ALEXANDER
CIAMBRIELLO, Plaintiff, -againstCOLLX, LLC and THEODORE MANN, Defendants.
COMPLAINT
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
Plaintiff Alexander Ciambriello, by his attorneys, Crumiller P.C., as and for his complaint against CollX, LLC and Theodore Mann, respectfully alleges as follows:
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
1. CollX is a start-up technology company based in the greater Philadelphia area with an app that allows individual users to scan trading cards with a cell phone camera and find out their estimated value using artificial intelligence. Since its founding in 2021, the company has generated significant publicity by touting founder Theodore “Ted” Mann’s son as the ten-yearold “inventor” of CollX.
2. Together, Mann and his son have made multiple television and media appearances in order to promote the company, even going so far as to call the child a “co-founder.” 1 By February 2023, the company announced it had raised $5.5 million in seed funding.
3. One might expect a company ostensibly created by a father and his child to be a welcoming workplace for parents with young children. But CollX is the opposite.
4. Plaintiff Ciambriello, who worked at CollX, is a father of two who has suffered lasting trauma due to the company’s overt hostility to working parents. When Ciambriello’s wife became pregnant with their second child, CollX refused his request to take twelve weeks of
1 https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/collx-app-sports-cards-charlie-ted-mann/ (last accessed February 23, 2024).
protected parental leave through New York’s Paid Family Leave (“NYPFL”) program – even though their refusal was illegal.
5. CollX forced Ciambriello to use his contractual two weeks paid time off (“PTO”) as his only parental leave. Adding insult to injury, it rescinded a previously agreed raise, saying “couldn’t justify a raise for someone who was about to take so much time off.”
6. After the birth, Ciambriello’s wife suffered severe health complications. Ciambriello was forced to work full-time while simultaneously acting as the sole caregiver for his family, including his bedridden wife, their two-year-old, and their newborn baby. In the weeks that followed his return to work, Ciambriello’s life became a living nightmare as he struggled to care for his recovering wife, feed and care for his children, and fulfill his demanding work obligations.
7. One day, his family in a state of crisis, Ciambriello took an emergency day off. CollX fired him the next day.
8. Giving birth should be a joyous and momentous occasion. But, without access to paid family leave, for many, it is instead a traumatic one. CollX’s illegal actions robbed Ciambriello of time he will never get back: his precious early moments with his newborn.
9. They affected his wife, who had to cash out her Roth IRA and survive on food stamps. They affected the baby, who was deprived of a happy and emotionally healthy environment in his critical first few months of life.
10. CollX must face the consequences for what it has done.
PARTIES
11. Plaintiff Ciambriello is an individual residing in the state of New York.
12. Defendant CollX is a limited liability corporation with its principal place of business at
43 Kings Highway W, Haddonfield, NJ 08033.
13. Defendant Mann is the founder and CEO of CollX and an individual residing in the state of New Jersey.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
14. This Court has jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(a)(1) and 1367.
15. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(a)(2).
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
I. CollX Promises to Be an Exciting Opportunity
16. In January 2022, Philadelphia visual-services executive Ted Mann launched CollX, a phone app that invites you to “scan sports cards to find out what they’re worth.” CollX was to expand into popular games like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic: The Gathering and become its own online marketplace. Mann secured extensive publicity for CollX, often with his 10-year-old son publicly in tow, who he credits with developing the idea.
17. At the time, Ciambriello, residing in South Philadelphia with his wife, Taj, was the primary caregiver for his then seven-month-old son. A silk-screen printing studio he had founded and operated in Philadelphia was forced to shutter during the pandemic. He had been taking online courses on Coursera and Google, teaching himself data analytics and data engineering to expand the available opportunities for his eventual re-entry into the workforce.
18. Just as he was looking for work, Ciambriello heard from a friend who worked at CollX that the new company was looking for data engineers. For a self-described “huge nerd” who
loved gaming – he played Dungeons and Dragons every week before the pandemic – looking to transition into a data engineering career, it seemed a perfect opportunity.
19. On January 31, 2022, Ciambriello began working for CollX. The position was part-time; CollX told him that full-time work wasn’t in the budget but that, once he developed his skills, it would promote him to full-time. Meanwhile, he had other freelance work, which enabled him to support his family such that Taj could take over caregiving responsibilities for their baby.
