GOLDEN v. NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

JASMINE E. GOLDEN, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) 1:23CV381

)

NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURE AND )

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, )

)

Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND RECOMMENDATION

OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

This case comes before the undersigned United States

Magistrate Judge for a recommendation on Defendant’s Motion to

Dismiss (Docket Entry 5; see also Docket Entry 6 (Brief in

Support)). (See Docket Entry dated Aug. 1, 2023.) For the reasons

that follow, the Court should grant in part the instant Motion, in

that the Court should dismiss all of Plaintiff’s federal claims

under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and should decline

to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any of her state claims

under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3).

Introduction

Plaintiff commenced this action in state court by filing a pro

se Complaint (Docket Entry 7), followed by a Supplement (Docket

Entry 7-1). According to the Complaint, “[Plaintiff] was hired

with [the] OARS [Department] at [Defendant] for a contract period

of August 18, 2022 to June 30, 2023 . . . .” (Docket Entry 7 at

1.) The Complaint “assert[s] that [Plaintiff’s supervisor] along

with others acted directly and indirectly with malice and

discriminatorily to short [Plaintiff] for services rendered,

including [her] holiday bonus” (id. at 2) and also “assert[s] that

[Plaintiff’s supervisor] and others unfairly and discriminatorily

terminated [Plaintiff’s] employment on the basis of [her] race,

gender, [and] age . . . as well as for other possible unknown or

nefarious reasons” (id.). The Supplement, in turn, expressly

invokes a federal statute (codified at 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2000e-

17), “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964” (Docket Entry 7-1

at 1 (bold font omitted)), and then states:

[Plaintiff] was the target of repeated discriminatory

acts and human and civil rights violations on the part of

employees of [Defendant] and [Defendant’s] OARS

Department between August 18, 2022 and December 20, 2022,

including discriminatory hiring practices; impeding

necessary employment growth, including social networking;

and withholding fringe benefits of employment in repeated

acts of discrimination and malice.

(Id. at 1-2 (missing space added); see also id. at 8 (“Plaintiff

was clearly the subject of continued and multiple discriminatory

actions and discriminatory hiring practices, as well as human

rights and civil rights violations on the part of various employees

of [Defendant], including [Plaintiff’s supervisor] . . . .”).)

Defendant subsequently removed this action to this Court

“because the action arises under the laws of the United States”

(Docket Entry 1 at 4) and contemporaneously “move[d] th[is] Court

to dismiss all claims against [Defendant] under Rules 12(b)(1) and

2

12 (b) (6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure” (Docket Entry 5

at 1). Plaintiff responded (see Docket Entry 14 (the “Response”))

and Defendant replied (see Docket Entry 16 (the “Reply”)).!

Discussion

Defendant’s Brief in Support argues that “the Court should

dismiss Plaintiff’s federal law claims for failure to state claims

upon which relief can be granted.” (Docket Entry 6 at 2.)

Liberally construed’ (and as summarized by Defendant), the

Complaint and Supplement together assert federal claims against

Defendant for “discriminating against [Plaintiff] based on her

race, sex, and age” (id. at 1), by:

1) “engag[ing] in discriminatory hiring practices because

[Defendant] hired an African American male co-worker to a position

for which [Plaintiff] claims she also applied” (id.; see also

Docket Entry 7 at 1 (“[Plaintiff’s supervisor and] all [others

working in the OARS Department] except [Plaintiff were people] of

color and clearly African American. .. . On Thursday, December

1 As the Reply notes, the Response largely “restates the

allegations made in [the] Supplement” (Docket Entry 16 at 1-2).

(Compare Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-8, with Docket Entry 14 at 1-10.)

The Reply also correctly contends that, in adjudicating the instant

Motion, “the Court cannot consider facts newly alleged in [the]

Response” (Docket Entry 16 at 2 n.1). See E.I. du Pont de Nemours

& Co. v. Kolon Indus., Inc., 637 F.3d 435, 449 (4th Cir. 2011).

