Farm operators seek protection in Global Horizons litigation

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Two Lower Valley farm operators want protection from legal costs associated with lawsuits filed against a labor contractor they hired.

Valley Fruit Orchards and Green Acre Farms filed the lawsuit this week in Yakima County Superior Court against Global Horizons Manpower and owner Mordechai Orian, as well as two insurance companies.

It’s the latest lawsuit filed against the Global Horizons companies, which have faced allegations they broke federal and state labor laws when they imported Thai workers for the two Lower Valley farms in 2004 and 2005.

The lawsuit claims that the farms wouldn’t have become engaged in the lawsuits if Global Horizons had maintained a valid contractor’s license.

Valley Fruit and Green Acre Farms are asking the court to protect them against any money judgments and legal costs in connection with lawsuits filed by the Thai workers and by local Latino workers who claim they were displaced by the Thai workers.

A federal judge has ruled that Global owes $235,000 in statutory damages in the case filed by the Latino workers. The workers’ attorneys are asking that the two farms be held liable for that payment.

The attorneys have also requested another $2 million in fees and costs, for which the farms also could be liable, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed by the Thai workers is pending.