UN I TE ST AT ES I STR I CT OU RT SOUTHERN DI STRI CT OF ORI DA CA SE I MA RRA Plaintiff vs EFF REY EPSTEI De fe nd a nt OP IN ION AND ORDER ON MOTION TO DIS MISS AND MOTION OR MORE DEF INITE TATEMENT Motion to Dism iss and Motion for More efinite Statement Dire cted to Plaintiff?s Amende to the motion DE and efe ndant filed a Reply DE The Court has are fully revie wed the motion response a nd reply and is otherwise fully advised in the pre mises Bac kgr ound On April Plaintiff filed her Complaint aga inst Defenda nt DE hich was re pla Se pte mbe by a A me nd Co mpl a int Pl a int if ri ng su it Distress and Count I I I Coerc ion and Enticeme nt to Sex ual Activity in Violation of U.S.C De fe nd a nt a a a du lt a le A omp De fe nd a nt ng a in a pla a nd sc he me in Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of which he ained a cce ss to primarily economica lly disadvantag ed minor irls in his hom sexually assaulted these irls and then ave the money Am Compl I or about Pl a int if the a pp ro xima te ly a rs old a me on of De fe nd a nt ic tim Am Com pl fe nd a nt a rr ie ut is he me a nd a ssa ult ir ls i lor ida or a nd his private island in St Thomas Am Compl De fe nd a nt sc he me inv olv th us of ou ng ir ls inc lud ing Ha le Rob so a Pa lm a Co mmu nit Col le Stu de nt ro oxa ha tc he lor ida to re ru it nd ra ir ls Am Compl Under De fenda nt?s plan under ag irls were rec ruited ostensibly to give a we althy ma a ma ssa fo on ta ry omp ns a tio in his Pa lm a ma ns ion I Th ou ng ir ls would be conta cted whe Def endant wa planning to be at his Palm Bea ch re sidence or soon a ft a rr ive I Rob so ne ra lly so ug ht ut on omi a lly dis a dv a nta nd ra ir ls from ox ahatc hee a nd surrounding are as who would be enticed by the money being offe red ne ra lly to ma ssa se ssi on a nd wh re pe rc ive a le ss ike ly to complain to authorities or ha ve cr edibility if alleg ations of improper onduct wer made I This was an important lement of Epstein?s pla I Def endant plan and sche me re flec ted a pa rticular pa ttern and me thod Am Compl Upon ar rival at De fenda nt?s mansion the undera victim would be broug ht to the kitchen entra nce here she would be introduc ed to Sara Kellen De fenda nt?s assistant I Kellen wo uld the ri ng the ir up a fl ig ht ta ir to a be dr oo th a on ta ine a ma ssa ta ble in addition to other furnishing I There wer photog raphs of nude women lining the stairwa ha ll a nd in he be dr oo I Th vic tim wo uld the ind he rs lf a lon in he ro om ith Def endant who ould be wea ring only a towel I Def endant would then emove his towel lay Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of down nake on the massag table a nd direc the irl to remove he clothes I Def endant would then per form one or more lew lascivious and sexual acts including masturbation and touching the irl?s vag ina I Consist ent with the fore oing pla when Plaintiff wa approximately ear old Rob so ru ite Pl a int if ive De fe nd a nt a ma ssa fo on ta ry omp ns a tio Am Co mpl Plaintiff was br oug ht to Defe ndant?s mansion in Palm Bea ch to the kitchen ntranc I Plaintiff was introduce to Kellen who led he up the stairs to the oom with the massag table I I this room Defe ndant told Plainti ff to re move her clothes and to ive him a massag I Plaintiff initi ally kept her panties and br a on and omplied with Defe ndant?s instructions I Plaintiff was paid by Def endant or this massag I Plaintiff returne on many occa sions to the Palm Beac mansion to provide Def endant with massag es Am Compl On those occ asions Def endant ng ag ed in sexual contact a nd a tiv ity wi th he min or Pla int if wh ic in lud a mon oth hin dir tin Pla int if remove all her lothes masturbating during the massag and dig itally penetr ating Plaintiff?s vag ina I Def endant of ten used a vibrator on Plaintiff during the massag I This sex ual abuse ontinued for a pproxi