20. Ciambriello worked hard and did a good job. His first project was creating a live dashboard that tracked the app’s key performance indicators in real time. He was also tasked with working on the company’s “trading card data importer”: a system for compiling data about trading cards from public websites into usable form for the app. 2
21. On October 15, 2022, CollX promoted Ciambriello to a full-time employee. Ciambriello asked for a salary of $75,000, as industry standards for data engineers were around $80,000 to $125,000 a year. Mann told him CollX could not afford to pay him more than $60,000 at that time but would increase his salary to $75,000 once the data importer was complete.
22. Later in October, Ciambriello announced to the team that Taj was pregnant, due in May 2023. He was heartened: everyone expressed only excitement and congratulations.
23. The next month, November 2022, Ciambriello and his family moved to Rockaway Beach to be closer to Taj’s family. 3 The birth of their first child had been difficult, and they wanted to
2 For example, for a sports card, the app might include information about the player’s name, team name, the manufacturer of the card, the rarity of the card, and whether it included any special features. CollX also collected valuation data from ebay.com.
3 In December 2022, Ciambriello’s family relocated to New Hartford, New York. In February 2023, Ciambriello’s family moved to Utica, New York, where they have resided to date.
ensure they had the best conditions possible for a peaceful recovery. Ciambriello set up a home office in the basement where he could work while Taj took care of their 18-month-old. 4
II. CollX Willfully Violates New York’s Paid Family Leave Laws
24. As a New York resident, Ciambriello was eligible for NYPFL. Through the state, he was to receive payment of $810.12 per week for twelve weeks of job-protected leave.
25. On January 6, 2023, Ciambriello emailed Mann to begin making arrangements for his leave. As his baby was due on May 1, he planned to take parental leave for May through July. He wrote, “NY state has a Paid Family Leave policy that employers can opt into, it looks like it streamlines the process for both employer/employee. Can you take a look soon so we can get this set up?”
26. Mann responded that he had not set up a paid family leave policy yet, and “[n]eed[ed] more time to investigate.”
27. On January 19, Ciambriello sent a friendly email to follow up:
Hey Ted!
Trying to get things set up for when our second baby arrives. Attached is NY State's Paid Family Leave request form, I just need you to fill out all the Part B sections. Then, it is my duty to submit this to CollX's insurer and they'll handle the rest. I plan on presubmitting, so we're a little ahead of the game on this
28. That night, around 9pm, Mann called Ciambriello to tell him that he could not, in fact, take paternity leave. Mann said he had spoken with his lawyer earlier that day, who had advised him that CollX was not obligated to comply with NYPFL.
29. Mann continued:
[I]t would create a ripple effect throughout the company and more employees would begin requesting time off . . . I’ve seen this happen at companies before. Once one person takes an extended leave, everyone else begins taking more time off and it ruins the
4 The move did not affect Ciambriello’s employment; he had worked remotely from the beginning, as many CollX employees did.
company. I would understand if you were a woman, but you’re not so we don’t see the reason to give you extended leave.
30. Ciambriello was shocked, not only on a personal level, but also by what he understood to be the unequivocal illegality of the refusal. The next day, he called the NYPFL hotline to clarify his understanding. A representative confirmed that he was eligible.
31. On February 3, the trading card data importer had finally been completed. Ciambriello called Mann to coordinate the details of his agreed-upon salary increase.
32. However, Mann replied that he no longer intended to honor his prior commitment. He claimed that the increase was premature because the company hadn’t yet completed its “pricing importer,” a separate project which was always intended to be completed subsequently. 5 He then continued that he “couldn’t justify a raise for someone who was about to take so much time off.”
33. Ciambriello went upstairs to report the conversation to Taj, who had been waiting expectantly. She was as shocked as he was; both were extremely upset. They had been relying on the additional income to enroll their older son in daycare. They tried to maintain their composure as they discussed the betrayal while attempting to feed dinner to their two-year-old.
34. Ciambriello emailed Mann that same day to ask whether CollX had any other benefits available to employees like disability insurance. Mann ignored the question.
35. Ciambriello followed up on February 16, trying to explain to Mann that NYPFL was mandatory, and again on February 20. Throughout these conversations, he also sought correction of his paychecks – deductions were being taken for New Jersey, but not New York, which he feared might jeopardize his PFL. Mann refused to make the correction.
5 The “pricing importer” would collect valuation data from a wider variety of sources than eBay – information that was not collected as part of the data importer.
