Filed Date: July 12, 2005
Closed Date: 2014
Clearinghouse coding complete
On July 12, 2005, three U.S. orchard workers from Yakima Valley who had been denied or terminated from agricultural employment, brought this class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Represented by Columbia Legal Services and private counsel, the plaintiffs sued Global Horizons, Green Acre Farms, Platte River Insurance Company, and Valley Fruit Orchards, under the Migrants and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. § 1801), the Farm Labor Contractors Act (42 U.S.C § 1981), and Washington anti-discrimination law.
In their complaint (amended several times), the plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as damages. They alleged that the defendants systematically and intentionally preferred H-2A laborers from Thailand to U.S. workers, in violation of federal and state law. The plaintiffs also claimed that the defendants provided false and misleading information concerning the terms and conditions of employment, failed to comply with the working arrangement, failed to pay wages as promised, and failed to provide adequate written pay statements in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 1801. They sought declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief.
The case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Michael W. Leavitt. On February 3, 2006, the plaintiffs filed a motion to certify the class, which Magistrate Judge Leavitt granted on July 28, 2006. 2006 WL 2129295. The class was defined as "All workers who were U.S. residents and who sought employment through defendant Global Horizons to work at either Green Acre Farms or Valley Fruit Orchards in 2004, and all U.S. resident who, in the future, seek employment with or obtain employment with Global, Green Acre, or Valley Fruit." It also included three subclasses:
1. Denied Workers: All workers who were U.S. residents and who sought and were denied employment with the defendant and all U.S. residents who in the future would seek employment with the defendant,
2. Green Acre Workers: All workers who were U.S. residents and who were employed through the defendant Global to work at Green Acre Farms,
3. Valley Fruit Workers: All workers who were U.S. residents and who were employed through defendant Global to work at Valley fruit.
The Court also granted the plaintiffs' motion to bifercate the trial, separating the liability and damages issues.
Between May 2006 and February 2007, the plaintiffs filed several motions to compel discovery; each motion was granted by Judge Leavitt. (insert citations for discovery orders) On March 23, 2007, in response to yet another motion by the plaintiffs to compel discovery and for sanctions, the defendants filed their own motion for sanctions alleging that the plaintiffs' attorneys were using abusive litigation tactics to drive up costs, such as filing motions for contempt and sanctions knowing that the defendants' attorney was in the process of applying for permission to appear pro hac vice. The defendants eventually withdrew their motion for sanctions, and the plaintiffs' motion was denied by the Court on March 27, 2007. The Court also gave the defendants additional time to produce all the requested discovery documents.
When the defendants still did not produce the requested documents, the Court, in a May 2007 order, imposed sanctions in the amount of $12,500 against the defendants for the continued refusal to comply with the Court's order regarding discovery. Payment was due no later than June 1, 2007. The Court also warned that the defendant's continued failure to comply with the Court's order would result in additional monetary sanctions in the amount of $500 a day until there was full compliance.
In a July 11, 2007 order, District Court Judge Alan A. McDonald granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, finding that the defendants had violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) and the Washington Farm Labor Contract Act (FLCA). He awarded statutory damages under FLCA. As to their motion to strike the defendants' jury demand with respect to the plaintiffs' Farm Labor Contractors Act and Migrants and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act claims, the Court granted the motion, the defendants' jury demand was stricken, and the plaintiffs were entitled to $1,857,000. The plaintiffs were denied summary judgment on the claim that the defendants intentionally deprived employees of wages.
Judge McDonald also imposed monetary sanctions on the defendants for their continued refusal to comply with the Court's orders. The Court ordered that the defendants immediately pay $27,000, in addition to the $12,500 previously imposed, and the additional penalty of $500 for each day the defendants failed to make payment. The Court also ordered defendant Global Horizons to appear before the court on July 24, 2007 or face criminal contempt charges. 2007 WL 2041973
The defendants filed motions for reconsideration of Judge McDonald's order regarding their failure to respond to the plaintiffs' partial summary judgment motions, but Judge McDonald passed away before considering the motions for reconsideration. The case was transferred to U.S. District Court Judge Robert H. Whaley, and on August 10, 2007, he vacated the judgment with respect to the amount of damages while leaving the portion of Judge McDonald's order that found that Global committed the alleged violations of the Farm Labor Contractors Act and Migrants and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. He also vacated the award of statutory damages in the amount of $500 per violation per person because Judge McDonald did not cite to relevant 9th Circuit case law with respect to the awarding of statutory damages. 2007 WL 2327073, E.D.Wash.