mately three ear I As a re sult of these enc ounters with Def endant Plaintiff experienc ed conf usion shame hu mil ia tio a nd mba rr a ssm nt a nd ha su ff re ve re ps ho log ic a a nd mot ion a in jur ie Am Compl Un de ou nt I xua A ssa ult a nd a tte ry th Am nd Co mpl a int a lle a oll ow Def endant a cted with intent to cause an off ensive ontact with Plaintiff or an imminent appre hension of such a contac and Plaintiff was ther eby put in such immi nent appr ehension Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Am Compl Defe ndant made a intentional unlawful off er of offe nsive sexual contact toward Plaintiff rea ting a rea sonable fe ar of imminent peril Am Compl De fenda nt int nti on a lly inf lic te a rm fu or of fe ns ive on ta on the pe rs on of Pla int if wi th he int nt cause such conta ct or the a pprehe nsion that such contac is im minent Am Compl Def endant tortiously committed a sexual assault and batter on Plaintiff Am Compl Def endant acts we re intentional unlaw ful offe nsive and ha rmful I Def endant plan and sc he me in hic omm itt uc a ts po Pl a int if re do ne wi llf ull a nd ma lic iou sly A Compl As a direc and proxim ate esult of Def endant assault on Plaintiff she has su ff re a nd wi ll on tin ue to uf fe ve re a nd pe rm a ne nt ra uma tic inj ur ie inc lud ing me nta psy cholog ical and motional damag es Am Compl Under Count I I I ntentional I nfliction of Emotional Distress the Amende Complaint a lle a oll ow Def endant conduct wa intentional or rec kless Am Compl Defe ndant?s conduc with a minor was treme a nd outrag eous oing be ond all bounds of dec ency Am Compl Def endant ommitt ed willful ac ts of child sexual abuse on Plaintiff Am Compl Th se a ts su lte in me nta or se xua in jur to la int if tha a us re lik ly to a us Plaintiff?s mental or motional health to be sig nificantly impaired Am Compl Def endant conduct aused se vere emotional distress to Plainti ff Am Compl Def endant knew or had re ason to know that his intentional and outrag eous conduc would cause emotional i re an am age ai i ff ef en an ac ed wi re ck es i re gar i gh pr ob a bil ity of a us ing se ve re mot ion a di str ss Pl a int if I As a dir a nd pr oxima te re su lt of De fenda nt?s intentional or rec kless conduct Plaintiff has suf fer ed and ill continue to suffer Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of sever mental a ng uish and pain Am Compl Under Count I I I Coercion a nd Enticement to Sexual Activity in Violation of U.S.C th Am nd Co mpl a int a lle a oll ow Def endant use a fa cility or mea ns of interstate ommerce to knowingly persua de induce or entice Plaintiff when she as under the ag of ear to eng ag in prostitution or sex ual a tiv ity fo hic a ny pe rs on a ha rg ith a ri min a of fe ns A omp A a a i a i a i i a a i including me ntal psy cholog ical and motional damag es Am Compl Def endant a rg ues in his motion hat Counts I and I I I of the Ame nded Complaint must be dismiss ed for failure to state a laim upon which re lief ca be rante Fe Civ Alterna tively Def endant se eks a more definite stateme nt of Counts I and I I I astly Def endant a rg ue th a th re fe re nc in ou nt I I I to sh ou ld str ic ke a im ma te ri a Plaintiff responds that the Court should deny the motion because the pleading at issue on ta in a sh or a nd pla in ta te me nt he la ims sh ow ing tha Pla int if i nti tle to re lie i acc ordanc with Fe Civ a Plaintiff conte nds that the specif ic fa cts soug ht by Def endant may proper ly be the subjec of discover but are not nece ssary for pur poses of pleading Stand ard of Review I deciding a motion to dism iss pursuant to Fede ral Rule of Civil Procedure a ou rt mus a pt a ll a tua a lle a tio ns in a omp la int a tr ue a nd ta ke the in the lig ht os favor able to the plaintiff See Erickson Pardus S.Ct To satisfy the pleading require ments of Fe dera Rule of Civil Procedur a