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Case Name
Chakkiyattil v. Signal International, LLC
IM-LA-0013
Docket / Court
2:13-cv-06219 ( E.D. La. )
Additional Docket(s)
2:13-cv-06218 [ 13-6218 ]
State/Territory
Louisiana
Case Type(s)
Equal Employment
Immigration and/or the Border
Special Collection
Signal International Guest Worker Cases
Attorney Organization
Southern Poverty Law Center
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 ...
read more >
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,
I
David 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.
Anna Dimon - 05/11/2015
Ava Morgenstern - 12/01/2017
compress summary
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Discrimination-area
Discipline
Harassment / Hostile Work Environment
Other Conditions of Employment (including assignment, transfer, hours, working conditions, etc)
Pay / Benefits
Discrimination-basis
Immigration status
National origin discrimination
Race discrimination
General
Bathing and hygiene
Disparate Treatment
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Housing
Loss or damage to property
Racial segregation
Sanitation / living conditions
Totality of conditions
Immigration/Border
Employer sanctions
Employment
Immigration lawyers
Temporary foreign workers program
U.S. citizenship - acquiring
National Origin/Ethnicity
Indian
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Race
Asian/Pacific Islander
Type of Facility
Non-government for profit
Causes of Action
42 U.S.C. § 1981
State law
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), 18 U.S.C. § 1589
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Billy R. Wilks
Dewan Consultants
Global Resources, Inc.
Gulf Coast Immigration Law Center
J&M Associates of Mississippi, Inc.
J&M Marine & Industrial, LLC
Law Offices of Malvern C. Burnett
Malvern C. Burnett
Sachin Dewan
Signal International, Inc.
Plaintiff Description
28 Indian guestworkers fraudulently recruited to work in the U.S.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
Southern Poverty Law Center
Class action status sought
No
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Plaintiff
Public Int. Lawyer
No
Nature of Relief
Damages
Source of Relief
Settlement
Form of Settlement
Private Settlement Agreement
Filed
08/07/2013
Case Closing Year
2018
Case Ongoing
No
Related Cases
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Case Listing
IM-LA-0010
: David v. Signal International, LLC (E.D. La.)
IM-LA-0011
: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Signal International, LLC (E.D. La.)
IM-LA-0012
: Achari v. Signal International, LLC (E.D. La.)
Additional Resources
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Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
E.D. La.
06/19/2015
2:13-cv-6218
IM-LA-0013-9001.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
E.D. La.
06/02/2017
2:13-cv-06219-SM-DEK
IM-LA-0013-9000.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
S.D. Miss.
08/07/2013
Complaint [ECF# 1]
IM-LA-0013-0001.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
S.D. Miss.
10/18/2013
Order Consolidating Cases and Transferring to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [ECF# 32]
IM-LA-0013-0002.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
People
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Judges
Guirola, Louis Jr.
(W.D. Tex., S.D. Miss.)
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IM-LA-0013-0002
Knowles, Daniel E. III
(E.D. La.) [Magistrate]
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IM-LA-0013-9000
Morgan, Susie [Sue, Donna]
(E.D. La.)
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IM-LA-0013-9000
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Adams, Daniel D.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Baker, H. Gregory
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Beaudette, Katelyn M.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Byrd, Sibyl C.
(Mississippi)
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IM-LA-0013-0001
Campbell, Benton J
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Chandrika, Sarah C.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Colby, Eben P.
(Massachusetts)
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IM-LA-0013-0001 | IM-LA-0013-9000
Copley, Steven W.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Diaz, Sadie Holzman
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Greenberg, Jennifer
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Grimsal, A. Gregory
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Harris, Christopher R.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
McDuff, Robert B.
(Mississippi)
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IM-LA-0013-0001 | IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Plexousakis, Renee E.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Rostoker, Jessica D.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Rowen, Zachary L.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Rowland, Elizabeth C.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Safane, Aaron M.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Salerno, Matthew S.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Simshauser, Peter
(Massachusetts)
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IM-LA-0013-0001 | IM-LA-0013-9000
Stewart, Meredith B.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Taffet, Eric. L.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Wahlquist, Grant F.
(New York)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Walker, Jacob A.
(Massachusetts)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Walsh, Michael R.
(Massachusetts)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Defendant's Lawyers
Bollman, Patricia Anne F.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Buras, Daniel Edwin Jr.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000
Carlisle, Arthur D.
(Mississippi)
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IM-LA-0013-9000
Cerniglia, Timothy W.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000
Cornblatt, James L.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Davis, Lauren Masur
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Gianna, Dominic Joseph
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Hangartner, Erin Casey
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Hasenkampf, Mitchell P.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Keller, Robert Louis
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Maney, Kevin P.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Rabbani, Elham
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Roux, Brian C.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Rydberg, Lance R.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9001
Shapiro, Stephen H.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000
Ungar, Hal D.
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
Weinberger, Alan Dean
(Louisiana)
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IM-LA-0013-9000 | IM-LA-0013-9001
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