In September of 2007, the plaintiffs' claims of racial discrimination, which were not resolved by Judge McDonald's order, were tried by a jury. It found that Global Horizons and Mordechai Orian violated the Farm Labor Contractors Act by failing to employ, or discharging or laying off members of the subclasses, and discriminated against the subclasses because of their race. The jury awarded $300,000 in punitive damages to the class, and awarded the following damages to the representative Plaintiffs: Ricardo Betancourt: $5099.50 for lost wages, $2500.00 for emotional distress; Jose F. Sanchez: $492.20 for lost wages, $5,000.00 for emotional distress; Jose Guadalupe Perez-Farias; $0.00 for lost wages, $4,000.00 for emotional. The Court entered judgment on October 23, 2007 consistent with the jury's findings.
The claims against "Grower Defendants" (the named defendants other than Global Horizons) were tried separately by the Court. On March 27, 2008, the Court determined that Grower Defendants did not discriminate against the subclasses based on race and dismissed the plaintiffs' discrimination claims against the Grower Defendants. The Court upheld the jury verdict against defendant Global Horizon. With respect to the FLCA claims, the Grower Defendants were found liable for FLCA violations. 2008 WL 833055, E.D.Wash.
The Court also addressed Global Horizons' post-trial motions, upholding the jury verdict with respect to the discrimination claim against Global and Mordechai Orian and the FLCA claims asserted against Global, but agreeing with the Global Horizons that, as a matter of law, Mordechai Orian could not be held individually liable for violations of the FLCA.
On May 23, 2008, the judgment for damages for racial discrimination was amended, and the denied-work subclass definition was changed. 2008 WL 2180166, E.D.Wash. The judgment was again amended on June 15, 2009, specifying which defendant was liable to which plaintiff for what damages; Global and Grower Defendants were responsible, jointly and severally, for lost wages to each plaintiff while Global alone was responsible only for damages for emotional distress to each of the three named plaintiffs. The $100,000 amount for punitive damages awarded to each subclass category did not change in the amendment of the judgment.
In April 2008, the Court ordered Global Horizons to pay the previously ordered monetary sanctions of $45,500 by May 30, 2008. The order stated that if Global Horizons failed to make the payment, its attorney would have to appeal and show cause why it failed to obey the Court's orders and why the sanctions should not be reduced to a judgment. The District Court Judge also referred the matter to Magistrate Judge James P. Hutton.
After Global Horizons failed to make the $45,500 payment, the Court ordered that a representative appear and show cause as to why Global had failed to obey the Court's orders. At a show cause hearing on June 3, 2009, Global's local counsel, Gary Lowland, appeared and reported that he had no knowledge to answer a majority of the Court's questions regarding Global's financial status. Thus, the Court directed Mordechai Orian, the president and chief strategic officer for Global Horizons, to appear at a supplemental show cause hearing to be held on July 2, 2008. On that day, Orian testified as to Global's financial status. Based on his testimony, Magistrate Judge Hutton issued a report and recommendation on July 21, 2008 concluding that Global Horizons was financially insolvent, with debts far exceeding its assets. Judge Hutton also suggested that the if Global Horizons insisted on continuing litigation, the District Court should consider imposing case dispositive sanctions on Global.
On August 6, 2008, Global Horizons filed a motion to seal, which was granted on January 4, 2011.
On November 14, 2008, the plaintiffs filed a memorandum for "Phase II" of the class action addressing class membership, injunctive relief, statutory damages for violations of the Farm Labor Contractors Act (FLCA), and the distribution of punitive damages awarded at trial. A bench trial was held on March 3, 2009, after which Judge Whaley issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law regarding five of the plaintiffs' motions. 2009 WL 1011180. He determined that the plaintiffs were entitled to $235,000 in statutory damages, and each individual class member was to relieve $350 or more in statutory damages. The Court also held that proof of eligibility to work would not be necessary in order to receive statutory damages. The Court ultimately rejected the plaintiffs' attempts to hold two individuals personally liable for their companies' use of an unlicensed farm labor contractor as well as the plaintiffs' motion for injunctive relief against Global Horizons and Grower Defendants.
