Filed Date: Aug. 7, 2013
Closed Date: Oct. 1, 2018
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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.
Summary Authors
Anna Dimon (5/11/2015)
Ava Morgenstern (12/1/2017)
David v. Signal International, LLC, Eastern District of Louisiana (2008)
Achari v. Signal International, LLC, Eastern District of Louisiana (2013)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5167262/parties/chakkiyattil-v-signal-international-llc/
Guirola, Louis Jr. (Mississippi)
Knowles, Daniel E. III (Louisiana)
Morgan, Susie [Sue, Donna] (Louisiana)
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)
Guirola, Louis Jr. (Mississippi)
Knowles, Daniel E. III (Louisiana)
Morgan, Susie [Sue, Donna] (Louisiana)
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)
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)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5167262/chakkiyattil-v-signal-international-llc/
Last updated May 13, 2023, 3:06 a.m.
State / Territory: Louisiana
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Signal International Guest Worker Cases
Key Dates
Filing Date: Aug. 7, 2013
Closing Date: Oct. 1, 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
28 Indian guestworkers fraudulently recruited to work in the U.S.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Signal International, Inc. (Pascagoula), Private Entity/Person
J&M Associates of Mississippi, Inc. , Private Entity/Person
J&M Marine & Industrial, LLC, Private Entity/Person
Billy R. Wilks (Moss Point), None
Global Resources, Inc. , Private Entity/Person
Dewan Consultants (Substantial Business Contacts with Pascagoula, MS), Private Entity/Person
Sachin Dewan (Substantial Business Contacts with Pascagoula, MS), None
Malvern C. Burnett (Ocean Springs), None
Law Offices of Malvern C. Burnett (Ocean Springs), None
Gulf Coast Immigration Law Center, Private Entity/Person
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), 18 U.S.C. § 1589
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Amount Defendant Pays: 5,000,000
Issues
General:
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Sanitation / living conditions
Discrimination-area:
Harassment / Hostile Work Environment
Other Conditions of Employment (including assignment, transfer, hours, working conditions, etc)
Discrimination-basis:
National origin discrimination
Race:
Type of Facility:
Immigration/Border:
Temporary foreign workers program
National Origin/Ethnicity: