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Chayoon v. Sherlock6/28/2005
The plaintiff, Joseph Chayoon, appeals from the trial court's judgment dismissing his wrongful termination action against several defendants who were at all relevant times employed by the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise at Foxwoods Resort Casino (Foxwoods). On appeal, the plaintiff claims that (1) the court improperly granted the defendants' motion to dismiss and (2) the court's decision should be "vacated" and "declared void" because it was rendered more than 120 days following the short calendar oral argument. We affirm the court's dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the defendants are immune from suit.
The following facts, as alleged in the complaint, are relevant to our resolution of this appeal. The plaintiff began work at Foxwoods as a table games supervisor on February 2, 1992. On June 6, 2000, he requested a leave of absence, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. ยง 2601 et seq., to care for his eighty-two year old mother who was seriously ill. Although the plaintiff's request was initially approved, his employment was terminated when he returned to work on August 29, 2000.
Before filing this action, the plaintiff filed two complaints in federal court alleging the same facts as set forth herein, and in each federal action the plaintiff alleged that the defendants had violated the FMLA. The first federal action involved a claim against the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (tribe) and Foxwoods. It was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Chayoon v. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, United States District Court, Docket No. 3:02CV0163 (D. Conn. May 31, 2002). In the second federal action, the plaintiff sued eighteen individual defendants, including seven members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, as well as several other employees, officers and representatives of Foxwoods. Chayoon v. Reels, United States District Court, Docket No. 3:02CV1358 (D. Conn. March 21, 2003), aff'd sub nom. Chayoon v. Chao, 355 F.3d 141 (2d Cir. 2004), cert. denied sub nom. Chayoon v. Reels, U.S., 125 S.Ct. 429, 160 L.Ed. 2d 336 (2004). The second action also was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court held that the tribe's sovereign immunity from suit applied to employees of the tribe acting within the scope of their authority.
On September 2, 2003, the plaintiff filed the present action consisting of a one count complaint against eight individual employees of Foxwoods. In the complaint, the plaintiff alleged that the defendants violated the FMLA by terminating his employment at Foxwoods. The defendants in this matter also had been named as defendants in the plaintiff's second federal lawsuit. On October 31, 2003, the defendants in this state action filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction over them. Oral argument on the defendants' motion to dismiss and the plaintiff's objection to it took place on December 1, 2003. After the hearing but before the court issued its decision, the plaintiff, on February 17, 2004, filed a "Petition for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief." In response, the defendants objected to the filing of that pleading, arguing that once the court's jurisdiction has been challenged, the court is required to decide whether it has jurisdiction before considering any other matter in the case. On March 31, 2004, the plaintiff filed a motion requesting that the court stay its decision on the motion to dismiss pending its decision on the petition for declaratory and injunctive relief. Nevertheless, on April 23, 2004, the court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss on the ground that the court lacked subject m
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