Support the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse?

The Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse is committed to making information about civil rights lawsuits public, accessible, and free. If you use our--recently revamped--website and the posted documents and information, would you consider a donation? Our small but mighty team relies principally on grant funding and donations. Can you help?

Support the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse?

Thank you!

DONATE

Case: Chakkiyattil v. Signal International, LLC

2:13-cv-06219 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Filed Date: Aug. 7, 2013

Closed Date: Oct. 1, 2018

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

This case is part of the series of Signal International cases. It was consolidated with Achari v. Signal International and continues on that page.On Aug. 7, 2013, 28 Indian guestworkers filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi for harm suffered as a result of an allegedly fraudulent and coercive employment recruitment scheme. Plaintiffs filed this suit after District Judge Jay Zainey denied class certification on Jan. 3, 2012 in a related case, IDav…

This case is part of the series of Signal International cases. It was consolidated with Achari v. Signal International and continues on that page.

On Aug. 7, 2013, 28 Indian guestworkers filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi for harm suffered as a result of an allegedly fraudulent and coercive employment recruitment scheme. Plaintiffs filed this suit after District Judge Jay Zainey denied class certification on Jan. 3, 2012 in a related case, IDavid v. Signal International.

Plaintiffs were brought to the United States to provide labor and services to defendant Signal International, a company in the business of providing repairs to offshore oil rigs that was based in Pascagoula, Mississippi and had operations in the Gulf Coast region. The complaint alleged that plaintiffs paid Signal's recruiters as much as $25,000 for travel, visa, and recruitment fees, but upon arrival in the United States found out they would not receive the green cards promised to them. Instead, plaintiffs were allegedly forced to pay additional fees ($1050 per month) to live in racially segregated labor camps, and were subject to squalid living conditions and threats of both legal and physical harm if they complained about the conditions or decided not to provide labor.

The complaint alleged violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (18 U.S.C. §1589 (forced labor) and 18 U.S.C. §1590 (trafficking)) and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (42 U.S.C. §1981), as well as claims for fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract. Plaintiffs were represented by private law firms.

In Oct. 2013, the Court (Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr.) consolidated this case and Achari v. Signal International, Krishnakutty v. Signal International, and Devassy v. Signal International, and then transferred the consolidated case to the Eastern District of Louisiana.

On Oct. 24, 2013, the case was assigned to Judge Susie Morgan and consolidated with the Achari case. This case continues on that page.

show full summary

Summary Authors

Anna Dimon (5/11/2015)

Ava Morgenstern (12/1/2017)

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Signal International, LLC, Eastern District of Louisiana (2011)

Achari v. Signal International, LLC, Eastern District of Louisiana (2013)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attrorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5167262/parties/chakkiyattil-v-signal-international-llc/

Judge(s)

Guirola, Louis Jr. (Mississippi)

Knowles, Daniel E. III (Louisiana)

Morgan, Susie [Sue, Donna] (Louisiana)

Attorneys(s) for Plaintiff

Adams, Daniel D. (New York)

Baker, H. Gregory (New York)

Beaudette, Katelyn M. (New York)

Byrd, Sibyl C. (Mississippi)

Campbell, Benton J (New York)

Chandrika, Sarah C. (New York)

Colby, Eben P. (Massachusetts)

Judge(s)

Guirola, Louis Jr. (Mississippi)

Knowles, Daniel E. III (Louisiana)

Morgan, Susie [Sue, Donna] (Louisiana)

Attorneys(s) for Plaintiff

Adams, Daniel D. (New York)

Baker, H. Gregory (New York)

Beaudette, Katelyn M. (New York)

Byrd, Sibyl C. (Mississippi)

Campbell, Benton J (New York)

Chandrika, Sarah C. (New York)

Colby, Eben P. (Massachusetts)

Copley, Steven W. (Louisiana)

Diaz, Sadie Holzman (New York)

Greenberg, Jennifer (New York)

Grimsal, A. Gregory (Louisiana)

Harris, Christopher R. (New York)

McDuff, Robert B. (Mississippi)

Plexousakis, Renee E. (New York)

Rostoker, Jessica D. (New York)

Rowen, Zachary L. (New York)

Rowland, Elizabeth C. (New York)

Safane, Aaron M. (New York)

Salerno, Matthew S. (New York)

Simshauser, Peter (Massachusetts)

Stewart, Meredith B. (Louisiana)

Taffet, Eric. L. (New York)

Ungar, Hal D. (Louisiana)

Wahlquist, Grant F. (New York)

Walker, Jacob A. (Massachusetts)

Walsh, Michael R. (Massachusetts)

Attorneys(s) for Defendant

Bollman, Patricia Anne F. (Louisiana)

Buras, Daniel Edwin Jr. (Louisiana)

Carlisle, Arthur D. (Mississippi)

Cerniglia, Timothy W. (Louisiana)

Cornblatt, James L. (Louisiana)

Davis, Lauren Masur (Louisiana)

Gianna, Dominic Joseph (Louisiana)

Hangartner, Erin Casey (Louisiana)

Hasenkampf, Mitchell P. (Louisiana)

Keller, Robert Louis (Louisiana)

Maney, Kevin P. (Louisiana)

Rabbani, Elham (Louisiana)

Roux, Brian C. (Louisiana)

Rydberg, Lance R. (Louisiana)

Shapiro, Stephen H. (Louisiana)

Weinberger, Alan Dean (Louisiana)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

show all people

Documents in the Clearinghouse

	Document
2:13-cv-06218	Docket Achari v. Signal International, LLC	June 19, 2015	June 19, 2015 Docket
2:13-cv-06219	Docket [PACER]	June 2, 2017	June 2, 2017 Docket
1 2:13-cv-06219	Complaint U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi	Aug. 7, 2013	Aug. 7, 2013 Complaint
32 1:13-cv-00222	Order Consolidating Cases and Transferring to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi	Oct. 18, 2013	Oct. 18, 2013 Order/Opinion

show / hide documents

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5167262/chakkiyattil-v-signal-international-llc/

Last updated Sept. 6, 2022, 3:01 a.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
32	ORDER granting Motion to Change Venue. Consolidated cases are transferred to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana; and granting Motion to Consolidate Cases. Civil Action Nos. 1:13cv318 and 1:13cv319 shall be consolidated, as member cases, with Civil Action No. 1:13cv222, which shall serve as the lead case. All subsequent pleadings relating to these causes of action should be filed in the LEAD case only. Signed by Chief District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. on 10/18/13. (RLW)[Transferred from mssd on 10/23/2013.]	Oct. 18, 2013	Oct. 18, 2013 RECAP