The defendants filed motions to amend the Court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, but those motions were denied in a June 15, 2009 Order addressing pending motions. That same day, the original judgment was amended for the second time, as previously mentioned, and the Court also issued a new judgment in favor of the plaintiffs reflecting what it had decided in its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. The defendants filed an appeal to this new judgment on June 19, 2009.
Earlier, in May 2009, the plaintiffs had filed a motion for attorneys fees. The defendants filed motions to extend the time to respond to the motion, which was granted by the Court. The parties litigated over attorneys’ fees for several months until the Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for attorneys fees on March 24, 2010 and entered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $1,452,831. Global Horizons and Mr. Orian were also ordered to pay the Court $1,424.58 for costs of interpretation fees that were provided at trial on a cost-reimbursable basis. 2010 WL 11437705. The defendants appealed this decision in April 2010, but their appeal was dismissed on December 17, 2010 because they lacked representation by a licensed attorney.
On April 23, 2010, the plaintiffs filed a cross appeal to the 9th Circuit, appealing from the:
- March 24, 2010 Judgment Against Global for Reasonable Attorney's Fees;
- March 24, 2010 Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Attorney's Fees;
- August 3, 2009 Second Amended Judgment of the Jury Verdict;
- August 8, 2009 Amended Judgment of the FLCA Statutory Damages;
- June 15, 2009 Order Addressing Pending Motions Re FLCA Emotional Distress Damages;
- April 15, 2009 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Re FLCA Statutory Damages;
- March 27, 2008 Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Re Claims against Grower Defendants; and
- August 10, 2007 Order Vacating FCLA Damages Judgment
The 9th Circuit (J. Richard R. Clifton, N. Randy Smith, and Edward R. Korman) heard oral arguments on July 12, 2011. It held on August 17, that the district court had erred in not awarding the workers the full amount of mandatory statutory damages under the Farm Labor Contractors Act – their damages should equal $1,998,500. It affirmed the district court’s finding on the grower defendants’ liability regarding discrimination. 447 Fed.Appx. 843.
The 9th Circuit then withdrew its August 17th order and granted a petition for rehearing. 669 F.3d 927. It then certified to the Washington State Supreme Court three issues of state law. These issues were:
1. Did the Fair Labor Contractors Act, specifically Washington Revised Code § 19.30.17(2) mandate that courts order a $500 damage award per plaintiff per violation, or did courts have discretion to decide the appropriate amount?
2. If the Fair Labor Contractors Act mandated a $500 per plaintiff per violation award, did that violate Washington’s public policy or due process guarantees?
3. Could people who had not been “aggrieved” by a violation nonetheless be awarded damages under the Fair Labor Contractors Act? 669 F.3d 927.
On September 27, 2012, the Washington Supreme Court held that the $500 per plaintiff per violation damage award was mandated under the Fair Labor Contractors Act and due process did not require a cap on statutory damages. Moreover, nothing in the Washington State law conflicted with Congress’s ability to enact statutes that created standing where legal rights had been violated without injury. 175 Wash.2d 518.
On December 5, the 9th Circuit entered another order that the district court had erred in awarding less than $500 per plaintiff per violation, and should have ordered a total damages award of $1,998,500. 669 F.3d 927. In May 2014, it granted the plaintiffs attorneys’ fees totaling $141,513.50 for appellate litigation.
Back in District Court, the plaintiffs continued to seek payment from the defendants for owed sanctions. As this case had carried on, Global Horizons had been involved in a separate case, Nasee v. Global Horizon, in which it was granted a motion for costs and fees. Because Global Horizon owed a significant amount in sanction fees for this case, On November 8, 2011, Judge Whaley in the District Court directed the award of $3,293.22 deposited into the Court's registry and disbursed to the plaintiffs’ counsel.
