The April 15 order in Precioso v. National Health Corporation rejected separate dismissal motions from NHC and individual defendants Jeffrey R. Smith, Maria Wong, Andrew Huckabay, and Rachel Kamau. The court found that plaintiffs "have sufficiently stated claims upon which relief may be granted."

The nurses' second amended complaint brings ten counts, including claims under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1589 et seq., the federal RICO statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the Tennessee Human Trafficking Act, the Georgia RICO statute, the Virginia Overtime Wage Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and fraud. The complaint also asserts breach of contract claims against NHC and Jeffrey Smith, and a separate breach of contract claim against Infinity Care Partners, LLC.

According to the complaint, the defendants recruited hundreds of nurses in the Philippines to work at NHC facilities in the United States. The plaintiffs allege the defendants "have built multi-million-dollar businesses on the backs of the indentured servitude of these foreign nurses, who are lied to, underpaid, and forced to work in unsafe conditions, putting their careers, their professions, and their patients' health and safety in jeopardy."

The complaint alleges the defendants use "illegal contracts that offer no way for the nurses to leave their employment and demand upwards of $40,000 – often more than these nurses' net annual pay – should the nurses stop working for Defendants for any reason."

The plaintiffs further allege that "[t]o keep the nurses from leaving, Defendants have commenced or threatened baseless legal action, changes to immigration status, and serious financial harm if these nurses stop working for Defendants."

Applying Rule 12(b)(6), the court accepted the complaint's allegations as true and construed them in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. Under Sixth Circuit precedent cited in the order, dismissal is appropriate only if "it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief."

The motions at Doc. Nos. 79, 98, and 100 were denied in full. CourtListener's docket attributes the order to U.S. District Judge Eli J. Richardson; the signature block on the order reads "Chief United States District Judge," and the case caption lists Judge Campbell as the assigned judge.