MANHATTAN (LN) — A federal judge on Monday denied in full the motion to dismiss by Shen Yun Performing Arts and its founder, rejecting the organization’s claim that the First Amendment’s ministerial exception shields it from allegations of forced child labor and human trafficking under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
U.S. District Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke ruled that the TVPRA claims survive, finding that the plaintiffs’ allegations of physical abuse, confinement, and psychological control do not implicate matters of faith or doctrine that would trigger the constitutional defense.
The plaintiffs, Zan Sun and Qing Ling Cheng, allege they were recruited to Shen Yun’s 400-acre Dragon Springs estate in Cuddebackville, New York, at ages 15 and 13, respectively. They claim they were subjected to grueling training schedules, denied medical care for injuries, and trapped by the confiscation of their passports.
Defendants argued that Shen Yun is a religious organization and that the plaintiffs were “ministers” whose employment relationship is protected from civil court interference. They contended that the plaintiffs’ roles involved sharing religious principles through performance art.
Clarke declined to rule on whether Falun Gong is a religion or whether the defendants are religious institutions, stating that the ministerial exception does not apply regardless.
“The First Amendment ministerial exception protects a religious organization’s employment relationship with its ministers, from hiring to firing and the supervising in between,” Clarke wrote. “It does not protect against the allegations of forced labor, abuse, and trafficking asserted herein.”
The judge noted that the exception is designed to protect a church’s autonomy in selecting its ministers, not to provide immunity from secular laws regarding abuse and confinement.
“Matters of ‘faith,’ religious ‘doctrine,’ and ecclesiastical ‘government’ have no bearing on alleged abuse, control, and confinement in between employment decisions,” she wrote.
Clarke also rejected defendants’ statute of limitations defense, finding that the plaintiffs adequately alleged a continuing tort. She determined that the plaintiffs remained under the defendants’ control and engaged in labor within the limitations period, with Sun leaving in May 2015 and Cheng working in a costume factory until December 2015.
The court further held that the plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded direct liability, vicarious liability, beneficiary liability, document seizure, and attempt and conspiracy claims under the TVPRA.
Clarke dismissed only the plaintiffs’ claims for declaratory and injunctive relief, after the plaintiffs confirmed at oral argument that they were no longer seeking prospective relief.
Shen Yun, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, reported $51.5 million in revenue and approximately $266.2 million in assets in 2024, according to the complaint.
The case is now referred to Magistrate Judge McCarthy for discovery.