On December 9, 2011, the plaintiffs moved for the district court to order Platte River Insurance pay a bond to be disbursed to the plaintiffs. Washington state law requires farm labor contractors to obtain bonds to “be conditions on payment of sums legally owing under contract to an agricultural employee.” Platte River Insurance held such bonds for the parties in the case. Judge Whaley granted the plaintiffs’ motion on January 18, 2012, contingent on the 9th Circuit remanding the issue to the district court. 2012 WL 12830389. On March 26, 2012, Judge Whaley directed disbursements of the funds.
After receiving the 9th Circuit’s holding, the District Court amended its August 3, 2009 judgment. On March 27, 2013, it held that the Denied Worker Subclass was to recover $997,099.50, the Green Acre Subclass was to recover $410,492.20, and the Valley Fruit Subclass was to recover $596,500.00.
Judge Whaley granted plaintiffs’ motion for fees on June 28, 2013 with $979,394.25 for attorneys fees and 39,842.66 for costs. The plaintiffs then moved for attorneys’ fees for post appellate work, which was granted on August 27 for a total of $41,125.55
On November 4, 2013, the plaintiffs’ attorneys submitted a Satisfaction of Judgments to the court, stating:
- All judgments against Green Acre Farm and Valley Fruit Orchard had been fully satisfied;
- All judgments for plaintiffs against Global Horizons and Mordechai Orian had been fully satisfied;
- Judgments for attorneys’ fees and costs against Global Horizon and Mordechai Orian were still unsatisfied in the amount of $486,717,64
After the plaintiffs’ counsel attempted to find and compensate all class members to the case, $813,542.58 remained undistributed to silent members. The plaintiffs moved to distribute the money through incentive awards (for the representative plaintiffs in compensation for their work on the case); costs (for the cost of distributing the funds to class members); and cy press (to help advance the objectives of the Farm Labor Contractors Act). On April 2, 2014, Judge Whaley granted the plaintiffs’ motion as follows
- $7,500 to each representative plaintiff as an incentive award
- $25,258.51 to Columbia Legal Services as compensation for costs of distribution
- $495,990.01 to Columbia Legal Services as cy press ($95,990 of which was to remain in reserve through the end of 2014 to pay additional class members who came forward)
- $95,261.33 each to Northwest Justice Project, Laurel Rubin Farmworker Justice Project, and Northwest Communities Education Center as cy press awards. 2014 WL 1399420.
There has been no further litigation and the case now appears closed.
Summary Authors
Saeeda Joseph-Charles (3/31/2017)
Gabriela Hybel (11/27/2017)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5344104/parties/perez-farias-v-global-horizons-inc/
Clifton, Richard R. (Hawaii)
Contreras, Mirta Laura (Washington)
Beattie, Paul Hamilton (Washington)
Bobbitt, Chrystal L. (California)
Bowman, David M. (Washington)
Clifton, Richard R. (Hawaii)
Hutton, James P. (Washington)
Korman, Edward Robert (New York)
Leavitt, Michael W. (Washington)
McDonald, Alan Angus (Washington)
Whaley, Robert H. (Washington)
Beattie, Paul Hamilton (Washington)
Bobbitt, Chrystal L. (California)
Gibbs, Matthew S. (California)
Gray, Marvin Lee Jr. (Washington)
Humphrey, Lawton Henry (Washington)
Lofland, Gary Edward (Washington)
Loudon, Jeffrey Coleman (Washington)
Marisseau, Medora A. (Washington)
Monahan, Brendan Victor (Washington)
Monroe, Celeste Mountain (Washington)
Penn, Lawton Henry (Washington)
Shiner, I Randolph (California)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5344104/perez-farias-v-global-horizons-inc/
Last updated June 28, 2023, 3:11 a.m.
State / Territory: Washington
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 12, 2005
Closing Date: 2014
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Farm workers from Yakima Valley who were denied or terminated from agricultural employment
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Columbia Legal Services (formerly Evergreen)
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Global Horizons Inc., Private Entity/Person
Green Acre Farms Inc., Private Entity/Person
Valley Fruit Orchards LLC, Private Entity/Person
Platte River Insurance Company, Private Entity/Person
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1871
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Amount Defendant Pays: 3,245,374
Issues
General:
Discrimination-area:
Discharge / Constructive Discharge / Layoff
Other Conditions of Employment (including assignment, transfer, hours, working conditions, etc)
Discrimination-basis:
National origin discrimination
National Origin/Ethnicity: