Bouveng v. Nyg Capital LLC, 14 Civ. 5474 (PGG)
| Decision Date | 01 June 2015 |
| Docket Number | 14 Civ. 5474 (PGG) |
| Parties | HANNA BOUVENG, Plaintiff, v. NYG CAPITAL LLC d/b/a NEW YORK GLOBAL GROUP, NYG CAPITAL LLC d/b/a FNL MEDIA LLC, and BENJAMIN WEY, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Plaintiff Hanna Bouveng brings this action against Defendants NYG Capital LLC, d/b/a New York Global Group ("NYGG"), FNL Media LLC, and Benjamin Wey. Plaintiff's claims arise out of her employment at NYGG and her relationship with Wey, NYGG's chief executive officer. See Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") (Dkt. No. 40). The SAC asserts claims for sexual harassment, hostile work environment, gender discrimination, and retaliation under the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL") and the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"), and state law claims for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and breach of contract. (Id. ¶¶ 161-227) Defendants have moved to dismiss a number of Plaintiff's claims, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). (Dkt. Nos. 48-49) For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion will be granted in part and denied in part.
Plaintiff Hanna Bouveng - a twenty-five year old Swedish citizen - was employed by Defendants pursuant to a J1 visa from approximately October 1, 2013 until April 22, 2014. (SAC (Dkt. No. 40) ¶¶ 1-2) Defendant NYGG is an investment advisor and venture capital firm based in Manhattan. (Id. ¶¶ 3-4) Defendant FNL Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of NYGG that publishes The Blot Magazine ("The Blot" or "Blot"), an online digital publication. (Id. ¶¶ 5-6) NYGG and FNL Media operate as a joint enterprise and share the same management, ownership, and offices in New York City. (Id. ¶ 7) Defendant Wey is the chief executive officer of NYGG and the publisher of The Blot. (Id. ¶¶ 9-10)
In early July 2013, Wey and Bouveng met for lunch in the Wall Street area. Bouveng's understanding was that the purpose of the lunch was to discuss employment/intern possibilities for Bouveng in New York. (Id. ¶ 26) Wey told Bouveng that what he "really want[ed] [was] a girlfriend[.]" (Id.) Bouveng stated that she was not interested in having a relationship with Wey and the lunch ended. (Id.) Nonetheless, the next day Wey offered Bouveng a job at NYGG, and Bouveng accepted his offer. (Id. ¶ 27)
From about October 1, 2013, until she was fired on or about April 22, 2014, Plaintiff worked at NYGG as Director of Corporate Communications. (Id. ¶ 30) Throughout Plaintiff's employment, Wey repeatedly commented on her appearance, purchased tight clothes for her, placed his arm around her waist, kissed her on the cheek, and ogled her. (Id. ¶¶ 35-37,39, 41-42) Wey - a married father of three - initially insisted that Plaintiff accompany him to dinner at least two nights a week. (Id. ¶¶ 12, 40) As time passed, Wey began to insist that Plaintiff "spend most if not all evenings with him, both during the work week and on weekends . . . ." (Id. ¶ 40) Wey complained to Plaintiff about his marriage and stated that he wanted to leave his wife for her; took her to social gatherings; and told her that she could only advance in her career "by sticking close to him." (Id. ¶¶ 38, 40, 44, 46-48) Eventually, Wey told Plaintiff that he wanted to kiss her and make love to her. (Id. ¶ 45) Plaintiff "did her best to brush off and ignore [Wey's] [overtures]." (Id.)
In November 2013, after a meeting with a potential client, Wey brought Plaintiff to his penthouse hotel room and attempted to kiss her. (Id. ¶¶ 50-51) Plaintiff "stood up and told [Wey] she had to go back to the office," but Wey "suddenly pulled Plaintiff . . . into a bedroom, then towards him, grabbed and embraced her with both arms, and kissed her passionately on the neck." (Id. ¶ 52) Plaintiff told Wey to stop and "stormed toward the door." (Id.) The two then returned to NYGG's offices. (Id.)
Soon after this incident, Plaintiff accompanied Wey on a business trip to Boston. (Id. ¶¶ 53-54) During dinner one night, Wey "repeatedly reached under the table and touched Plaintiff's thigh." (Id. ¶ 54) After dinner, Plaintiff - who was inebriated - "discovered that [Wey] had only booked one hotel room with a king bed." (Id. ¶ 55) Wey then attempted to have sexual intercourse with Plaintiff, despite her resistance. (Id.) Wey eventually stopped, however, and "did not assault her again during their stay." (Id.)