omplaint must contain a shor and Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of pla in ta te me nt ho wi ng a nti tle me nt lie a nd the sta te me nt us ive the de fe nd a nt a ir notice of hat the plaintiff claim is and the rounds upon which it re sts Swierkiewic Sorema N.A U.S iting ed Civ see also Be ll Atlantic Corp Twombly S.Ct Dura Pharm I nc roudo U.S Th is i a lib ra pl a din re qu ir me nt on tha do ot qu ir a pla int if le a ith particula rity ever element of a ca use of a ction Roe Awa re Woman Ctr for Choice I nc F.3d 11th Cir I nstead the omplaint need only conta in either dire ct or infere ntial alleg ations respe cting all the mater ial elements ne cessa ry to sustain a rec overy under some viable leg al theory I interna citation and quotation omitted A omplaint need not specify in detail the pre cise theor iving ise to rec overy All that is required is that the de fe nd a nt on no tic a to the la im ing a sse rt a a ins hi a nd the ro un ds on wh ic it rests Sams United ood and Comml Worker I ntl Union 2d 11th Cir While a complaint attac ked by a Rule motion to dismi ss does not need de tailed fac tual alleg ations a plaintiff obliga tion to provide the rounds of his entitlement to relief re qu ir mo re tha la be ls a nd on lus ion a nd a fo rm ula ic re ita tio he le me nts of a a us of ac tion will not do ell Atlantic Corp Twombly S.Ct at itations omi tted actua alleg ations must be enoug to raise a rig ht to relief a bove the spe culative leve on the assumption that all of the complaint alleg ations are true I at Plaintiff must plead enoug fac ts to state a plausible basis for the claim I Discussion Counts I alleg es a laim for sexual assault and ba ttery Def endant oncede that Plainti ff Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of has prope rly pled a laim for batter but contends that Plaintiff?s assa ult claim fails Mot Under Florida law it is customary to refe to the term assault and ba ttery as if it we re a leg al un it or a sin le on pt ho we ve a ssa ult a nd ba tte ry a re se pa ra te a nd dis tin le a on pts assault being the beg inning of an ac which if consummated onstitut es batter 3A Fla ur 2d Assault The essential ele ment of an a ssault is the violence off ere and not ac tual phy sical contac McD onald For So.2d Fla DCA quoting Fla.Jur nd As sa ult a nd a tte ry As sa ult is fi ne a a in te nti on a nla wf ul ff or po ra in jur to a no the fo rc or un la wf ull dir te to wa rd a no the nd uc ir ums ta nc a to cre ate a fea of imminent peril couple with the appar ent pre sent ability to effe ctuate the attempt ay Kre mer So.2d la 1st DCA Def TD endant doe not contend that Plaintiff failed to a lleg the a bove-listed ele ments of the tor of a ssa ult I ns te a De fe nd a nt a rg ue th a nd he sta nd a rd of ple a din sta bli sh in Twombly Plaintiff has failed to se forth suffic ient fac tual alleg ations to support the pleading Def endant arg ument in essence is that in a post-Twombly pleading a heig htened act plea ding of sp if ic is re qu ir Ho we ve Tw omb ly did no a lte he sta nd a rd fo ism iss a un de ule in he ty pic a a se A th Cou rt xpla ine in CB lin Pa rt ne rs Go od ma il Sy ste ms I nc I my vie Tw omb ly did no a dic a lly a lte he le me nta ry ru le ivi pr oc du re tha ha ve ov rn li tig a tio in the fe de ra ou rt or the pa st ve nty a rs he Cou rt or tir me nt on le Gi bs on no se of fa ts la ng ua do ot ha ng the fu nd a me nta omm a nd of Rul a to wh a a va lid co ai i I ee rt ad ea at i wa i i a heig htened plea ding sta ndard Tw ombly S.Ct at do not require he ig hte ne a pl a din of sp if ic bu on ly no ug a ts ta te a la im relief that is plausible on its face As a ener al matter I am loath to assume that the Supreme Court ircumvente the normal hannels for amending the Fe dera Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Rules Swierkiewicz Sorema U.S A require ment