20-699, R. Doc. 1.

SLLS moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s lawsuit.21 SLLS argues that the Court lacks

jurisdiction, and that in any event, Plaintiff’s claims are barred by preemption.

Plaintiff has not opposed the Motion. Plaintiff moved for an extension of time to

respond to the Motion to Dismiss,22 and the Court ordered that Plaintiff could respond

anytime on or before January 7, 2021.23 Rather than file an Opposition, Plaintiff

moved to Amend her Complaint.24 Because the Motion lacked a proposed pleading,

the Court denied that Motion without Prejudice,25 giving Plaintiff until January 18,

2021 to file a Motion for Leave to Amend her Complaint with a proposed pleading

attached. Again, rather than do so, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Reconsider, to Amend

the Scheduling Order, and for Disqualification of the Presiding Judge.26 Plaintiff

argues the Court was incorrect to deny her Motion, in part because she allegedly did

not have access to the scheduling order. Plaintiff further argues that the Presiding

Judge and Case Manager should be recused due to bias arising out rulings on her

earlier suit against Center Properties. Defendant has filed an Opposition to the

Motion for Reconsideration and Recusal, in which SLLS argues that Plaintiff has not

offered legitimate reasons for recusal, reconsideration, or modification of the

scheduling order.27 Plaintiff has also filed a separate Motion to Disqualification of

the Presiding Judge.28 Plaintiff largely reiterates the arguments made in her former

21 R. Doc. 18.

22 R. Doc. 23.

23 R. Doc. 26.

24 R. Doc. 27.

25 R. Doc. 28.

26 R. Doc. 30.

27 R. Doc. 33.

28 R. Doc. 34.

Motion, and seeks to have at least part of the Motion referred to Chief Judge Brown

for consideration.29

II. ANALYSIS

A. Recusal

The Court first addresses Plaintiff’s Motions insomuch as they seek recusal of

the Presiding Judge and Case Manager. Plaintiff moves for recusal under 28 U.S.C.

§§ 144 and 455. The Court examines each statute in turn.

1. 28 U.S.C. § 144

The first statute Lawrence relies on, 28 U.S.C. § 144, provides:

Whenever a party to any proceeding in a district court

makes and files a timely and sufficient affidavit that the

judge before whom the matter is pending has a personal

bias or prejudice either against him or in favor of any

adverse party, such judge shall proceed no further therein,

but another judge shall be assigned to hear such

proceeding.

The affidavit shall state the facts and the reasons for the

belief that bias or prejudice exists, and shall be filed not

less than ten days before the beginning of the term at

which the proceeding is to be heard, or good cause shall be

shown for failure to file it within such time. A party may

file only one such affidavit in any case. It shall be

accompanied by a certificate of counsel of record stating

that it is made in good faith.30

Plaintiff’s Motion does not satisfy the requirements of Section 144. First,

Lawrence has failed to file a “sufficient affidavit.”31 “A legally sufficient affidavit

29 Although no opposition has been filed to this Motion, the Court considers the Motion because

Defendant responded to similar arguments in its Opposition to Plaintiff’s earlier Motion. See R. Doc.

33.

30 28 U.S.C. § 144.

31 Id.

must (1) state facts with particularity; (2) state facts that, if true, would convince a

reasonable person that a bias exists; and (3) state facts that show the bias is personal,

as opposed to judicial, in nature.”32 Plaintiff submits no affidavit. Although she

suggests she did not do so because she is indigent, and “if granted time to retrieve the

monies to pay for an affidavit”33 she would do so, nothing in her motion suggests that

an affidavit would be legally sufficient. Specifically, none of the allegations that

Plaintiff makes in her Motion would convince a reasonable person that a bias exists.

And even if Plaintiff’s allegations did demonstrate bias, they would not show bias

arising from an extrajudicial source. To the contrary, Plaintiff’s complaints about the

presiding judge arise solely from the management and decisions in the cases Plaintiff

has filed before the Court.