In November 2013, Wey began urging Plaintiff "to move out from the apartment she shared with friends to her own place in lower Manhattan." (Id. ¶ 56) Wey "promised that NYGG would help Plaintiff find an apartment." (Id. (emphasis omitted)) On December 1, 2013,Plaintiff moved into an apartment that Wey found for her in lower Manhattan, which was "a short walk from [NYGG's] offices." (Id. ¶ 57) Wey told Plaintiff that "NYGG would help her pay the additional costs of living alone at the apartment as part of her compensation, and that he would act as her guarantor." (Id. (emphasis omitted)) Plaintiff assumed that this meant NYGG was giving her a raise, but she never received a raise. (Id. ¶¶ 57-58) Instead, during the first week of December 2013, Wey invited himself over to Plaintiff's apartment, demanded that she sit close to him, and "began massaging her shoulders and then kissing her neck." (Id. ¶ 59) Plaintiff rejected Wey's advances, and he left the apartment. (Id.) In the weeks that followed, Wey "glared at and refused to speak to Plaintiff" at work, and Plaintiff "worried that she was going to be fired, lose her apartment, and lose her J1 Visa." (Id. ¶ 60)
In mid-December 2013, while on a business trip to Dubai, Plaintiff and Wey again shared a bed. (Id. ¶ 62) One night, Wey got into the bed naked, "repeatedly called out Plaintiff's name, and pawed at her, but Plaintiff was non-responsive." (Id. ¶ 63) The next night, Wey got into the bed naked again, "hugged Plaintiff from behind, and pressed his erection against her," but Plaintiff refused his advances. (Id. ¶ 64) Plaintiff again worried that she would lose her job, but after these incidents Wey "behaved toward Plaintiff . . . as if nothing had happened." (Id. ¶¶ 65-66)
At a dinner one night after the trip to Dubai, Wey gave Plaintiff a $2,000 Prada handbag as a "year-end bonus from NYGG," and then "plied Plaintiff with drinks." (Id. ¶ 66 (emphasis omitted)) After dinner, Wey accompanied Plaintiff to her apartment, and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. (Id. ¶ 67) Plaintiff was "alarmed, disgusted, and devastated." (Id.)
Over the next two months, Wey "plied Plaintiff . . . with alcohol" and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him on approximately three additional occasions. (Id. ¶ 70) "After the last episode in approximately early February 2014, Plaintiff . . . remained steadfast in her refusal to succumb to Wey's sexual advances, regardless of the consequences." (Id. (emphasis omitted))
Plaintiff alleges that Wey retaliated against her as a result. Wey repeatedly threatened to fire Plaintiff, to ruin her reputation on Wall Street, and to arrange for her J1 visa to be withdrawn. (Id. ¶ 71) He began "stalking" Plaintiff, her family, and her friends via text messages, emails, phone calls, and in-person visits. (Id. ¶¶ 72-75) Wey also emailed NYGG executives suggesting that Plaintiff might not be qualified for her job, and told Plaintiff in mid-April 2014 that if they did not have "an intimate relationship" by August 1, 2014, he would turn over her apartment to other NYGG employees. (Id. ¶¶ 75-76, 78, 84)
On April 22, 2014, Wey entered Plaintiff's apartment, found a male friend sleeping on the couch, demanded that the friend leave immediately, and ordered that Plaintiff vacate the apartment. (Id. ¶¶ 90-91) That same day, Wey terminated Plaintiff's employment and told her that NYGG would no longer sponsor her visa. (Id. ¶ 92)
Wey then began sending emails and making phone calls to Plaintiff, her family, and her friends asserting that Plaintiff was sleeping with "a Black man" and "dangerous criminal," alleging a "sex scandal," and claiming that Plaintiff was terminated for cause due to her "alcohol abuse" and constant partying. (Id. ¶ 96-106, 109) On April 29, 2014, Plaintiff's lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to Wey. (Id. ¶ 110) His harassment of Plaintiff, her friends, and her family continued, however (see id.), and on July 21, 2014, Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit. (Dkt. No. 1)
The day after Plaintiff filed this action, Wey began posting Facebook messages and photographs in which he "tagged" Plaintiff, her friends, and her family.2 (Id. ¶ 123) Many of these photos showed Plaintiff's face together with stock images of explicit pornography and drug use. (Id. ¶ 123) The photos were accompanied by messages defaming, harassing, and seeking to intimidate Plaintiff, her friends, and her family. (Id. ¶ 124)
Between July 24, 2014 and the filing of the SAC, NYGG and Wey published a series of articles concerning Plaintiff in The Blot Magazine, all of which Wey allegedly wrote or edited. (Id. ¶ 129) For example, on July 24, 2014, Defendants published an article entitled: 3 (Id. ¶ 131) The article describes Plaintiff as a "Swedish party girl who had just landed in New York's nightclubs after a year of providing 'entertainment' in the nightclubs and casino houses of Hong Kong and Macau," and includes photographs of Plaintiff's father, aunt, and brother. (Id. (quotation marks omitted))
After an August 1, 2014 court conference - during which Plaintiff's counsel informed this Court that Plaintiff had returned to Sweden because of Wey's harassment - Defendants published an article entitled, "BREAKING NEWS: Sexual Harassment Accuser Hanna Bouveng Fled America," along with a photograph of Plaintiff and Chauvet next to a photograph showing lines of cocaine. (Id. ¶...
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