On November 1, 2024, Horowitz Law filed a sexual abuse complaint lawsuit in the Morris County Circuit Court against Massage Envy Morris Plains and Massage Envy Franchising, LLC. The lawsuit was filed after a complaint was made by a female client to the Morris Plains Borough Police Department alleging that a Massage Envy therapist sexually assaulted her during a 60-minute massage at the Morris Plains, NJ location. Massage Envy is a massage and spa therapy franchise with approximately 1,100 franchises located across the United States and is the largest employer of massage therapists nationwide. The Plaintiff in the lawsuit represented by sexual abuse attorneys Adam Horowitz and Alexandra D. Slater of Horowitz Law and its co-counsel.
Allegations in the Complaint Against Massage Envy Morris Plains & Massage Envy Franchising
According to the lawsuit, on February 18, 2024, a massage therapist named Ishmael performed a one-hour massage on the Plaintiff at Massage Envy Spa Morris Plains, located at 1711 State Route 10 East, Suite 15B, Morris Plains, New Jersey. The Plaintiff has been a long-time client of the franchise, specifically at this location, but had never met Ishmael before. At the beginning of the message, Plaintiff told Ishmael that she wanted him to stay away from her chest area because she’d recently undergone a surgical procedure and had an injury in that area.
During the massage, Ishmael began to focus on her chest, the exact place she specifically instructed him not to massage. Ishmael told the Plaintiff that he had massaged younger girls before and made comments to her about not having shaved her legs, which made her extremely uncomfortable. As the massage progressed, Ishmael continued to massage the Plaintiff’s breasts. He then moved his hands down to her right upper thigh, and the sexual assault escalated. He then placed his elbow on her vagina over the sheet and moved his elbow in a circular, up-and-down motion in an attempt to stimulate her. Ishmael repeated this up-and-down motion with his elbow, rubbing her vagina while he massaged her other thigh. Although the Plaintiff was in complete shock and frozen with fear as the sexual assault was occurring, she was unable to tell Ishmael to stop due to fear she would anger or upset him while she was lying naked in a dark room and vulnerable. When the massage was complete, the Plaintiff exited the treatment room and quickly dressed.
Upon arriving home, Plaintiff immediately told her boyfriend about the sexual assault, and then she filled out a complaint form through Massage Envy’s feedback website. In the form, she stated that her massage therapist touched her inappropriately and that she hoped he would no longer massage any other customers. The next day, Plaintiff received an email from the Massage Envy business manager in response to her form, stating an investigation had been initiated and that she would be contacted by a third-party company to discuss the incident. The Plaintiff then reported the sexual assault to the Morris Plains Borough Police Department.
Factual Highlights:
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- On February 18, 2024, the Plaintiff went to Massage Envy Morris Plains for a 60-minute massage.
- A massage therapist named Ishmael was assigned to her, whom she had never met before in the eight years she had been receiving services.
- The sexual assault occurred on a massage table, on the premises operated and/or controlled by Massage Envy Morris Plains and/or MEF, and where Ishmael was at all times an employee.
- The Plaintiff specifically told Ishmael not to go near her breasts due to recent surgery and injury, but he did massage her breasts despite her instructions not to.
- Ishmael then told the Plaintiff that he had massaged younger girls and commented that she should have shaved her legs.
- Ishmael then placed his elbow on the Plaintiff’s vagina and moved it up and down to stimulate her.
- The Plaintiff froze and was scared for her safety. She filed a complaint with Massage Envy and then to the police.
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Counts 1: Negligence By Massage Envy Franchising, LLC
Defendant Massage Envy Franchising authorized Ishmael to be alone with Plaintiff in a darkened room while Plaintiff was undressed and in a vulnerable position. MEF should have known of Ishmael’s dangerous and exploitative propensities and/or that Ishmael was an unfit agent. Prior to the sexual assault of Plaintiff, as set forth in this Complaint, Defendant knew that there were more than 180 allegations of sexual assaults by Massage Envy therapists occurring across the country. MEF owed the Plaintiff a duty to reasonably identify, remove, and/or report (to law enforcement authorities and/or to state massage therapy boards) individuals who it knew, or should have known, were sexual predators in its service and employ. Ishmael’s wrongful acts were committed in the actual or apparent course and scope of his employment at Massage Envy. Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, Defendant MEF is responsible for the reckless and intentional actions of its servant, committed in the actual or apparent scope of his duties.
Defendant MEF, having advertised and promoted itself as having a “zero tolerance” policy relating to sexual misconduct by massage therapists, explicitly and/or implicitly represented to the public in general, and to Plaintiff in particular, that the massage therapists, including Ishmael, in its employ and service, were not only psychologically fit but were therapists who could be entrusted with the safety and well-being of female customers. Defendant made these explicit and implied representations knowing that they were false and/or having reason to believe that they were false. Defendant failed to reasonably identify, remove, and/or report (to law enforcement authorities and/or to state massage therapy boards) sexual predators in its service and employ.