2 Because Plaintiff filed this action pro se, the Court must

“construe h[er] pleadings liberally.” Bing v. Brivo Sys., LLC, 959

F.3d 605, 618 (4th Cir. 2020) (citing Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S.

89, 94 (2007)).

15th, 2022, [Plaintiff’s supervisor] announced a permanent hire had

been made to the OARS Department . . . . The individual hired to

the permanent position happened to be African American and male.

. . . [Plaintiff] had applied for the permanent position; however,

[she] never received acknowledgement [sic] of [her] application nor

any word in response to [her] application despite several attempts

. . . to follow up on the position.”); Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-2

(generally alleging “discriminatory hiring practices”), 4-6

(discussing hiring of Plaintiff’s African-American, male co-worker

for permanent position Plaintiff sought), 8 (“Plaintiff was clearly

the subject of . . . discriminatory hiring practices . . . .”));

2) “discriminat[ing] against [Plaintiff] when [Defendant] made

a late[/lower] payment of her wages on one occasion and a late

payment of a holiday bonus” (Docket Entry 6 at 1; see also Docket

Entry 7 at 1 (“In October 2022, [Plaintiff’s supervisor] neglected

to approve [Plaintiff’s] timesheet causing [her] payroll to be

missed. [She] was forced to accept a ‘sub-pay option’ [and] . . .

never received [her] full pay . . . . [Later, she did] not

receive[] the holiday bonus marked for temporary employees.”), 2

(“assert[ing] that [Plaintiff’s supervisor] along with others acted

. . . discriminatorily to short [Plaintiff] for services rendered,

including [her] holiday bonus . . . which was eventually received

after the holidays . . . only because [she] contacted Human

4

Resources”); Docket Entry 7-1 at 2-4 (discussing delayed/reduced

paycheck), 7-8 (discussing delayed holiday bonus)); and

3) “discriminat[ing] against [Plaintiff] . . . when it

terminated her employment” (Docket Entry 6 at 1; see also Docket

Entry 7 at 1 (“On December 20th, 2022, [Plaintiff] received an

office email notifying that our [sic] keys and all work issued

apparatuses be returned before the holiday break. . . . [Later

that day, Plaintiff’s supervisor told Plaintifff] that ‘this

temporary position is no longer needed’ – ‘no discussion.’”), 2

(“assert[ing] that [Plaintiff’s supervisor] and others unfairly and

discriminatorily terminated [Plaintiff’s] employment on the basis

of [her] race, gender, [and] age – as [she] was clearly the only

White employee in the OARS Department”); Docket Entry 7-1 at 6-7

(discussing termination of Plaintiff’s temporary position)).

“To survive a motion to dismiss [under Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 12(b)(6)], a plaintiff must plead enough factual

allegations ‘to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its

face.’” Bing v. Brivo Sys., LLC, 959 F.3d 605, 616 (4th Cir. 2020)

(quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)). “The

purpose of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is to test the sufficiency of a

complaint, not to resolve contests surrounding the facts, the

merits of a claim, or the applicability of defenses.” Id.

(internal quotation marks omitted). “Thus, when considering a

motion to dismiss, a court must consider the factual allegations in

5

the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor

of the plaintiff.” Id. “But importantly, [pleading a plausible

claim] ‘requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic

recitation of the elements of a cause of action[ ] will not do.’”

Id. (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007));

see also Igbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (“[The pleading standard] demands

more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me

accusation. . . . Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause

of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not

suffice.”). Finally, to avoid dismissal for failure to state a

claim, “[a] complaint must contain ‘factual allegations sufficient

to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.’” Bing,

959 F.3d at 616 (internal brackets and ellipsis omitted) (quoting

Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555); see also Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (“The

plausibility standard . .. asks for more than a sheer possibility

that a defendant has acted unlawfully. Where a complaint pleads

facts that are merely consistent with a defendant’s liability, it

stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of

entitlement to relief.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).?

Accordingly, at the pleading stage, “a Title VII plaintiff is

‘required to allege facts to satisfy the elements of a cause of

action created by that statute.’” Bing, 959 F.3d at 616 (quoting

3 These pleading standards apply in this case notwithstanding

Plaintiff’s pro se status. See Bing, 959 F.3d at 618.

