Heyer v. Governing Board of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Heyer appeals from the district court’s judgment of dismissal, arguing that the district court erred in dismissing certain claims from his First, Second, and Third Amended Complaints. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We review de novo a district court’s order granting a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1030 (9th Cir.2008). This court has harmonized recent Supreme Court cases on pleadings, including those dealing with ADEA and Title VII claims, and explained “two principles” relevant to analyzing the sufficiency of the pleadings in this case:

Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1216 (9th Cir.2011). Although the district court did not apply this precise standard, we nevertheless conclude that the district court did not err in dismissing Heyer’s age discrimination, race discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims. See Serrano v. Francis, 345 F.3d 1071, 1076-77 (9th Cir.2003).

To begin, although Heyer was not required to plead each element of the prima facie showing for an age discrimination claim, see Sheppard, v. David Evans & Assoc.,…