Count II: Negligence By Massage Envy Morris Plains
Massage Envy Morris Plains should have known of Ishmael’s dangerous and exploitative propensities and/or that Ishmael was an unfit agent. Defendant failed to exercise reasonable care to protect Plaintiff from sexual battery and lewd and lascivious acts committed by its agent or employee. Defendant failed to properly vet Ishmael by conducting a thorough investigation into his past employment and his background. Massage Envy owed a duty to Plaintiff to use reasonable care to ensure her safety, care, and well-being while she was on their premises to obtain massage therapy services. Defendant had a duty to implement reasonable policies and procedures to protect its guests, particularly with respect to a person employed on Defendant’s premises who was placed in a position of control over a vulnerable guest and was in a position to do intentional harm to that guest.
Defendant breached its duty of care by failing to act as a reasonable and prudent business operator would have under the same or similar circumstances. Defendant did not have in place adequate, reasonable, and necessary rules, regulations, policies, and procedures with respect to the removal and/or supervision of individuals in its employ or service who were suspected of being sexual predators. Defendant failed to reasonably identify, remove, and/or report (to law enforcement authorities and/or to the state massage therapy board) sexual predators in its service and employ.
Count III: Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
Defendants negligently and/or recklessly committed multiple acts of extreme and outrageous conduct which caused severe emotional, psychological, and psychiatric injuries, distress, and harm to Plaintiff, which also manifested in physical injuries to Plaintiff as set forth above in an extreme, outrageous, and harmful manner. Defendants MEF and Massage Envy Morris Plains negligently maintained their premises and failed to keep the premises free from hazards and its customers safe, thereby causing Plaintiff severe injuries and damages. Plaintiff relied on representations by Defendants MEF and Massage Envy Morris Plains and other franchisees and regional directors of MEF that Plaintiff would be safe from harm and their modesty would be respected at all times while receiving massage services in choosing to purchase massage service.
Count IV: Negligent Misrepresentation
Defendants negligently misrepresented material facts to Plaintiff, namely that Ishmael was fit to render adequate, competent, and appropriate massage therapy services to Plaintiff and that Ishmael was not dangerous to Plaintiff. Defendants made these misrepresentations under circumstances and at a time when they knew or should have known of the falsity of these representations. Defendants made these representations with a reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of such statements and/or with an intent to induce Plaintiff to act on the representations, which, in turn, exposed Plaintiff to harm.
Count V: Violation of New Jersey Consumer Fraud
Defendants’ business acts and practices alleged herein constitute unconscionable commercial practice, and/or deception, and/or fraud, and/or false pretense, and/or false promise, and/or misrepresentation, and/or the knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of material facts under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. Defendants engaged in unconscionable commercial practices in failing to reveal material facts and information about their knowledge and/or number of incidents and/or allegations of sexual assault or exploitation by massage therapists at Massage Envy franchise locations and/or dangers associated with their massage therapists, which did or tended to, mislead Plaintiff about facts that could not reasonably be known by the consumer.
Count VI: Fraudulent Concealment
Defendants concealed and/or suppressed material facts concerning the safety of their customers. Defendants knew that employees and/or agents, namely, massage therapists at franchise locations, were sexually assaulting and exploiting customers, but Defendants concealed those material facts. Defendants recklessly assigned these sexual predators masked as massage therapists to consumers in the United States, even though Defendants knew, or should have known, at the time of the scheduling of appointments, that employees and/or agents were sexually assaulting and/or exploiting customers.
MEF and Massage Envy Morris Plains have not and do not warn their customers, including Plaintiff, of the risk of sexual assault or the nationwide occurrence of the same in their business by their massage therapists. MEF’s policy and procedure of directing franchises to conceal reports of allegations of sexual assaults involving Massage Envy therapists and directing franchises not to report said allegations to local law enforcement or state massage therapy boards enables the assaults to occur on a national level. Massage Envy company protocol, policies, and training, as created by MEF and implemented and overseen by their Regional Developers, directs all owners, managers, and employees involved to handle sexual assault allegations by Massage Envy therapists “in house.”
Count VII: Civil Conspiracy
Defendants knowingly and willfully conspired and agreed among themselves to misrepresent to and conceal from the public and its customers, including, but not limited to Plaintiff, incidents and allegations of massage therapists sexually assaulting and exploiting customers at franchise locations and/or that there was a danger to all of Defendants’ customers that there was a problem of women being sexually assaulted at their Massage Envy franchise locations by its massage therapists. This conspiracy continues to this day.
Attorney Adam Horowitz, who represents the victim in this case, states: This is not our first lawsuit against the Massage Envy Franchise. There’s an industry-wide problem that needs to be dealt with, and until that happens, no one is safe.”
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were sexually assaulted during massages at day spas and resorts. If you have been a victim of sexual assault or sexual battery during a massage, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at [email protected] for a free consultation.