Who are Ian K Snow and Elyse Dula? Top equity exec and his girlfriend sued for racism by nannies
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Ian K Snow, a high-flying financial equity manager, is accused of racial harassment and discrimination in a civil case. Cordia Foster and Cislyn Wright, the couple's four children's nannies, sued Ian and his girlfriend Elyse Dula. Meanwhile, Ian's side claimed in court records that Foster threatened to use "black magic" on Dula. Foster, who started working for Ian's and Dula in August 2017, and Wright, who was employed in November 2018, are both of Jamaican heritage.
Among the explosive allegations in the nannies' complaint filed the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is that Dula referred to Foster and Wright as 'those black b*****s' in January 2020 after the family's kitten, Scotty ran outside their Long Island estate. According to the claim, once Wright questioned Dula about her and Ian "treating [the nannies] as disloyal troublemakers who could be stealing from them."
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Who are Ian K Snow and Elyse Dula?
Ian is the CEO and a founding partner of the private equity firm, Snow Phipps Group LLC. Ian was a managing director of Ripplewood Holdings LLC, a private equity business, from its founding in 1995 until March 2005, prior to the formation of Snow Phipps Group. Ian, who graduated from Georgetown University with honors, also has been a member of the Board of Directors there since July 2007.
Meanwhile, not much is known about Dula, who also allegedly goes by the name Elyse Snow, even though Ian is not yet formally divorced from his wife, philanthropist and socialite, Mary Snow. Ian and Dula wanted to relocate their four children and nannies into newly-built servant's quarters, distinct and separated from the main house in the Hamptons, according to the new lawsuit.
What Ian and Dula are saying in their countersuit?
The defense argued in the proposed joint pretrial order that Dula 'never uttered' such comments or any other disparaging or racist comment, as reported by Daily Mail. Foster and Wright "were simultaneously terminated without cause or explanation" in August 2020, according to the complaint.
In the proposed joint pretrial order, Ian and Dula argue that the termination was well within their rights as employers and that Foster reportedly threatened to use "black magic" on Dula. The nannies are also accused of using a windowless service closet for time outs for the children, according to the order. Foster and Wright, on the other hand, alleged that when they placed the children in time outs, it was at Dula's command.