McCleary-Evans v. Maryland Dep’t of Transp., State Highway Admin.,

780 F.3d 582, 585 (4th Cir. 2015)).* “The pertinent statute, Title

VII, prohibits an employer from ‘discharging [or refusing to hire]

any individual, or otherwise discriminating against any individual

with respect to his [or her] compensation . . . because of such

individual’s race [or sex].’”% Id. at 616-17 (internal brackets

omitted) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (1)). In parallel fashion,

another federal statute, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act,

29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634, “prohibits employers from refusing to hire,

discharging, or otherwise discriminating against any person who is

at least 40 years of age because of the person’s age.” Equal Emp.

Opportunity Comm’n v. Baltimore Cnty., 747 F.3d 267, 272 (Ath Cir.

2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

4 “Ultimately, a plaintiff bringing an employment

discrimination claim... must provide supporting evidence through

one of two methods: (1) direct or circumstantial evidence that

discrimination motivated the employer’s adverse employment

decision, or (2) the McDonnell Douglas pretext framework ... .”

Bing, 959 F.3d at 616 n.8 (internal quotation marks omitted).

Under the latter method, a plaintiff first must “prove a prima

facie case of discrimination,” id.; see also Ennis v. National

Ass’n of Bus. & Educ. Radio, Inc., 53 F.3d 55, 58 (4th Cir. 1995)

(“In general terms, a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case by

proving a set of facts which would enable the fact-finder to

conclude, in the absence of any further explanation, that it is

more likely than not that the adverse employment action was the

product of discrimination. To assist in the practical application

of the standard, [courts] have on occasion specified more precisely

the elements of the prima facie case, depending on the factual

situation and claim alleged.” (internal citations and italics

omitted)); however, “‘an employment discrimination plaintiff need

not plead a prima facie case of discrimination’ to survive a motion

to dismiss,” Bing, 959 F.3d at 616 (emphasis added) (quoting

Swierkiewicz v. Sorema_ N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 515 (2002)).

As previously discussed, “[l]liberally construing [the]

allegations [in the Complaint and Supplement], [Plaintiff] asserted

[race, sex, and age] discrimination in [three] ways,” Bing, 959

F.3d at 617, i.e., Defendant (1) failed to hire Plaintiff fora

permanent position, (2) improperly disbursed one of her paychecks,

as well as her holiday bonus, and (3) terminated her temporary

position.’ “The facts [Plaintiff] pled about [these events] cannot

be construed to plausibly state a claim that [s]he was [denied a

job, improperly paid, and/or] terminated because of h[er] racel,

sex, or age].” Id. The Court therefore should dismiss Plaintiff’s

federal claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 (b) (6).°

5 The Supplement additionally lists “impeding necessary

employment growth, including social networking; and withholding

fringe benefits of employment [as among Defendant’s] repeated acts

of discrimination” (Docket Entry 7-1 at 2), but the Complaint and

Supplement contain no factual allegations about any such matters

(see Docket Entry 7 at 1-2; Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-8). As a result,

the Court should treat that language as nothing more “than an

unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Iqbal,

556 U.S. at 678. Nor may Plaintiff sustain a claim based on the

Supplement’s bald statement that, after Defendant’s termination of

her temporary position, she experienced “continued unemployment

. . . which [she] suspects indicates [the] possibility of her

having been ‘blacklisted’ as a result of [her] pending Complaint”

(Docket Entry 7-1 at 7 (emphasis added)). See Bing, 959 F.3d at

616 (“A complaint must contain factual allegations sufficient to

raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” (emphasis

added) (internal brackets, ellipsis, and quotation marks omitted)).

6 Because Plaintiff’s pleadings do not state a plausible claim

for race, sex, or age discrimination in relation to Defendant’s

failure to hire her for a permanent position, the Court need not

reach Defendant’s alternative argument that “[s]uch a claim exceeds

the scope of [Plaintiff’s administrative] charge” (Docket Entry 6

at 11), such that “[she] cannot pursue that claim” (id.).