36. On February 20, Mann told Ciambriello that he could take his contractual two weeks paid time off (“PTO”) as his parental leave and no more. He also warned, “it worries me that an employee would be interested in things like disability.”
37. Three days later, on February 23, CollX announced that it had secured $5.5 million dollars in seed round funding.
38. On March 14, Ciambriello made one final attempt to explain his legal entitlement to NYPFL to Mann. Mann did not care.
39. Taj’s cesarean section was scheduled for May 1. Ciambriello reluctantly requested PTO from May 1 to May 16, which was approved.
III. After the Birth, CollX Causes the Family to Suffer Hell
40. On May 1, Taj gave birth as planned. Though she recovered well, their newborn suffered several complications, which required repeat visits to healthcare providers, some of whom were an hour drive away. For two weeks, the couple did their best to manage caring for their newborn, shuttling to appointments, and caring for their two-year-old.
41. On Sunday, May 14, Mann sent Ciambriello a message on Slack asking, “are you on today?” Though upset by the intrusion and confused since he didn’t work on weekends, Ciambriello politely responded that he would be back on May 17, as planned. When Mann replied that a “heads up would have been nice,” Ciambriello simply reminded him of the preapproved PTO dates.
42. On May 17, less than three weeks after the birth, Ciambriello returned to work.
43. Taj’s mother lived nearby and helped with the baby when she could. She sometimes went to the specialist appointments and sometimes babysat the two-year-old. Still, needless to say, it was an extremely draining period for the family. Newborn babies wake up to feed every few
hours and require round-the-clock care. Their older son was also having difficulties sleeping throughout this period and woke up routinely throughout the night as well.
44. The stress took a visible toll on Ciambriello to the point where Taj’s mother blurted that he looked like a prisoner of war.
45. Life became even more difficult when Taj’s mother had to leave town for the month of June for a work obligation.
46. The next few weeks were hell as Ciambriello tried to care for his recovering wife, his two-year-old, and his baby, while fulfilling his work obligations. He worked until 11 or midnight most nights, took turns with Taj waking up to feed the newborn, and began work whenever the baby woke up – usually at 5 or 6 A.M
47. The family had prepared soups ahead of time, which they had stored in a deep freezer in the basement; unable to shop for groceries, the family subsisted on little else but their pre-made soup, canned soup, cereal, and bread. The house was a mess, their clothes were dirty, and Ciambriello couldn’t find time even to shower.
48. Taj cried regularly. Ciambriello felt like a failure. He worried about his family and worried about his job. He felt miserable and desperate.
49. When Ciambriello submitted PTO requests to take Taj and the baby to medical appointments on June 14 and 15, CollX simply failed to respond and refused to approve them. Still recovering from surgery, Taj was forced to make the trip alone with both children, repeatedly.
50. On Thursday, June 15, Taj had surgery to remove a worrisome growth. Through the next day, Friday, June 16, she remained bedridden and in immense pain. She continued to actively bleed and had a bandage that needed replacement multiple times per day.
51. With Taj unable to leave her bed, all household responsibilities fell on Ciambriello, aside from nursing, for which he carried the baby to and from Taj. That day, per usual, he seized whatever moments he could to complete his work responsibilities, which he finally finished around 10 or 11pm. Yet, as he was finally about to sign off for the week, Mann informed him that he was required to continue working over the weekend
52. On Saturday, June 17, Mann texted Ciambriello to ask him when he would be logging on. Ciambriello reminded him of his family’s situation and explained he could only complete his work while his children were sleeping. Mann responded:
“I completely understand your wife isn’t feeling great, and again, I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I do think you should explain the situation to her if you haven’t already. My wife never likes hearing from me that I am going to be working on the weekend, but if I just tell it to her straight, and explain that I need her to step up and cover, she will.”
53. Ciambriello responded that his wife was in no state to “step up” as she was “actively bleeding” but that he would be on later to finish his work, which he did.
54. On Sunday, June 18, Ciambriello suffered an acute mental breakdown over his family’s health and stability. His wife was still bleeding and in pain, and his baby was less than two months old. He felt guilty, as though he had neglected them, and he feared for their financial security. He suffered a panic attack while simultaneously attempting to complete his work while ensuring his wife’s and baby’s basic needs were met, struggling to concentrate, sweating, and shaking uncontrollably. 6
55. Monday, June 19, was a federal holiday, but Ciambriello worked, as he was expected to, and completed all of his tickets However, the situation was unsustainable. By now, he had been
6 Meanwhile, that day, CollX was busy posting a promotional video it had created featuring Mann and his ten-yearold son on its social media accounts. “Collecting sports cards with your Dad is just the best!” the posts proclaimed. “Happy Fathers Day!”
working full-time and the sole caretaker for his ailing family for an entire month. At the end of the day, he begged Mann for the next day off on an emergency basis.