Moreover, the statute requires that any affidavit “shall be accompanied by a

certificate of counsel stating that it is made in good faith.”34 Plaintiff attaches no

certificate from counsel of record. “[C]ourts have held that pro se litigant may not

obtain disqualification of a presiding judge . . . under § 144 because a pro se litigant

cannot meet the plain language of the statute requiring” such a certificate.35

Plaintiff, as a pro se litigant, has not met this requirement of Section 144.

2. 28 U.S.C. § 455

Lawrence next moves for recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 455. The Court first

addresses Lawrence’s request that this matter be referred to Chief Judge Brown for

32 Patterson v. Mobil Oil Corp., 355 F.3d 476, 483 (5th Cir. 2003).

33 R. Doc. 34 at 15.

34 28 U.S.C. § 144.

35 Williams v. Magnolia Café, No. 18-1020, 2019 WL 7343507, at *2 (M.D. La. Dec. 31, 2019).

consideration. Unlike Section 144, Section 455 does not require the Judge to transfer

the Motion for consideration once the Court has found the recusal motion legally

sufficient.36 Indeed, the Fifth Circuit has held that “no negative inference can be

drawn from the fact that the judge to whom a motion to recuse is directed rules on

motion.”37 The Fifth Circuit has further held that referral “is not to be encouraged”

and that “recusal motions should only be transferred in unusual circumstances”38 as

“[t]he challenged judge is most familiar with the alleged bias or conflict of interest”

and because of concerns of “administrative inconvenience and delay.”39 The Court

finds no unusual circumstances here that would merit referral to a different Section

of this Court. It therefore finds that this Motion is properly before Section D.

The statute under which Lawrence moves, 28 U.S.C. § 455, provides that:

“[a]ny . . . judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in

which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”40 It further requires recusal

of a judge “[w]where he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or

personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding.”41 When

determining whether to disqualify himself or herself, a Court must consider “whether

a reasonable and objective person, knowing all of the facts, would harbor doubts

concerning the judge’s impartiality.”42

36 See In re United States, 158 F.3d 26, 24 (1st Cir. 1998).

37 In re Corrugated Container Antitrust Litig., 614 F.2d 958, 965 n.9 (5th Cir. 1980).

38 Chitimacha Tribe of La. v. Harry L. Laws Co., Inc., 690 F.2d 1157, 1162 (5th Cir. 1982).

39 Id.

40 28 U.S.C. § 455(a).

41 28 U.S.C. § 455(b)(1).

42 United States v. Jordan, 49 F.3d 152, 155 (5th Cir. 1995) (citing Liljeberg v. Health Services

Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 860-61 (1988)).

The Court does not find recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 455 mandated or

appropriate. The Court finds that a “reasonable and objective person” would not

“harbor doubts concerning the judge’s impartiality” in this case.43 Moreover, the gist

of Plaintiff’s Motion seeking recusal is that she believes the Judge erred in her rulings

in a separate but related case, Lawrence v. Center Properties.44 However, “judicial

rulings alone almost never constitute a valid basis for a bias or partiality motion.”45

In order to be the basis for such a motion, such rulings must “reveal such a high

degree of favoritism or antagonism as to make fair judgement impossible.”46 No such

showing has been alleged or found here.

B. Modification of the Scheduling Order and Reconsideration

Plaintiff also moves for reconsideration of the Court’s order denying without

prejudice her Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint.47 Although not

completely clear from her Motion, Plaintiff seems to relatedly seek a modification of

the scheduling order insomuch as she seeks additional time in which to file an

Amended Complaint.