Starting with the age discrimination claim(s), “Plaintiff’s

Complaint [and Supplement] do[] not state what her age is,” Jiang

v. Duke Univ., No. 1:22CV101, 2023 WL 2161772, at *5 (M.D.N.C. Feb.

22, 2023) (unpublished) (Biggs, J.), and do not set out any

“factual allegations regarding . . . the age of any other person

identified in the Complaint [and Supplement or] any instances where

age was mentioned by any person or in any document,” id.; instead,

the Complaint and Supplement make “only conclusory assertions that

Plaintiff was discriminated against because of her age,” id. (See

Docket Entry 7 at 1-2; Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-8.) “Because

Plaintiff has not made any factual allegations about age . . ., the

Court [should] find[] that she has not plausibly alleged that she

experienced any discrimination that was on account of her age.”

Jiang, 2023 WL 2161772, at *5 (emphasis omitted).

Plaintiff’s claims of race and sex discrimination fare no

better. “While [Plaintiff] did allege that [Defendant] failed to

hire her [for a permanent position], she did not allege facts

sufficient to claim that the reason it failed to hire her was

because of her race or sex.” McCleary-Evans, 780 F.3d at 585

(emphasis added). Regarding race and sex, the Complaint and

Supplement merely allege that Plaintiff’s race (white) differed

from the race of others who worked in the OARS Department

(including her supervisor and her co-worker hired for the permanent

position) and that her sex (female) differed from the sex of her

9

supervisor and her co-worker hired for the permanent position.

(See Docket Entry 7 at 1-2; Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-8.) “Only

speculation can fill the gaps in [the C]omplaint [and Supplement]

– speculation as to why [a male,] non-[white] candidate[] w[as]

selected to fill the [permanent] position[] instead of

[Plaintiff].” McCleary-Evans, 780 F.3d at 586. Even if the Court

assumed that Plaintiff’s male, African-American supervisor played

a material part in the selection of Plaintiff’s male, African-

American co-worker for the permanent position (over Plaintiff),

that assumed fact would not allow Plaintiff to state a plausible

claim for race or sex discrimination: “While the allegation that

[a male,] non-[white] decisionmaker[] hired [a male,] non-[white]

applicant[] instead of [ P]laintiff is consistent with

discrimination, it does not alone support a reasonable inference

that the decisionmaker[] w[as] motivated by [race- or sex-based]

bias.” Id. (emphasis omitted).7

“In short, [as to the race- and sex-based, failure-to-hire

sub-claim(s), the C]omplaint [and Supplement] ‘stopped short of the

line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to

7 Additionally, as Defendant’s Brief in Support observes,

“[the Supplement] admits that [Plaintiff’s] co-worker was qualified

for the job to which he was hired.” (Docket Entry 6 at 16; see

also Docket Entry 7-1 at 5 (describing said co-worker as “qualified

for that particular permanent position”).) Furthermore, the

Complaint and Supplement lack factual allegations showing that

Plaintiff possessed better qualifications for the permanent

position than her co-worker who got it. (See Docket Entry 7 at 1-

2; Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-8.)

10

relief.’” Id. (internal brackets omitted) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S.

at 678); see also, e.g., Wright v. Hertford Cnty. Bd. of Educ., No.

2:23CV30, 2024 WL 85926, at *11 (E.D.N.C. Jan. 8, 2024)

(unpublished) (“[S]tacking conclusory allegations of hostility to

non-black employees does not get [the plaintiff] across the

[plausibility] line. Thus, the court dismisses [this claim] for

failure to plausibly allege race discrimination.”); Ballew v.

United Parcel Serv., Inc., No. 6:18CV59, 2018 WL 5074603, at *5

(D.S.C. Aug. 20, 2018) (unpublished) (“[T]he bare allegation that

two male employees were promoted to full-time [] positions [over

the female plaintiff] fails to give rise to an inference of gender

discrimination.”), recommendation adopted, 2018 WL 5043887 (D.S.C.

Oct. 17, 2018) (unpublished).

