Amaya v. Ballyshear LLC

295 F.Supp.3d 204

Nelly AMAYA, Plaintiff,

v.BALLYSHEAR LLC, Geller & Company LLC, Diana Gubelli, Janine Wheaton, Marika Sygman, and Steve Kaczynski, individually, Defendants.

2:17–cv–01596 (ADS)(GRB)

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Filed March 14, 2018

Derek Smith Law Group PLLC, Co–Counsel for the Plaintiff, 30 Broad Street, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10004, By: Derek T. Smith, Esq., Kelly L. O'Connell, Esq., Of Counsel

Tand & Associates PC, Co–Counsel for the Plaintiff 1025 Old Country Road, Suite 314, Westbury, NY 11590, By: John Luke, Jr., Esq., Of Counsel

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Counsel for the Defendants, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, By: Joseph T. Baio, Esq., Andrew Spital, Esq., Elizabeth Dunn, Esq., Of Counsel

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION & ORDER

SPATT, District Judge:

On March 21, 2017, the plaintiff Nelly Amaya ("Amaya" or the "Plaintiff") commenced this employment discrimination action against her former employers Ballyshear LLC ("Ballyshear"), and Geller & Company LLC ("Geller") (together, the "Corporate Defendants"), as well as various individuals employed by the Corporate Defendants, specifically, Diana Gubelli ("Gubelli"), Janine Wheaton ("Wheaton"), Marika Sygman ("Sygman"), and Steve Kaczynski ("Kaczynski") (together, the "Individual Defendants" and collectively with the Corporate Defendants, the "Defendants"). The Plaintiff alleges gender, race and national origin-based employment discrimination and retaliation, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (" § 1981"), and New York Executive Law § 296 ("NYSHRL").

Presently before the Court is a motion by the Defendants, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (" FED. R. CIV. P. " or "Rule") 12(b)(6), seeking to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

For the following reasons, the Defendants' motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

A. THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are drawn from the Plaintiff's complaint, and for the purposes of the instant motion, are construed in favor of the Plaintiff.

1. The Parties

The Plaintiff is an Ecuadorian woman and member of the Hispanic race. First Amended Complaint ("Compl."), Docket Entry ("Dkt.") 20, ¶ 8. Amaya resides in Southampton, New York and is authorized to work in the United States. Id. ¶ 8, 41.

Geller is a New York based business which provides various financial advisory, accounting, and wealth management services for high net worth individuals and businesses. One of Geller's clients is Michael R. Bloomberg ("Bloomberg"), who utilizes Geller to, among other things, manage his various properties. Id. ¶¶ 9–10.

Ballyshear is a Geller-affiliated company that manages one of Bloomberg's private residences, a property located in Southampton, New York (the "Property"). Id. ¶ 11. Both Gubelli and Wheaton are alleged to be employees of both Ballyshear and Geller. Gubelli is allegedly a partner at Geller and an Executive for Ballyshear. Wheaton is allegedly a Human Capital Business Partner at Geller and a Human Resource Supervisor for Ballyshear. Id. ¶¶ 12–14. Sygman is the House Manager at the Property and the Plaintiff's direct supervisor during the course of her employment. Id. ¶¶ 16, 44. Kaczynski is the Outside Manager of the Property. Id. ¶ 18. The Plaintiff alleges that Kaczynski and Sygman were engaging in a consensual sexual relationship during the relevant time period. Id. ¶ 49.

2. The Facts

The Plaintiff was hired as a housekeeper for the Property in November 2014. Id. ¶¶ 36, 37. She began work in that capacity in or about December 8, 2014. Id. ¶ 38. According to the complaint, Jennifer Roldan ("Roldan"), and Josephine Barrera ("Barrera") were also employed as housekeepers at the Property with the Plaintiff. Id. ¶ 55.

The Plaintiff worked as a housekeeper at the Property from approximately December 8, 2014 until April 25, 2015. Id. ¶ 101. During that time, she alleges that Kaczynski, Sygman and her co-workers engaged in a series of behaviors that subjected her to discrimination on the basis of her race, national origin, and gender. Amaya further alleges that the Individual Defendants retaliated against the Plaintiff in various forms for reporting the offensive behavior.

According to the complaint, during her approximately five-month employment, Kaczynski and Sygman made a series of offensive race or national origin-based remarks either to her or in her presence. In early December 2014, Kaczynski purportedly referred to the Plaintiff as an "illegal [immigrant]," and stated to the Plaintiff that "Spanish people all come here and have babies so they can stay in this country." Id. ¶ 42. Shortly after, the Plaintiff complained to Sygman that Kaczynski's comment deeply offended her. Sygman responded by informing the Plaintiff that Kaczynski was justified for inquiring as to her immigration status, remarking that, "everyone has to have papers in order to work at the [Property]." Sygman allegedly further noted that Kaczynski meant no harm because he was a "really good" person. Id. ¶¶ 43–47.

