Amanda Palmer Civil Lawsuit: Claims, Dismissals, and Appeals

The Amanda Palmer lawsuit is a federal civil case brought in February 2025 by Scarlett Pavlovich, a former nanny who worked briefly for Palmer and her then-husband Neil Gaiman in New Zealand. Pavlovich sued Palmer under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, alleging that Palmer recruited her into a household where Gaiman sexually assaulted her and that Palmer did so knowing Gaiman had a history of assaulting women. Palmer was named in three federal courts, and by February 2026 every one of those cases had been dismissed on the ground that the dispute belongs in New Zealand. Pavlovich is appealing.

What Pavlovich Alleged About Palmer

Pavlovich was 22 and homeless when she met Palmer in Auckland in 2020. Palmer befriended her and later brought her to the couple’s homes on Waiheke Island, initially to babysit for a weekend starting February 4, 2022. Palmer then offered her a live-in nanny position and, according to the complaint, encouraged her to leave her prior job and housing to take it. Gaiman is alleged to have promised to use his influence to promote her writing career. The complaint says Pavlovich was never paid during what it calls her “three-week indenture” and that pay was “intentionally withheld” to keep her “trapped, vulnerable, and penniless.”¹

The claims against Palmer center on what she is alleged to have known and done before and during Pavlovich’s employment. The complaint alleges Palmer had “specific personal knowledge” that Gaiman had raped women previously and was aware of a pattern of targeting female partners. Pavlovich says that when she eventually told Palmer about the assaults, Palmer responded that roughly fourteen women had previously come to her with similar complaints about Gaiman.²

The complaint alleges Palmer “knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, and/or obtained” Pavlovich for labor, knowing or acting in reckless disregard of the likelihood that Gaiman would assault her.³ It also alleges Palmer told Gaiman he could not “have” Pavlovich, which the complaint says “fueled Gaiman’s desire” and effectively “marked her as prey.” Finally, it alleges Palmer benefited from the arrangement through uncompensated childcare.

The Legal Claims Against Palmer

Pavlovich brought five causes of action against Palmer, four under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act and one in negligence:

Sex trafficking under 18 U.S.C. § 1591, alleging Palmer recruited and obtained Pavlovich for commercial sex acts, treating housing and career promises as “things of value” exchanged for those acts.
Forced labor under 18 U.S.C. § 1589, alleging Palmer knowingly benefited from Gaiman’s exploitation of Pavlovich through threats of serious harm or physical restraint.
Human trafficking for forced labor under 18 U.S.C. § 1590, alleging Palmer recruited Pavlovich specifically to obtain her uncompensated labor as a nanny.
Conspiracy to commit trafficking under 18 U.S.C. § 1594, alleging Palmer and Gaiman conspired to violate the trafficking statutes.
Negligence, alleging Palmer breached a duty of care by introducing Pavlovich to a known sexual predator without warning.

Pavlovich sought damages in excess of $1 million per count, with total damages across the filings described as at least $7 million.³⁴

Because the alleged conduct took place in New Zealand, the complaint relied on 18 U.S.C. § 1596, the TVPA’s extraterritoriality provision, which extends jurisdiction when the alleged offender is a U.S. national or is present in the United States. Palmer, an American citizen, fell within the statute.⁵

Why Three Different Federal Courts

Pavlovich filed in three districts at once. A combined case against Palmer and Gaiman went to the Western District of Wisconsin (3:25-cv-00078) because Gaiman has a home in northwestern Wisconsin.⁶ A parallel suit against Palmer alone was filed in the Southern District of New York (1:25-cv-00969) and in the District of Massachusetts (1:25-cv-10263) because Pavlovich was unsure whether Palmer had relocated from New York to Massachusetts. She said she would proceed against Palmer in whichever district Palmer chose.⁴

Palmer’s Response

Palmer addressed the allegations publicly in February 2025, writing on Instagram: “I will not respond to the specific allegations being made against me except to say that I deny the allegations and will respond in due course.” She said her “heart goes out to all survivors” and asked for privacy to protect her young child.⁷ A spokesperson separately said Palmer was “profoundly disturbed” by the allegations against Gaiman but could not comment further because of ongoing custody and divorce proceedings.⁸