43 Jordan, 49 F.3d at 155.

44 Docket No. 20-247. The Court does not address each of the myriad of allegations that Plaintiff makes

regarding abuse of discretion in the Lawrence v. Center Properties matter here. Without going into a

detailed analysis for each claim, the Court finds each allegation meritless. By way of example,

Lawrence argues that the Court abused its discretion by “withholding Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint”

in that matter. See R. Doc. 34 at 6. But as the Court explained to Lawrence, the Amended Complaint

was not “withheld” but marked deficient by the Clerk’s Office. Moreover, Lawrence can show no

prejudice, as upon refiling and acceptance by the Clerk’s office the Court considered the Amended

Complaint and the Motions to Dismiss the Amended Complaint, rather than Lawrence’s original

Complaint. See Docket No. 20-247, R. Doc. 74. Plaintiff’s other allegations of error are equally

baseless.

45 Likeky v. United States, 510 U.S. 540, 555 (1994).

46 Id.

47 R. Doc. 28.

Plaintiff’s Motion is Denied. The Court notes that it did not wholesale deny

Plaintiff an opportunity to amend her Complaint. Rather, it only denied the Motion

without prejudice because Plaintiff did not attach a proposed Amended Complaint.48

The Court therefore could not consider whether the amendment would be futile,

whether it was asserted in bad faith, or whether it would cause undue prejudice.

Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint offered no suggestion of

how the Complaint would be amended, nor did it discuss any way the Amended

Complaint would address the pleading deficiencies alleged in Defendants’ Motion to

Dismiss. Specifically considering Plaintiff’s pro se status, the Court provided Plaintiff

an opportunity to refile a Motion for Leave with an Amended Complaint attached on

or before January 18, 2021, almost two weeks later, the same date by which Amended

Pleadings were required to be filed by the Scheduling Order.49 Although Plaintiff has

filed the instant Motion for Reconsideration the day after the court-imposed deadline,

and subsequently filed a sixteen-page Motion for Disqualification, at no point has

Plaintiff moved for leave to file an Amended Complaint with the pleading attached,

as the Court allowed. The Court therefore finds no basis to set aside or modify its

original order, nor does it find cause to modify the scheduling order.

48 The Court further notes that Plaintiff’s Motion failed to comply with Local Rule 7.6, which requires

a party to indicate whether the Motion for Leave is opposed or unopposed.

49 See R. Doc. 22 at 1. Plaintiff states in her Motion that “the Court Case Manager did not set a date

or deadline to file any amendments or pleading and or Motion etc during the conference call; and the

court failed to issue Plaintiff a copy of the Court’s scheduling order.” R. Doc. 30 at 2. But not every

single deadline is set during a Scheduling Conference, and by January 5, 2021—well before the

January 18, 2021 deadline for filing amended pleadings—Plaintiff clearly had access to the Scheduling

Order, as she references in her Motion for Leave. See R. Doc. 27. Plaintiff therefore cannot claim

ignorance of the scheduling order, nor can she claim any prejudice.

Plaintiff further argues that the Court necessarily erred in denying her Motion

for Leave to File an Amended Complaint because Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15

mandates that the Court allow such an Amendment. Plaintiff misinterprets the Rule.

Because Defendants had already filed and served a Motion to Dismiss more than

twenty-one days before Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint,

leave of Court was required to file any Amended Complaint.50 Although “[t]he court

should freely give leave when justice so requires,”51 leave to amend is “by no means

automatic.”52 Rather, a Court must consider factors such as “undue delay, bad faith,

or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by

amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of

allowance of the amendment, [and] futility of the amendment.”53 These are factors

the Court could not properly consider without a proposed Amended Complaint

attached to Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave. Again, the Court denied without prejudice

Plaintiff’s Motion and allowed her almost two additional weeks to refile the motion

and include a proposed Amended Complaint, which she failed to do.54

D. Motion to Dismiss

1. Legal Standard

To overcome a defendant’s motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must plead a plausible

claim for relief.55 A claim is plausible if it is pleaded with factual content that allows

50 Compare Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1)(B) with id. 15(a)(2).

51 Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2).

52 Halbert v. City of Sherman, 33 F.3d 526, 529 (5th Cir. 1994).

53 Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962).