Turning to the aspect of Plaintiff’s race and sex

discrimination claims predicated on the belated/diminished payment

of her wages for one pay-period and the belated payment of her

holiday bonus, “[Plaintiff] must sufficiently allege facts to make

plausible that [Defendant] discriminated against h[er] with respect

to h[er] compensation because of h[er race and/or] sex.” Welch v.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of N.C., No. 1:18CV1206339, 2019 WL

1206339, at *4 (M.D.N.C. Mar. 14, 2019) (unpublished) (Tilley,

S.J.). “[Plaintiff] has failed to do so. There are no factual

allegations [in her pleadings] to support h[er] claim that

[Defendant’s handling of] h[er] . . . pay was discriminatory.” Id.

11

To the contrary, as Defendant’s Brief in Support articulates,

despite “Plaintiff[’s conclusory] alleg[ation] that her single

missed[/decreased] paycheck and late holiday bonus payment resulted

from discrimination, her pleadings indicate these [events] were

mere oversights.” (Docket Entry 6 at 18 (emphasis added); see also

Docket Entry 7-1 at 2-3 (“When [] Plaintiff discovered that she had

not received her usual payroll deposit, she contacted [the] Payroll

[Office] at [Defendant] to notify them of the oversight . . . . []

Plaintiff at that time notified the Payroll Office that the missed

payroll was not a result of [] Plaintiff’s oversight but rather

that of [her supervisor].” (emphasis added)), 4 (“[Plaintiff’s

supervisor] apologized for the oversight . . . .” (emphasis

added)), 7 (“Plaintiff noted that she had not received any holiday

bonus . . . . When [] Plaintiff contacted the Human Resources

Department to notify of the oversight, [she] was informed only that

‘some people fell through the cracks.’” (emphasis added)), 8 (“Had

[] Plaintiff not brought this oversight to light, [she] would also

not have received the $500 holiday bonus . . . .” (emphasis

added)).) Moreover, “[a]lthough [the Complaint and Supplement]

allege[] that [Defendant] refused [Plaintiff’s] repeated requests

to be compensated [for the lone instance of lost pay] . . ., there

12

are no allegations that suggest those refusals were because

[Plaintiff] is a [white fe]male.” Welch, 2019 WL 1206339, at *4.8

“It would be difficult even to describe [these] allegations as

consistent with discrimination. There is simply no connection

between [Plaintiff’s race or] sex and h[er] pay . . . . Therefore,

[s]he has not sufficiently alleged facts to state a plausible claim

of [race or] sex discrimination in violation of Title VII.” Id.

Lastly, “[t]he facts [Plaintiff] pled about h[er] termination

cannot be construed to plausibly state a claim that [s]he was

terminated because of h[er sex or] race.” Bing, 959 F.3d at 617.

Most tellingly, as the sole support for the “assert[ion] that

[Plaintiff’s supervisor] and others unfairly and discriminatorily

terminated [Plaintiff’s] employment on the basis of [her] race[

and] gender” (Docket Entry 7 at 2), the Complaint declares that

“[she] was clearly the only White employee in the OARS Department”

(id.). But, per the Complaint, that circumstance had existed since

Plaintiff’s hiring four months earlier. (See id. at 1 (alleging

8 Instead, the Supplement evinces that bureaucratic

dysfunction, rather than race- or sex-based discrimination, lay at

the root of Defendant’s failure to reimburse Plaintiff for the

(one-time) underpayment of her wages. (See Docket Entry 7-1 at 4

(“After speaking with both the Payroll Department and Human

Resources on several occasions . . ., [] Plaintiff was informed

that there was nothing that they could do, acknowledging that this

was a ‘suboptimal’ situation and that they were looking into how

the ‘Subpay’ option might be handled in the future.”).) “[Such]

bureaucratic negligence, [] as understandably frustrating as that

negligence was, [] did not amount to discrimination.” Skorupska v.

