Aljizzani v. Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., 1:22-cv-01321

Plaintiff Maan Aljizzani, an Iraqi‑American investigative journalist, worked for Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) and received positive reviews and awards.
In March 2021 MBN told Aljizzani and two other Iraqi journalists to avoid posting political content on personal social media; Aljizzani posted a personal tweet, refused to delete it when asked, was suspended, and then terminated for allegedly violating MBN’s Journalistic Code of Ethics.
Aljizzani alleges the Code was selectively enforced against Iraqi journalists and cites non‑Iraqi journalists (including a Lebanese journalist, Joe Khawly) who he says tweeted political opinions without discipline.
He filed an EEOC charge, received a right‑to‑sue notice, and sued under Title VII for race and national‑origin discrimination.
Defendant moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim; the court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failing to plead a plausible discrimination claim based on comparators and set a 21‑day deadline to move for leave to amend with a proposed amended complaint.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Aljizzani pleaded a plausible race‑discrimination claim	Aljizzani alleges he was terminated because he is Iraqi‑American and that MBN disproportionately enforces the Code against Iraqi journalists	MBN argues Aljizzani did not allege direct evidence and that alleging an "Iraqi" background does not adequately plead race discrimination	Court: Race claim fails; plaintiff conceded lack of direct evidence and "Iraqi" allegations insufficient to state race claim
Whether Aljizzani pleaded national‑origin discrimination via comparator evidence under McDonnell Douglas	Aljizzani alleges satisfactory performance, adverse action, and disparate treatment of non‑Iraqi coworkers (including investigative reporters and Khawly)	MBN argues alleged comparators are not shown to be similarly situated (no facts about positions, supervisors, or identical conduct) and some comparators are in the same protected class	Court: National‑origin claim dismissed for failure to plead sufficiently similar comparators; allegations are too conclusory/speculative
Whether leave to amend should be granted	Aljizzani requests leave to amend if complaint is dismissed	—	Court: Dismissal without prejudice; plaintiff may move to amend but must file a Motion to Amend with a proposed amended complaint within 21 days

Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) (plausibility pleading standard)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (apply plausibility standard to complaints)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (burden‑shifting framework for discrimination cases)
Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506 (2002) (Title VII plaintiff not required to plead a full prima facie case)
Laing v. Fed. Exp. Corp., 703 F.3d 713 (4th Cir. 2013) (comparator analysis in Title VII claims)
McCleary‑Evans v. Maryland Dep't of Transp., 780 F.3d 582 (4th Cir. 2015) (pleading requirements in employment discrimination suits)
Haynes v. Waste Connections, Inc., 922 F.3d 219 (4th Cir. 2019) (factors for assessing whether coworkers are similarly situated)
Bing v. Brivo Sys., LLC, 959 F.3d 605 (4th Cir. 2020) (court need not fill pleading gaps or accept speculative inferences)
Saint Francis Coll. v. Al‑Khazraji, 481 U.S. 604 (1987) (ancestry may support a race‑discrimination claim)