of rea ter spec ificity for pa rticular laims is a result that must be obtained by the proce ss of amending the Fe dera Rules and not by judicial interpre tation quotations omitted Second to the extent that Twombly might be pla usibly rea to alter the equire ments for the suf ficienc of a omplaint there should be a strong presumption in favor of narr owly confining the dec ision to i ts facts Cohens Virg inia U.S I is a max im not to be disreg arde that ener al expressions in every opinion are to be taken in conne ction with the case in which tho se xpre ssi on a re us Th Cou rt ne ta nd a rd wa me re ly a sp if ic wa to a rt ic ula te a so lut ion to ha it pe rc ive to be a sp if ic ple a din pr ob le in a spec ific ar ea of law that inflicted a high ost upon antitrust defenda nts I was not a broa based ne license for eder al cour ts to ramp up pleading re qu ir me nts CBT lint artne rs Goodmail Sy stems I nc Supp.2d N.D Ga I this case De fenda nt contends that the plea dings ail to alleg the spe cific acts of wha was done to Plainti ff;?and what Epstein said a nd did if any thing to cr eate fea and appre hension in Plainti ff Mot As to these issues the A mended Complaint alleg es as fo llo ws A lon wi th la int if i a ps ta ir oo of De fe nd a nt ma ns ion fe nd a nt old Plaintiff to remove he clothes a nd to give him a massag Am Compl Def endant a cted with intent to cause a offe nsive contac with Pl aintiff or a imminent apprehe nsion of such a contac and Plaintiff was ther eby put in such immi nent appr ehension Am Compl Def endant made an intentional unlawf ul offer of off ensive sexual contac toward Plaintiff cre ating a re asonable fea of imminent peril Am Compl On multipl occ asions over a three ear period De fenda nt eng ag ed in sexual contact a nd activity with the minor Plainti ff which included a mong othe thing directing Plaintiff to remove a ll her clothes masturba ting during the massag and dig itally penetr ating Plaintiff?s vag ina I Def endant of ten used a vibrator on Plaintiff during the massag I Def endant intentionally inflicted har mful or offe nsive contac on the person of Plaintiff with the intent to cause such ontact or the Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of a i i i a i i a I reg arding damag es soug ht Plainti ff a cknowledg es that this was a ty pog raphic al er ror a nd the corr ect ite is to U.S.C Def endant motion strike the citation to U.S.C in he Am nd Co mpl a int is GR ANTED a i a i i STRICKEN and substituted with U.S.C appre hension that such conta ct is immi nent Am Compl Defe ndant tortiously committed a se xua a ssa ult a nd ba tte ry on Pla int if Am Co mpl fe nd a nt a ts re int nti on a unlawful off ensive a nd harmful I Plaintiff need not set for th more spec ific fa cts to support its allega tions to satis fy the notice plea ding sta ndard unde Rule which equire only that a complaint must set forth a shor and plain stateme nt of the fa cts upon which the laim is based that is sufficient to ive the defe ndant fa ir notice of hat the plaintiff claims are and the rounds upon which they rest The pa rt ie ill be a ff or de a lib ra op po rt un ity fo isc ov ry to isc los mor pr ise ly the ba sis of both claim and de fense and to def ine more na rrowly the disputed fac ts and issues Conley Gibson U.S De fenda nt?s motion to di smiss or for a more definite stateme nt i IE a I Counts I I I alleg es a laim for coe rcion a nd enticeme nt to sex ual ac tivity in violation of S.C Th a st a tut sta te in rt ine nt a rt ev er i ai a fa ci i ea i er at re i gn commerc or ithin the special maritime and te rritorial jurisdiction of the United States knowing ly persua des induce entices or coer ces a ny individual who has not attained the a of ear to eng ag in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person an be harg ed with a riminal offe nse or a ttempts to do so shall be fined unde