David Shoemaker v. County of Glenn

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff David J. Shoemaker appeals the district court’s decision dismissing his action with prejudice pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Shoemaker sued Glenn County and its Board of Supervisors (the “Board”) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , alleging deprivation of his constitutionally-protected property interest in continued employment as County Administrative Officer. Shoemaker additionally alleged that his termination without cause constituted a breach of his employment contract under California law. The district court determined that Shoemaker’s contract unambiguously created an at-will employment relationship which, under California law, was terminable without cause. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We review de novo the district court’s decision to grant a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1030 (9th Cir.2008). “We accept factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party,” but “we need not accept as true conclusory allegations that are contradicted by documents referred to in the complaint.” Id. at…