56. Mann responded: “let me be unequivocal, it is absolutely not okay to take tomorrow off.”
57. But Ciambriello’s family was in a state of emergency On June 20, even though it had not been approved, he did not work. Instead, he took the day to catch up on sleep and spend quality time with his family. It was the first time he ate dinner with them in weeks.
58. Despite this, throughout June 20 Ciambriello checked his phone and his Slack account in case anyone from work needed to get in touch with him. No CollX employees contacted him or requested he complete any work that day.
IV. CollX Fires Ciambriello
59. The next day, June 21, when he signed onto work, Ciambriello sent a message to the engineering team asking what he should prioritize that day. In response, he received a phone call from Mann, telling him he was fired.
60. Mann followed up with a letter falsely claiming various performance deficiencies. The letter falsely stated that CollX had “consistently observed” that Ciambriello had “failed to meet deadlines, causing significant delays” and was negatively impacting his team. This was false; timelines had been pushed out teamwide for unrelated reasons, but Ciambriello had never been the cause of any delays. Moreover, no other team members involved were disciplined for any purported delays. The letter also falsely described a “consistent pattern of failing to show up for work without prior notice or legitimate reasons,” when, in fact, the legitimate family emergency from the day before had been the only such arguable instance.
61. Mann continued, “These performance issues have been addressed with you through several meetings, but despite our efforts to provide guidance and support, there has been no
significant improvement in your performance.” In fact, this was the first mention of any such purported performance deficiencies. 7
62. Ciambriello was a hard worker and had never been fired before. He felt like his entire world had been turned upside down.
63. CollX even withheld Ciambriello’s final paycheck for an entire month, which it quietly backdated. It also removed 55 remaining hours of accrued PTO and 28.5 unused sick day hours from Ciambriello’s account, which Mann confirmed had been applied to his paternity leave. 8
64. Without any income, the family was forced to rely upon food stamps and other public assistance to survive. They borrowed money from family members and cashed out from their Roth IRAs to make ends meet.
65. Ciambriello sought professional mental health treatment and was prescribed medication for anxiety as a direct result of the trauma CollX’s actions caused him to suffer.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION:
Discrimination in Violation of the NYSHRL Against all Defendants
66. Ciambriello repeats and realleges each allegation set forth above.
67. CollX and Mann unlawfully discriminated against Ciambriello in the terms and conditions of his employment on the basis of his gender and caregiver status in violation of the NYSHRL.
68. Mann, as Ciambriello’s supervisor, is personally, directly, and individually liable as an employer for the unlawful discrimination against Ciambriello.
7 Later, in a submission to the Workers’ Compensation Board, CollX falsely claimed that Ciambriello had failed to fix an issue with the sales importer in April 2023, causing the company to lose sales data. That was equally untrue and was also the first Ciambriello had heard of it.
8 Ciambriello complained to the New York Workers’ Compensation Board, which found CollX in violation of its NYPFL obligations and mailed Ciambriello a check for $9,721.44, the amount of benefits he should have received.
69. Alternatively, Mann is personally, directly, and individually liable in that he aided and abetted CollX in its unlawful discriminatory acts against Ciambriello.
70. As a result, Ciambriello has suffered emotional distress and has incurred compensatory damages, economic damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
71. CollX and Mann willfully engaged in discriminatory practices with malice and/or reckless indifference to Ciambriello’s rights.
72. Ciambriello is entitled to an award of compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION: Retaliation in Violation of NYSHRL Against all Defendants
73. Ciambriello repeats and realleges each allegation set forth above.
74. CollX and Mann retaliated against Ciambriello for protected activity in violation of the NYSHRL.
75. Mann, as Ciambriello’s supervisor, is personally, directly, and individually liable as an employer for the unlawful retaliation against Ciambriello.
76. Alternatively, Mann is personally, directly, and individually liable in that he aided and abetted CollX in its unlawful retaliatory acts against Ciambriello.
