This action arises from in-fighting among members of the Harlem Honeys and Bears Swim Team. Plaintiff, Judy Edwards, claims that she sought to improve management of the team but that she was met with hostility from defendants, Leroy Whethers, Wilawun Guyvijitr, Mary Williams, Janay Shabazz, and Carolyn See Yuen.

Plaintiff asserts claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress against all the individual defendants. She also asserts a claim for defamation against Whethers, Williams, and Guyvijitr.^[FN1] Defendants move to dismiss the action against them. The motion is denied.

1. Plaintiff states no claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). To plead [*2]intentional infliction of emotional distress, plaintiff must allege "(i) extreme and outrageous conduct; (ii) intent to cause, or disregard of a substantial probability of causing, severe emotional distress; (iii) a causal connection between the conduct and injury; and (iv) severe emotional distress." (Brown v New York Design Ctr., Inc., 215 AD3d 1, 6 [1st Dept 2023].) Extreme and outrageous conduct must be "so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency . . . and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." (Fischer v Maloney, 43 NY2d 553, 557 [1978] [internal citation omitted].)

The court concludes that defendants' alleged conduct does not rise to that level. Although plaintiff alleges that defendants lied about her and made ill-founded complaints against her, the allegations do not support a claim of extreme and outrageous conduct.

2. Plaintiff also states no claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED). To state an NIED claim, plaintiff must allege that defendants owed her a duty and breached that duty resulting in emotional harm. (See Murphy v Certain, 217 AD3d 455, 456 [1st Dept 2023] [holding that plaintiff did "not identify any applicable duty owed by defendants" and thus failed to state a cause of action for NIED].) But plaintiff does not identify an applicable duty.

3. Defendants claim that any alleged defamatory statement is inactionable opinion, and that plaintiff does not identify specific statements Whethers, Guyvijitr, or Williams made about plaintiff. (NYSCEF No. 4 at 9-10.) To state a claim for defamation, plaintiff must allege "(1) a false statement that is (2) published to a third party (3) without privilege or authorization, and that (4) causes harm, unless the statement is one of the types of publications actionable regardless of harm." (Stepanov v Dow Jones & Co., Inc., 120 AD3d 28, 34 [1st Dept 2014].) In pleading her claim, plaintiff must also "set forth the exact words complained of and the time, place and manner of the purported defamation." (Offor v Mercy Med. Ctr., 171 AD3d 502, 503 [1st Dept 2019] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted].)

The court agrees with defendants that plaintiff has not set forth the alleged defamatory statements with sufficient particularity. Plaintiff alleges that Williams filed a complaint with the executive board against plaintiff. Plaintiff also alleges that Guyvijitr filed a complaint to the board that plaintiff had someone bother her in the pool. (NYSCEF No. 13 at ¶ 31.) Plaintiff further alleges that Whethers issued a letter in which he falsely claimed that plaintiff refused to attend a meeting to discuss complaints against her. (Id. at ¶ 40; NYSCEF No. 14 at 37 [pdf pagination] [Whethers's letter].) She also claims that, in May 2024, Whethers circulated a letter "distorting what happened at the meeting and claiming that my making of the [team] Logo and other things were nefarious" (NYSCEF No. 13 at ¶ 45.) But plaintiff does not allege what defendants allegedly said or wrote. Instead, plaintiff alleges only conclusions and opinions.

Accordingly, it is

ORDERED that defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint is granted; and it is further

ORDERED that defendants are awarded costs and disbursements as taxed by the Clerk upon the submission of an appropriate bill of costs; and it is further

ORDERED that defendants serve a copy of this order with notice of its entry on plaintiff and on the office of the County Clerk (using the NYSCEF document type "Notice to the County Clerk - CPLR § 8019 (c)"), which shall enter judgment accordingly.