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Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon sued by former nanny

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Press Trust of India New York
Pop star Mariah Carey and her estranged husband Nick Cannon have been sued by a former live-in nanny.

Simonette DaCosta claimed in new lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, that Carey, 44, forced her to work 100 hours per week but refused to pay her any overtime, reported New York Daily News.

The suit claimed Simonette "attended to Mariah's children's needs not only at home, but also during Ms Carey's travels for her global concerts and appearances."

Simonette's lawyer Eli Freedberg said, "Simonette was on call 24 hours a day. She was always at their beck and call."

According to the suit, Simonette "was always behind the scenes and often by Ms Carey's side."
 

The suit said, "Plaintiff was on duty during all hours of each 24 hour day with no entitlement for breaks, for meals, and even for sleep. Indeed, Ms Carey would often call plaintiff at hours in the middle of the night and demand to be taken to her children or to be updated on the status of her children."

"Ms Carey would not tolerate any delay when she called and plaintiff had to attend to her every demand, spontaneous or otherwise," the suit continued.

Simonette claimed Mariah fired her in January 2014 after the 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' singer scolded her "for expressing too much affection for their children."

The suit stated other nannies might join the case as Eli said Mariah "cycled through these nannies pretty quickly." He added, "My understanding is that Ms Carey didn't want the children developing any lasting relationship with the women."

Eli estimated that Carey and Cannon owe Simonette around USD 100,000 in damages.

Carey's representative refused to comment on the issue, saying, "We don't comment on frivolous lawsuits.

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First Published: Jan 29 2015 | 1:45 PM IST

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