District Judge Paul Crotty
Restaurateur Shapiro knew Carandang had been jailed for embezzlement when hiring him, in 2010, as a bookkeeper. In addition to his hostile work environment claim, Carandang asserted nonpayment of overtime wages contrary to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Shapiro fired Carandang on Sept. 26, 2011, and threatened to have him jailed if he filed a wage and hour complaint. On Dec. 21, in response to Carandang’s EEOC charge and unpaid wages lawsuit, Shapiro filed a criminal complaint falsely accusing Carandang of stealing restaurant funds. In addition to being arrested and spending six days in jail, police searched his home. The criminal charges were dismissed in July 2012. The court denied dismissal of Carandang’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Shapiro’s conduct in initiating an allegedly false and malicious criminal case against Carandang on known false charges, to punish Carandang for his wage and hour complaints, was "extreme" and "outrageous." Further, Shapiro’sand his codefendants’alleged conduct was "so beyond the pale" that the court was loathe to dismiss Carandang’s negligent infliction of emotional distress claim based on their "quibble" about the absence of physical danger.
