51 F. Supp. 3d 235
E.D.N.Y2014Background
- Plaintiff, a Paraguayan national, alleges she was recruited to work in New York as a live-in domestic/nanny by defendants (family members), who paid visa/travel costs and provided housing.
- Soon after arrival, plaintiff’s passport was taken; defendants allegedly threatened deportation and confiscated her phone/keys, forced long work hours for low pay, and subjected her to verbal and physical abuse, including an attempted rape by Julio and a shove by Ada.
- Plaintiff left the household with police assistance after consulting an attorney and later filed a complaint asserting TVPRA, FLSA, New York Labor Law, IIED, NIED, and battery claims.
- Defendants answered with four state-law counterclaims (abuse of process, IIED, NIED, prima facie tort), later withdrawing three and seeking leave to add defamation based on plaintiff’s statements to police.
- Motions: Plaintiff moved to dismiss the counterclaims; defendants moved to dismiss portions of the complaint and to amend their answer. The court considered Rule 12(b)(6)/12(c) standards.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity of defendants’ state-law counterclaims (IIED, others) | Move to dismiss all counterclaims as legally deficient | Initially asserted four counterclaims; later withdrew three and sought to amend IIED basis | Original counterclaims dismissed; IIED dismissed as duplicative of proposed defamation claim and because litigation-reporting alone is not extreme/o utragous |
| Leave to amend answer to add defamation counterclaim | Opposed: futile, bad faith, violates FLSA/public policy | Sought to add slander claim based on plaintiff’s oral accusations to police | Leave to amend granted; defamation claim not futile and not pleaded in bad faith |
| Sufficiency of plaintiff’s TVPRA claims (18 U.S.C. §§1589,1590,1592) | Alleges threats of deportation, passport confiscation, coercion and forced labor | Argued no threat/serious harm; pointed to photos suggesting free movement | Claims survive: threats of deportation and passport confiscation sufficiently plead coercion/forced labor and related violations |
| State-law torts (IIED, NIED, battery) and statute of limitations for battery | IIED/NIED/battery plead extreme conduct and causation; battery against Julio (rape attempt) equitable tolled due to threats/misrepresentations | Argued conduct not extreme (family/employment context) and Julio’s battery time-barred | Court denied dismissal: allegations suffice for IIED/NIED; battery against Ada and Julio survives; equitable tolling plausible for Julio assault claim |
Key Cases Cited
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (pleading plausibility standard)
- Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (pleading must be plausible)
- Aguirre v. Best Care Agency, Inc., 961 F. Supp. 2d 427 (E.D.N.Y. 2013) (threat of deportation can constitute serious harm under TVPRA)
- United States v. Dann, 652 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2011) (TVPRA reaches nonviolent coercion)
- Howell v. N.Y. Post Co., Inc., 81 N.Y.2d 115 (N.Y. 1993) (elements of IIED under New York law)
- Harte-Hanks Commc’ns, Inc. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657 (actual malice standard and proof principles)
- Konikoff v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 234 F.3d 92 (2d Cir. 2000) (qualified privilege for crime reporting lost only for actual malice)
- Weldy v. Piedmont Airlines, Inc., 985 F.2d 57 (2d Cir. 1993) (slander per se for allegations of assault)