Posted on 08/22/2006 8:38:48 AM PDT by So Cal Rocket
An Orange County attorney filed a lawsuit Monday accusing a Kern County farmer of hiring illegal immigrants to undercut his client's contract to provide blueberry pickers during harvest.
The suit on behalf of farm-labor contractor AgriLabor is the first in a series of suits that attorney David Klehm of Anaheim says he has undertaken since quitting his stable job as a medical-malpractice lawyer two months ago to take on California companies that he says skirt immigration law.
Klehm, 42, said his goal isn't to go after undocumented immigrants but rather the employers that make it tough for businesses to compete if they hire workers legally.
*snip*
According to a copy of the suit filed in Kern County Superior Court, AgriLabor – a division of Los Angeles-based Global Horizons Inc. – had a contract to provide farmworkers to help Munger Brothers LLC pick blueberries over a nine-week harvest from April to June.
At the peak of the harvest, AgriLabor was expected to provide 600 workers.
But according to the suit, Munger, a farm in Delano, ended its contract with AgriLabor in the middle of May – at the start of the peak harvest – arguing that the workers provided failed to pick berries quickly enough.
Instead, Munger contracted through two local companies that AgriLabor said hire illegal immigrants. While AgriLabor obtained temporary visas and provided housing for its workers from Thailand and Central America, the suit alleges that the other providers didn't meet such requirements, enabling them to offer Munger a cheaper deal.
*snip*
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
It is about time.
This kind of lawsuit would put a real crimp in organized illegal labor. Employers are more afraid of lawsuits than of government enforcement. The government is usually inept and inefficient, and unlikely to come down on any one person in an industry of violators. A competitor, however, is another force entirely.
Great this ambulance chaser puts hospitals out of business, now he sets his sights on Farmer Joe.
Klehm, a former Marine who grew up in Pittsburgh, said he became concerned about the impact of illegal immigration on local hospitals when he spoke with doctors during his malpractice work. He wanted to get to the heart of the issue and said he was surprised to learn how little litigation had been filed against employers suspected of knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants.
Uh this kind of lawyer and lawsuit also put a crimp on hospitals and healthcare.
Oh I forgot, he's going after Farmer Joe for hiring people named Jose for the evil deed of picking blueberries, nevermind.
I will never understand buchananitus.
So we should allow Farmer Joe to cheat on his taxes, too?
Don't worry about it. The Latino advocates will protest to the Democrats who in turn will whisper into the ears of the ABA, and the next thing Mr Klehm will get the professional riot act read to him. Continue and he will be thrown out of the ABA on the smallest infraction and have his professional career ruined. Complaint and effort will be funded by the Chamber of Commerce.
All Mr. Klehm is concerned is about is $ and not about that evil Farmer Joe who wants to put his evil blueberries on the market. He'll find a willing audience amongst some on FR(i.e those who supported Simcox).
I guess the old adage of "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" applies to some on FR.
I'm just pointing out that these lawsuits are more likely to catch more violators than government enforcement.
That lawsuits tend to be a waste of time and money goes without saying. Adequate and competent enforcement of our laws would be better, but since that ain't happening...
"Great this ambulance chaser puts hospitals out of business, now he sets his sights on Farmer Joe."
Nice try. Illegals are continuing to put for profit hospitals out of work. And as far as "Farmer Joe" goes... he's a scumbag tax cheat and should be driven out of business to make way for legal legitimate business owners to prosper.
What other violations of law should blind ourself to because it is a business that is the violator?
Uh no, but I think "we"your term) shouldn't harass a farmer, unless you think growing blueberries is evil.
Oops wait a minute I forgot your page 23 Buchanan answer, "the blueberries are not evil, the people who pick them are"(i.e gotta destroy the blueberry farm in order to save it).
More:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-27-2006/0004388183&EDATE=
Yes... we should all feel sorry for "Farmer Joe", who's yearly income is over $20,000,000.
He should follow the law, just like the rest of us. If the Governmental authorities won't enforce the law, then it's up to those who have been harmed by his lawbreaking that will have to make him pay for his crime.
They tried this with a Georgia carpet mill, saying that they were in violation of RICO statutes for hiring illegals and causing unfair competition.
That suit was lost.
Suing the actual offender for loss will probably have more of an impact.
"The Latino advocates will protest to the Democrats"
Are you talking about Dane?
Politically inconvenient laws are A-OK to be broken?
And blueberries are the moral equivalent of booze and smokes how?
This ought to be an interesting answer.
ping
I'm sure the cause of action would be based on California Business & Professions Code section 17200 et seq. which defines unfair business practices and provides private remedies for their violation. Very powerful is properly applied. You can make a colorable argument based on the limited facts presented in the news article.
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