this titl and imprisoned not less than ear or for life Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of The a lleg ations in the Amended Complaint closely trac the lang uag of making it clear that this is he subsec tion upon which Plaintiff is rely ing U.S.C Th Am nd Co mpl a int a lle Ep ste in se a fa ili ty or me a ns of int rs ta te commerc to knowing ly persua de induce or entice ane oe whe she wa under the a of ear to eng ag in prostitution or sex ual ac tivity for whic any person an be harg ed with a criminal off ense Am Compl First the Ame nded Complaint sufficiently alleg es the lement of using a fa cility or mea ns of interstate commerc See More spe cifics a re pr operly the subject of disc overy Second De fenda nt arg ues that the Ame nded Complaint fails to set forth under ly ing fac tual alleg ations as to the re quisite elements that Def endant knowing ly persua ded induce enticed or coer ced Plaintiff whe she wa under the a of ear to eng ag in prostitution or a a i i i a a a i a i i a i i a Def endant laims that Pl aintiff fa ils to allege with what cr iminal offense Def endant ould have been harg ed See S.C The Amende Complaint st ates a cause of ac tion for violation of U.S.C However Def endant position hat Plaintiff must state what par of to ng ag in prostitution or sex ual ac tivity for whic any person an be harg ed with a criminal off ense upon which is rely ing Plaintiff is we ll-taken Rule permits a par ty to move for a more definite stateme nt of a plea ding to whic a re sponsive pleading is allowed but which is so vag ue or a mbiguous that the pa rty cannot rea sonably prepa re a response ed Civ As explained by another court he la im he pla int if i is omp la int is uf fi ie ntl de fi nit to na ble the de fe nd a nt no ith Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of I its opposit ion Plainti ff imprope rly seeks to re ly upon a Jul letter fr om A Ma ri Vi lla fa na A ssi sta nt At tor ne to la int if ou ns his le tte a ot fe re nc in nor attac hed to the Amende Complaint I is ax iomatic that at the motion to dism iss stage the Court must consider well-pled a lleg ations of the complaint as true and must limi its ex amination to he fo ur or ne rs of the omp la int ro ssm a a tio ns ba nk A 1th Cir Thus the Court will not consider the letter in ruling on the instant moti on what it is charg ed and it is rea sonably able ther efr om to respond whethe it did the thing char ed ennis Be ley Drug Co of Tenne ssee I nc R.D E.D Te nn As it is written is ambiguous a to whether Plaintiff laims prostitut ion or another criminal offe nse a nd if so what off ense with which Def endant ould have be en cha rg ed The Court finds that Def endant is entitled to a more definite stateme nt as to in order to provide Def endant with suff icient notice to fr ame a responsive ple ading Conclusion For the re asons stated he rein De fenda nt?s Motion to Dism iss and Motion for More De fi nit Sta te me nt Di re te to Pla int if A me nd Co mpl a int is RA NT ED IN ART AND ENIED IN ART a oll ow De TD fe nd a nt mo tio to dis mis or a mor de fi nit sta te me nt a to Cou nt I is DE NI ED De TD fe nd a nt mo tio to dis mis or a mor de fi nit sta te me nt a to Cou nt I I I is GR ANTED IN ART AND ENIED IN ART De fe nd a nt mo tio to dis mis is de nie ow ve Pla int if us ile a no the omp la int hic in lud a mor de fi nit statement as to Count I I I Coerc ion and Enticeme nt to Sex ual Activity in Violation of U.S.C as expl ained in this Order De TD fe nd a nt mo tio to str ike the ita tio to S.C in the Am nd Co mpl a int Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of is GR ANTED a a i a i i STRICKEN DO NE AN RD ER ED i a a a a a a Florida this day of ebrua ry th KE TD NN Un TD i ed at es Di ri ct ge copies to All counsel of ecor Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of
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