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Brandenburg v. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of N.A

Court Dismisses Sanctified Nuns' Retaliation Claim Based on Tangible Employment Action

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OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiffs Elizabeth Brandenburg and Maria Kallis worked as “sanctified nuns” at a monastery operated by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America (the “Archdiocese”). Invoking the Court’s diversity jurisdiction, they bring this suit against the Archdiocese and several of its clergy members, including Father Gerasimos Makris, Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis (“Archbishop Demetrios”), Bishop Allen Paropoulos (“Bishop Andonios”), and Charlene Asquith (“Mother Eisodia”). They allege discrimination, retaliation, and civil rights claims under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), N.Y. Exec. Law §290 et seq.; the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”), N.Y.C. Admin. Code §8-101 et seq.; and the New York Civil Rights Law (“Civil Rights Law”), N.Y. Civ. Rights Law §§40-c, 40-d. Plaintiffs also bring a defamation claim under New York law and claims for unpaid wages under the New York Labor Law and its supporting regulations (collectively, “NYLL”), N.Y. Lab. Law §650 et seq.; 12 N.Y.C.R.R. §§142-2.1, 142-2.2. Defendants now move, pursuant to Rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to dismiss all of Plaintiffs’ claims. For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part. BACKGROUND The following facts, drawn from the Amended Complaint (the “Amended Complaint”), see ECF No. 18 (“Am. Compl.”), are assumed to be true for the purposes of this motion. See, e.g., Kleinman v. Elan Corp., 706 F.3d 145, 147, 152 (2d Cir. 2013). Plaintiffs are sanctified nuns within the Greek Orthodox faith who resided and worked at the All Saints Monastery in Calverton, New York, from 2010 to 2018. Long before that, beginning in 2003 and 2004, they attended Hellenic College-Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where they first met Father Makris. See Am. Compl.

23-24. Father Makris, who served as Chaplain and Dean of Students at the time, became Plaintiffs’ “Spiritual Father.” Id.

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