77. The retaliatory actions to which Ciambriello was subjected could have dissuaded a reasonable employee in his position from complaining of discrimination.
78. As a result, Ciambriello has suffered emotional distress and has incurred compensatory damages, economic damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
79. CollX and Mann willfully engaged in discriminatory practices with malice and/or reckless indifference to Ciambriello’s rights.
80. Ciambriello is entitled to an award of compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION: Retaliation in Violation of NYLL Against all Defendants
81. Ciambriello repeats and realleges each allegation set forth above.
82. CollX and Mann retaliated against Ciambriello in the terms and conditions of his employment for his protected activities in violation of New York Labor Law, N.Y. Lab. Law § 215 (“NYLL”).
83. Mann, as Ciambriello’s supervisor, is personally, directly, and individually liable as an employer for the unlawful retaliation against Ciambriello.
84. Alternatively, Mann is personally, directly, and individually liable in that he aided and abetted CollX in its unlawful retaliatory acts against Ciambriello.
85. As a result, Ciambriello has suffered emotional distress and has incurred compensatory damages, economic damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
86. CollX and Mann willfully engaged in discriminatory practices with malice and/or reckless indifference to Ciambriello’s rights.
87. Ciambriello is entitled to an award of compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION: Discrimination in Violation of the NJLAD Against all Defendants
88. Ciambriello repeats and realleges each allegation set forth above.
89. CollX and Mann improperly discriminated against Ciambriello in the terms and conditions of his employment on the basis of his gender and caregiver status in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-12 et seq. (“NJLAD”).
90. Mann, as Ciambriello’s supervisor, is personally, directly, and individually liable as an employer for the unlawful discrimination against Ciambriello.
91. Alternatively, Mann is personally, directly, and individually liable in that he aided and abetted CollX in its unlawful discriminatory acts against Ciambriello.
92. As a result, Ciambriello has suffered emotional distress and has incurred compensatory damages, economic damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
93. CollX and Mann willfully engaged in discriminatory practices with malice and/or reckless indifference to Ciambriello’s rights.
94. Ciambriello is entitled to an award of compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION:
Retaliation in Violation of NJLAD Against all Defendants
95. Ciambriello repeats and realleges each allegation set forth above.
96. CollX and Mann unlawfully retaliated against Ciambriello in the terms and conditions of his employment for his protected activities in violation of NJLAD.
97. Mann, as Ciambriello’s supervisor, is personally, directly, and individually liable as an employer for the unlawful retaliation against Ciambriello.
98. Alternatively, Mann is personally, directly, and individually liable in that he aided and abetted CollX in its unlawful retaliatory acts against Ciambriello.
99. As a result, Ciambriello has suffered emotional distress and has incurred compensatory damages, economic damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
100. CollX and Mann willfully engaged in retaliatory practices with malice and/or reckless indifference to Ciambriello’s rights.
101. Ciambriello is entitled to an award of compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION: Retaliation in Violation of CEPA Against all Defendants
102. Ciambriello repeats and realleges each allegation set forth above.
103. CollX and Mann unlawfully retaliated against Ciambriello in the terms and conditions of his employment for his protected activities in violation of the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J. Stat. § 34:19-1 et seq., (“CEPA”).
104. Mann, as Ciambriello’s supervisor, is personally, directly, and individually liable as an employer for the unlawful retaliation against Ciambriello.
105. Alternatively, Mann is personally, directly, and individually liable in that he aided and abetted CollX in its unlawful retaliatory acts against Ciambriello.
106. As a result, Ciambriello has suffered emotional distress and has incurred compensatory damages, economic damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
107. CollX and Mann willfully engaged in retaliatory practices with malice and/or reckless indifference to Ciambriello’s rights.
108. Ciambriello is entitled to an award of compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
DEMAND FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested that the Court enter judgment in favor of Ciambriello, as against CollX and Mann, in an amount to be determined by the finder of fact, on the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Causes of Action, awarding compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs, and granting such other relief as may be just.
DEMAND FOR TRIAL BY JURY
Pursuant to FRCP § 38(b), Plaintiff demands a trial by jury.
Dated: March 22, 2024 Brooklyn, New York
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Crumiller, pending pro hac vice admission
Crumiller P.C.
16 Court St, Ste 2500 Brooklyn, NY 11241 (212) 390-8480
hilary@crumiller.com
susan@crumiller.com
Attorneys for Plaintiff