MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER On August 16, 2021, the plaintiff sued the defendants Grindr, LLC, KL Grindr Holdings, Inc., Grindr Holding Company (collectively, “Grindr”) and Aaron Weinreb, asserting claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (“TVPA”), Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) and New York state law.1 (ECF No. 1
48-124.) On December 8, 2021, Weinreb filed a crossclaim against Grindr, alleging that it is responsible for any injury that the plaintiff suffered. (ECF No. 30 29.) Grindr moved to dismiss the complaint on November 3, 2021 and Weinreb’s crossclaim on January 20, 2022. (ECF Nos. 26, 33.) On December 6, 2021, the plaintiff withdrew his federal claims, acknowledging that he could not allege the requisite elements. (ECF No. 28.) The parties agree that the claims should be dismissed; the point of contention is whether the claims should be dismissed with prejudice. (ECF No. 38.) For the reasons that follow, I dismiss the plaintiff’s withdrawn claims without prejudice, and decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his remaining state law claims or Weinreb’s crossclaim. BACKGROUND “Grindr is a web-based ‘hook-up’ application (‘app’) that matches users based on their interests and location.” Herrick v. Grindr LLC, 765 F. App’x 586, 588 (2d Cir. 2019). Weinreb, a 48-year-old man, used Grindr between May 2019 and October 2019 to meet and have sex with two minors. (ECF No. 1 2.) On February 26, 2021, Weinreb pled guilty to Coercion and Enticement to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity, acknowledging that he knowingly and intentionally persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced an individual to travel in foreign commerce to engage in a Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree, in violation of New York Penal Law §130.40(2) and 8 U.S.C. §2422(a). See United States v. Weinreb, No. 20-CR-6 (E.D.N.Y.). The Honorable Brian M. Cogan sentenced Weinreb to 54 months’ imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release, and imposed fines and restitution. Id. On August 16, 2021, the plaintiff filed this action against Grindr and Weinreb, who is incarcerated. (ECF No. 1.) The plaintiff claims that he is one of Weinreb’s victims (id. 2), and that Grindr “knowingly facilitates and contributes to sexual abuse, rape and trafficking of minor children for profit” (id. 1), by “fail[ing] to warn underage users and their parents that its sex platform is frequently used by pedophiles and other sexual predators to sexually abuse minor children” (id. 37), and by “intentionally mak[ing] signing up easy for prospective users, including those who are underage.” (Id. 47.) The plaintiff asserted claims under the TVPA and RICO against both Grindr and Weinreb, as well as claims for sex and sexual orientation discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law §§290 et seq. (“NYSHRL”). (Id.
