Judge rejects argument that U.S. court lacks jurisdiction in Nepali human trafficking case
A federal court today upheld its jurisdiction over Daoud & Partners, a Jordanian defense subcontractor that allegedly participated in trafficking Nepali laborers to work at a U.S. military base in Iraq against their will. A trial date has been set for April 29, 2013.
In denying Daoud's motion to appeal this decision, Judge Keith Ellison, of the Southern District of Texas, ruled that the court has personal jurisdiction over Daoud & Partners, a subcontractor to KBR, Inc., the Houston-based defense contractor that also is a defendant in the case. The case involves 13 Nepali men who in 2004 were promised jobs in Jordan, but were instead involuntarily transported to Iraq. Twelve of the men were captured and killed by insurgents on the way to the U.S. Air Force base where they were to work.
Daoud had argued that the case should not be heard in a U.S. court, but Judge Ellison in an earlier ruling noted that Daoud obtained 100 percent of its revenue from U.S. entities, including KBR and U.S. government contracts, and had contact sufficient for the case to be tried in the U.S.. The judge also had ordered that claims against Daoud for negligence, false imprisonment, breach of contract and the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) should proceed.
"Because Daoud gets all of its business from the U.S. – including contracts funded by U.S. taxpayers – we agree that Daoud should be held accountable in a U.S. court for its role in human trafficking at U.S. military bases," said plaintiffs' counsel Agnieszka Fryszman, of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC. "This ruling is a significant win for these Nepali workers and their families and we look forward to proving their claims at trial."
The case is among the first filed against a corporation under the Trafficking Victim Protection Act. Fryszman in 2008 filed Ramchandra Adhikari, et al. v. Daoud & Partners, et al. in the U.S. on behalf of the 12 families of those killed and the surviving laborer. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for the plaintiffs' losses. The men came from poor families that went into debt to seek work abroad, and the families of the men killed were forced deeper into poverty when the workers were killed, said Fryszman.
This is one of many court wins for the plaintiffs. In November 2009, Judge Ellison denied KBR's motion to dismiss the case. The Defendants, KBR and Daoud, have now sued each other. On Dec. 12, 2011, the Court first upheld its jurisdiction in the case.
In addition to Fryszman, the plaintiffs are represented by Paul L. Hoffman of Schonbrun, Desimone, Seplow, Harris & Hoffman LLP of Venice, Calif. For more information about the case or a copy of the order, visit www.cohenmilstein.com/cases/215/nepali-trafficking.
Contacts:
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Pam Avery, 402-305-0799
pam@turnerstrategies.com