54 R. Doc. 28.

55 Romero v. City of Grapevine, Tex., 888 F.3d 170, 176 (5th Cir. 2018) (citing Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556

U.S. 662, 678 (2009)).

the court to reasonably infer that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.56

But, no matter the factual content, a claim is not plausible if it rests on a legal theory

that is not cognizable.57 In ruling on a motion to dismiss, the Court accepts all well-

pleaded facts as true and views those facts in the light most favorable to the

plaintiff.58 However, the allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above

the speculative level on the assumption that all of the complaint’s allegations are

true.59 “[C]onclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as factual

conclusions will not suffice to prevent a motion to dismiss.”60

Courts construe briefs submitted by pro se litigants liberally, and therefore

“apply less stringent standards to parties proceeding pro se than to parties

represented by counsel.”61 The Court has done so in this matter. That said, a court

will not “invent, out of whole cloth, novel arguments on behalf of a pro se plaintiff in

the absence of meaningful, albeit imperfect, briefing.”62

2. Analysis

The primary question presented to the Court by Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss

is whether the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff does not assert

diversity jurisdiction, nor could she given that both she and Defendant SLLS are

Louisiana citizens.63 Rather, Plaintiff seems to invoke federal question jurisdiction.

56 Edionwe v. Bailey, 860 F.3d 287, 291 (5th Cir. 2017) (citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678).

57 Shandon Yinguang Chem. Indus. Joint Stock Co., Ltd. v. Potter, 607 F.3d 1029, 1032 (5th Cir. 2010)

(per curiam).

58 Midwest Feeders, Inc. v. Bank of Franklin, 886 F.3d 507, 513 (5th Cir. 2018).

59 Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 545 (2007).

60 Taylor v. Books A Million, Inc., 296 F.3d 376, 378 (5th Cir. 2002) (internal citations omitted).

61 Grant v. Cuellar, 50 F.3d 523, 524 (5th Cir. 1995) (per curiam).

62 Jones v. Alfred, 353 F. App’x 949, 951-52 (5th Cir. 2009).

63 See R. Doc. 2 at 1 ¶¶ 2-3.

She states that “[t]his Court has proper venue and jurisdiction over this lawsuit

because the action concerns, acts and omissions that occurred and arises under and

out of federal law, under federal funded Assisted Programs.”64

Plaintiff’s second and third causes of action, for legal malpractice and breach

of fiduciary duty, respectively, arise under state law.65 Although Plaintiff cites to a

federal statute establishing the Legal Services Corporation,66 a non-profit in

Washington, D.C., this citation is not the basis for a federal claim. Moreover, “mere

reference to federal law does not give rise to subject matter jurisdiction if the claim

has no plausible foundation.”67

Plaintiff’s first cause of action alleges violations under the Americans with

Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Both claims fail. Although

unclear what exactly Plaintiff’s theory of ADA claim is, she cannot allege employment

discrimination as she was never employed by SLLS. Nor does she adequately allege

that she was discriminated against on the basis of disability in place of public

accommodation, nor that she was refused service due to disability. Moreover, any

such claim is time-barred, as Plaintiff commenced suit well over a year after

terminating SLLS’s services.68 Accordingly, Plaintiff fails to state an ADA claim.

64 Id. at 1 ¶ 1.

65 See Hamilton v. Burns, 202 So.3d 1177 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2016) (Legal Malpractice); Brockman v. Salt

Lake Farm Partnership, 768 So.2d 836 (La. App. 2 Cir. 2000) (Fiduciary Duty).

66 See 42 U.S.C. § 2996(f) (describing the requisites for grants and contracts from Legal Services

Corporation).

67 Johnson v. CenterPoint Energy, No. 06-2314, 2007 WL 1551054, at *2 (W.D. La. Mar. 19, 2007)

(citing Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d 404, 415-16 (5th Cir. 1981).

68 See Bailey v. Bd. of Comm’s of La. Stadium and Exposition Dist., 441 F. Supp.3d 321, 339 (E.D. La.

2020) (finding that the one-year statute of limitations for delictual actions under Louisiana law applies

to ADA claims).