In January 2015, Roldan, one of the Plaintiff's coworkers, allegedly stated to the Plaintiff that her husband did not appear to be Ecuadorian, because "Ecuadorians were all short and [had] dark skin." Id. ¶ 59. In or around the same time, the Plaintiff also alleges that Sygman posted a sign on the Property when Hispanic painters, presumably employed by a contractor, were employed on-site. The sign read, "do not drink water from the house." Allegedly, this sign was not posted when white contractors were hired to work on the property. Amaya claims that Sygman allowed white contractors to drink water from the Property and were offered food and drink. Id. ¶ 54.

Later that year, in or about March 2015, the Plaintiff overheard Kaczynski's conversation with Roldan. Amaya overheard Kaczynski remark that Spanish-speaking people "take our jobs," and "money from our pockets." Roldan allegedly responded, in substance, that Ecuadorian and Mexican women only came to America to reproduce. Id. ¶ 85. On another occasion, after the Plaintiff's husband was hospitalized, Kaczynski allegedly commented that Spanish-speaking individuals routinely left medical bills unpaid. Id. ¶ 88.

The Plaintiff further alleges that Kaczynski, Sygman and her co-workers engaged in a series of behaviors that subjected her to discrimination on the basis of her gender. On multiple occasions, Roldan and Barrera asked the Plaintiff about her sexual experiences and inquired of the Plaintiff if she and her husband were interested in "swinging." Id. ¶ 58. Amaya asserts that Roldan and Barrera regularly engaged in conversations of a sexually explicit nature around the Plaintiff, including details of Roldan and Barrera's past sexual relationships and masturbation habits. Id. ¶¶ 55–56. Kaczynski often joined in these conversations. Id. ¶ 63. In at least one instance, Kaczynski referred to his co-workers' breasts as "tits" and "boobies" in the presence of the Plaintiff. Id.

When the Plaintiff demanded that Kaczynski, Roldan and Barrera stop such conversations, the nature of the conversation allegedly became more offensive. Id. ¶ 61. On one occasion, in or about March 2015, Roland and Barrera discussed a sexual fantasy involving a male employee in the presence of Sygman and the Plaintiff. Id. ¶ 80. Sygman dismissed the Plaintiff's complaints as "harmless." Id. ¶ 81. In another instance that month, the Plaintiff overheard Sygman and Kaczynski discuss an arrangement to have sexual intercourse on the Property. Id. ¶ 82. Later that day, Sygman purportedly yelled to the Plaintiff, "no questions, Nelly" when the Plaintiff attempted to greet Sygman.

The complaint also references a former Hispanic housekeeper who allegedly resigned prior to the Plaintiff's employment. "Darleen," as she is referred to, was allegedly mistreated by Sygman and reported the behavior to human resources. The Plaintiff became aware of this prior instance from her co-worker, Roldan. Id. ¶ 66.

On April 25, 2015, the Plaintiff overheard Kaczynski inquire as to Sygman's whereabouts. One of the Plaintiff's coworkers remarked to Kaczynski, "your bitch is not here." He responded, "I don't care, I have three bitches here," presumably referring to the Plaintiff, Barrera and Roldan, who were in the same room as Kaczynski.

Id. ¶ 101. The Plaintiff immediately complained to Sygman about the comment, and was told that Kaczynski's behavior was unlikely to change. Sygman allegedly remarked, "I can't shut people's mouth ... I cannot change people ... If you guys are not happy, resign now ... I can't fire people because they have a bad mouth." Id. ¶¶ 103–06. Later that day, the Plaintiff overheard a sexually explicit conversation between Roldan and Barrera. While leaving the room, she "blacked out" and slipped down a staircase on the Property. Id. ¶¶ 107–10.

Amaya alleges that she suffered a concussion, a bruised face, a shoulder injury, and a back injury as a result of her fall. She was unable to return to work, but continued to receive a salary for eight weeks after her injury, although it was significantly lower than her regular salary.

Prior to the Plaintiff's fall, she reported the alleged behavior to her superiors on multiple occasions. In February 2015, the Plaintiff allegedly reported to Sygman "about the unlawful comments and conduct of [Kaczynski], Roldan, and Barrera." Sygman responded that the owner of the property, Bloomberg, "would not entertain such nonsense." The next day, Sygman conducted one-on-one meetings with each staff member and held a staff meeting to discuss grievances. At the staff meeting, Sygman allegedly requested that employees complete paperwork for human resources, which the Plaintiff claims was never forwarded to human resources. Id. ¶¶ 68–73.

The Plaintiff alleges that Sygman retaliated against the...