Palmer retained retired U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner as her attorney. Gertner said her client had “done nothing wrong” and described Palmer as “an inspiring artist and outspoken feminist.”⁹

How Each Case Ended

New York

Pavlovich moved to voluntarily dismiss the New York case against Palmer in May 2025. On June 3, 2025, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil signed a stipulation and order of voluntary dismissal without prejudice, meaning the claims were not decided on the merits and could in principle be refiled.¹⁰

Wisconsin

Also in May 2025, Pavlovich dropped the portion of the Wisconsin case directed at Palmer. The remaining claims against Gaiman continued until October 3, 2025, when Judge James D. Peterson dismissed them without prejudice under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, finding that all relevant events, parties, evidence, and witnesses were in New Zealand and that New Zealand provides adequate alternative remedies.¹¹ The judge conditioned dismissal on the defendants accepting service in New Zealand, and Palmer reportedly agreed to do so.¹²

Massachusetts

Palmer’s attorney filed three motions to dismiss the Massachusetts case in April 2025: one for failure to state a claim, one challenging extraterritorial application of the TVPA, and one on forum non conveniens.¹³ On February 6, 2026, Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton granted the forum non conveniens motion and did not reach the other two. He emphasized that all underlying conduct took place in New Zealand, that Pavlovich is a New Zealand citizen, that Palmer was living there at the time, and that both Palmer and Gaiman agreed to submit to New Zealand jurisdiction. He wrote that Massachusetts jurors would be “scratching their heads” about why they were being asked to decide a dispute involving such “far away events.” He also noted that the TVPA’s civil remedy provision “does not apply extraterritorially” and said he was “disinclined” to find that Pavlovich’s civil claim could reach conduct occurring entirely outside the United States.¹⁴

Appeals

Pavlovich appealed the Wisconsin dismissal to the Seventh Circuit on October 6, 2025.¹² She filed a notice of appeal of the Massachusetts dismissal on February 11, 2026, docketed in the First Circuit as case 26-1151.¹³ Pavlovich’s attorneys did not respond to press requests for comment on the status of the cases following the Massachusetts ruling.

Context: The Broader Allegations

Pavlovich’s suit against Palmer sits inside a wider set of allegations against Gaiman. In July 2024, Tortoise Media released a podcast titled “Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman,” in which five women accused the author of unwanted sexual contact.¹⁵ A January 2025 New York Magazine cover story detailed accounts from eight women. Pavlovich spoke publicly in both.¹⁶ Gaiman has denied all allegations of nonconsensual activity, writing on his website in January 2025: “I’m far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.” A police report alleging sexual assault was filed in New Zealand in January 2023, and the investigation was dropped.

1
Courthouse News Service. Pavlovich v. Palmer Complaint, District of Massachusetts
2
Newsweek. Neil Gaiman Amanda Palmer Accusations
3
Courthouse News Service. Pavlovich v. Palmer Complaint, Southern District of New York
4
The Guardian. US Judges Dismiss Lawsuits Against Neil Gaiman
5
TL Blog. TVPRA Claims Against Neil Gaiman
6
CourtListener. Pavlovich v. Gaiman Docket
7
BBC News. Amanda Palmer Denies Allegations
8
BBC News. Pavlovich Sues Gaiman and Palmer
9
Boston Globe. Judges Toss Civil Suits Against Gaiman, Palmer
10
CourtListener. Pavlovich v. Palmer Docket, S.D.N.Y.
11
Justia. Pavlovich v. Gaiman, No. 3:2025cv00078
12
Courthouse News Service. Author Neil Gaiman Evades Wisconsin Sexual Assault Case
13
CourtListener. Pavlovich v. Palmer Docket, D. Mass.
14
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Pavlovich v. Palmer, Memorandum and Order
15
NPR. Neil Gaiman Nanny Rape Human Trafficking Lawsuit
16
BBC News. Neil Gaiman Sexual Assault Allegations