Plaintiff similarly fails to state a claim under the Rehabilitation Act of 1984.

To state a Rehabilitation Act claim, a Plaintiff must allege that “(1) the plaintiff is an

individual with a disability under the Rehabilitation Act; (2) the plaintiff is otherwise

qualified for participation in the program; (3) the plaintiff is being excluded from

participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination

under the program solely by reason of his or her disability and (4) the relevant

program or activity is receiving federal financial assistance.”69 Plaintiff fails to state

or establish at least two of these elements. First, she does not specify her disability,

so the Court cannot ascertain if it is a disability under the Rehabilitation Act.70

Second, the Complaint makes clear that SLLS did not deny her legal assistance; to

the contrary, SLLS represented Lawrence for years before Lawrence, not SLLS, chose

to terminate the attorney-client relationship.71 Even if the roles had been reversed,

nothing in the Complaint demonstrates that Lawrence was denied legal

representation solely because of her disability, as is required to establish a claim

under the Rehabilitation Act. Further, as with Plaintiff’s ADA claim, any

Rehabilitation Act claim is time-barred.72 Plaintiff therefore fails to state any

Rehabilitation Act claim.

69 Spann ex rel. Hopkins v. Word of Faith Christian Center Church, 589 F. Supp. 2d 759, 764-65 (S.D.

Miss 2008) (quoting M.M. School Bd. of Lee County, Fla., No. 05-07, 2008 WL 4181212, at *5 (M.D.

Fla. Sept. 3, 2008).

70 See 29 U.S.C. § 705(20) (providing a definition for an “individual with a disability”).

71 See R. Doc. 2 at 18 ¶ 79.

72 See Webster v. Board of Supervisors of Univ. of La. System, No. 13-6613, 2015 WL 4197589, at *4-5

(July 10, 2015) (finding that the one-year statute of limitations for delictual actions under Louisiana

law applies to Rehabilitation Act claims).

The Court further notes that the Motion to Dismiss was never opposed.

Plaintiff’s response was initially due on December 21, 2020. Plaintiff moved for an

extension of time to respond to the Motion to Dismiss,73 which motion was opposed

by Defendant. In granting Plaintiff’s Motion for an extension of time to respond to

the Motion to Dismiss, the Court noted “this extension is granted specifically

considering Plaintiff’s pro se status and is designed to give Plaintiff sufficient time to

respond."74 The Court ordered that Plaintiff could respond anytime on or before

January 7, 2021.75 Rather than respond, Plaintiff moved to Amend her Complaint,

and the Court denied that Motion without Prejudice, giving Plaintiff until January

18, 2021 to file a Motion for Leave to Amend her Complaint with a proposed pleading

attached and again noting the leeway given to Plaintiff in light of her pro se status.76

Rather than do so, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Reconsider. As the Court has already

discussed, that Motion is denied. Despite being given ample time and opportunity to

do so, Plaintiff has failed to either oppose the Motion to Dismiss or properly move to

amend her complaint.

In summary, the Court finds that Plaintiff fails to state any federal claim and

dismisses any such claim with prejudice. Having dismissed Plaintiff’s federal claims,

the Court declines supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s pendant state law

claims.77 Those claims are dismissed without prejudice.

73 R. Doc. 23.

74 R. Doc. 26.

75 Id.

76 R. Doc. 28.

77 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3) (“The district courts may decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a

claim under subsection (a) if . . . the district court has dismissed all claims over which it has original

jurisdiction.”).

HiIl. CONCLUSION

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs Motion for Recusal,

Reconsideration of the Court’s Order Denying her Motion to Amend, and for

Modification of the Scheduling Order is DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED

that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED. Plaintiff's federal claims are

DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE and Plaintiffs state-law claims are DISMISSED

WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

New Orleans, Louisiana, February 4, 2021.

WENDY B. bicink

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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