525 W. 52 Prop. Owner LLC, 625 F. Supp. 3d 90, 97 (S.D.N.Y. 2022).

13

that, during her tenure, “all [who worked in OARS Department]

except [Plaintiff were people] of color and clearly African

American”).) Neither the Complaint nor the Supplement offer a

reasonable basis to infer that, after she spent four months working

in the OARS Department, Plaintiff’s race suddenly caused Defendant

to terminate her temporary position (let alone a reasonable basis

to infer that her race or the racial make-up of the OARS

Department’s workforce somehow turned that termination into sex

discrimination). (See id. at 1-2; Docket Entry 7-1 at 1-8.)

In addition, the Complaint and Supplement “specifically

allege[] a non-racial [and non-sex-based] reason for the

termination,” Bing, 959 F.3d at 617. (See Docket Entry 7 at 1

(alleging that, after learning about elimination of her position,

“[Plaintiff] asked whether there was a problem as [she] had never

been reprimanded nor had [she] been put on notice at any point in

[her] employment and, in fact, had only received positive

feedback,” and her supervisor told her “that ‘this temporary

position is no longer needed’”); accord Docket Entry 7-1 at 6-7.)

“[That] termination decision may have been hasty or even unfair,

but it was not racially [or sexually] motivated according to

[Plaintiff’s] own allegations.” Bing, 959 F.3d at 617. To sum up:

[Plaintiff] failed to plead sufficient facts to plausibly

claim h[er] termination . . . was racially [or sexually]

motivated. Rather than drawing a reasonable inference,

[the Court] would have to speculate to fill in the gaps

as to [Defendant’s] motivation . . . and to disregard the

reason given to [Plaintiff] for h[er] termination. Thus,

14

[Plaintiff’s pleadings] do not contain sufficient factual

matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that

is plausible on its face.

Id. at 618 (internal quotation marks omitted).

With all of Plaintiff’s federal claims subject to dismissal,

the Court should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over

any state claims in the Complaint and Supplement.9 Federal courts

may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over certain state claims -

even after federal question jurisdiction ceases to exist; however,

a court need not maintain supplemental jurisdiction under such

circumstances. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3); see also Shanaghan v.

Cahill, 58 F.3d 106, 110 (4th Cir. 1995) (“[T]rial courts enjoy

wide latitude in determining whether or not to retain jurisdiction

over state claims when all federal claims have been

extinguished.”). “Among the factors that inform this discretionary

determination are convenience and fairness to the parties, the

existence of any underlying issues of federal policy, comity, and

considerations of judicial economy.” Shanaghan, 58 F.3d at 110.

“[I]n the usual case in which all federal-law claims are eliminated

9 Defendant construes the Complaint and Supplement as

asserting state law claims for breach of contract and wrongful

discharge. (See Docket Entry 6 at 23-26.) The record does not

establish diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction over such claims.

(See Docket Entry 7 at 2 (listing address in Greensboro, North

Carolina, for Plaintiff); Docket Entry 7-1 at 8 (same), 11

(identifying Defendant as “constituent institution of the

University of North Carolina,” with address in Greensboro, North

Carolina, on exhibit attached to Supplement to show Plaintiff’s

employment by Defendant (all-caps font omitted)).)

15

before trial, the balance of factors . . . will point toward

declining to exercise jurisdiction over the remaining state-law

claims.” Carnegie–Mellon Univ. v. Cohill, 484 U.S. 343, 350 n.7

(1988). Given that this action has not progressed beyond the

pleading stage, the Court should decline to exercise supplemental

jurisdiction over any state claims brought by Plaintiff. See,

e.g., Nance v. City of Albemarle, 520 F. Supp. 3d 758, 802

(M.D.N.C. 2021) (Osteen, J.).

Conclusion

The Complaint and the Supplement do not state any plausible

federal claims and any state claims therein should no longer

proceed in this Court.

IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that the instant Motion (Docket

Entry 5) be granted in part, in that Plaintiff’s federal claims

should be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)

and Plaintiff’s state claims should be dismissed without prejudice

under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3).

/s/ L. Patrick Auld

L. Patrick Auld

United States Magistrate Judge

January 29, 2024

16