Adhikari v. Daoud & Partners

95 F. Supp. 3d 1013, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37403, 2015 WL 1387941
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 24, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 4:09-CV-1237
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 95 F. Supp. 3d 1013 (Adhikari v. Daoud & Partners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adhikari v. Daoud & Partners, 95 F. Supp. 3d 1013, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37403, 2015 WL 1387941 (S.D. Tex. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KEITH P. ELLISON, District Judge.

The Court revisits, one final time, two summary judgment rulings in favor of KBR1 in this devastating human trafficking ease. Plaintiffs believe that the Court erred when it granted judgment to KBR on their Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (“TVPRA”) and Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) claims. Plaintiffs urge rehearing and, as to their ATS claim, leave to amend. (Doc. Nos. 672, 685/686.)

For the reasons stated below, and because of controlling law and the facts as elucidated by Plaintiffs, the Court cannot grant relief. Perhaps the Court has too conservatively interpreted the limitations placed on it by Congress and the United States Supreme Court; if so, however, the best recourse it can offer Plaintiffs is a direct path to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Rehearing Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b) of This Court’s January 2014 Order (Doc. No. 672) and Motion for Rehearing on Their ATS Claims against KBR and for Leave to Amend (Doc. No. 685/686) are DENIED. The Court reaches this conclusion notwithstanding its wholehearted sympathy with the victims and their families.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

Though the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not themselves specifically provide for a motion for reconsideration, such motions nevertheless are entertained under the Rules. Plaintiffs state that they are seeking “rehearing” under Rule 54(b), which permits the Court to reexamine its prior interlocutory rulings “for any reason it deems sufficient.” United States v. Renda, 709 F.3d 472, 479 (5th Cir.2013) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Motions for reconsideration from interlocutory orders are governed by the standards for Rule 59(e) motions. Thakkar v. Balasuriya, 2009 WL 2996727, at *1 (S.D.Tex. Sept. 9, 2009).

A motion under Rule 59(e) must “ ‘clearly establish either a manifest error of law or fact or must present newly discovered evidence.’” Ross v. Marshall, 426 F.3d 745, 763 (5th Cir.2005) (quoting Simon v. United States, 891 F.2d 1154, 1159 (5th Cir.1990)). Relief is also appropriate where there has . been an intervening change in the controlling law. See Schiller v. Physicians Resource Group Inc., 342 F.3d 563, 567 (5th Cir.2003). Motions under Rule 59(e) “ ‘cannot be used to raise arguments which could, and should, have been made before the judgment issued.’ ” Id. (quoting Rosenzweig v. Azurix Corp., 332 F.3d 854, 863 (5th Cir.2003)). In considering a motion for reconsideration, a court “must strike the proper balance between two competing imperatives: (1) finality, and (2) the need to render just decisions on the basis of all the facts.” Edward H. Bohlin Co., Inc. v. Banning Co., Inc., 6 F.3d 350, 355 (5th Cir.1993).

II. BACKGROUND FACTS

For purposes of context, the Court repeats the statement of facts included in its August 2013 and January 2014 summary [1016]*1016judgment orders. As the current motions are for reconsideration, the Court will not include allegations or facts not presented to the Court for consideration on summary judgment.

This case is brought by Plaintiff Buddi Prasad Gurung and the surviving family members of twelve other men: Prakash Adhikari, Ramesh Khadka, Lalan Koiri, Mangal Limbu, Jeet Magar, Gyanendra Shrestha, Rajendra Shrestha, Budhan Sudi, Manoj Thakur, Sanjay Thakur, Bishnu Thapa, and Jhok Bahadur Thapa (collectively, the “Deceased Plaintiffs”). All Plaintiffs are Nepali citizens and currently reside in Nepal.

Plaintiffs allege that KBR and Defendant Daoud & Partners (“Daoud”) engaged in a scheme to traffic the Plaintiffs from Nepal to Iraq, where one KBR subsidiary served as a contractor with the United States government to perform specific duties at United States military facilities. According to Plaintiffs, Defendants “established, engaged and/or contracted with a network of suppliers, agents, and/or partners in order to procure laborers from third world countries.” (Doc. No. 58 (“First Am. Compl.”), at ¶ 54.)

The Deceased Plaintiffs, whose ages ranged from 18 to 27, were recruited from their places of residence by Moonlight Consultant Pvt., Ltd., a recruiting company based in Nepal. (Id. ¶ 62.) Most of the men were told that they would be employed by a luxury hotel in Amman, Jordan. (Id. ¶ 63.) Some were told that that they would be working in an American camp. (Id.) Although there is no indication that they were told where the camp would be, the Deceased Plaintiffs’ family members assumed that they were going to the United States. (Id.) All of the men were led to believe that they would not be placed in a dangerous location, and that, if they found themselves in a dangerous area, they would be sent home at the employer’s expense. (Id.) They were promised a salary of approximately $500 per month. (Id. ¶ 64.) The men and their families incurred substantial debt to pay the brokerage fees in seeking out this employment. (Id. ¶ 65.)

After they were recruited, the Deceased Plaintiffs were then transferred to the custody of Morning Star for Recruitment and Manpower Supply (“Morning Star”), a Jordanian job brokerage company that operates in Amman. (Id. ¶ 66.) Morning Star housed the Deceased Plaintiffs upon their arrival in Jordan and arranged for their transfer to Iraq. (Id. ¶ 59.) Morning Star then transferred the Deceased Plaintiffs to Daoud. (Id.) The men were held in Jordan by agents of Daoud, and were required to turn over their passports to Daoud. (Id. ¶¶ 67-68.) It was there that the Deceased Plaintiffs first discovered that they were actually being sent to work at Al Asad, north of Ramadi, Iraq. (Id. ¶ 70.) Several of the men phoned relatives in Nepal, expressing concern and fear about their futures. (Id. ¶¶ 70-71.) At least one of the Deceased Plaintiffs informed his family that he and the other men were being kept in a dark room and were unable to see. (Id. ¶ 72.) In Jordan, the men were also informed for the first time that they would be paid only three quarters of what they were initially promised. (Id. ¶ 73.) Although they wanted to return home to Nepal, rather than proceed into the Iraqi war zone, the men were compelled to proceed to Iraq because of the debts that their families had assumed to pay the brokers. (Id. ¶ 74.)

Daoud transported the Deceased Plaintiffs into Iraq on or about August 19, 2004, via an unprotected automobile caravan of seventeen vehicles. (Id. ¶ 75.) They traveled along the Amman-to-Baghdad highway, which was known at the time to be a [1017]*1017highly dangerous route. (Id.

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Related

Adhikari v. KBR, Inc.
S.D. Texas, 2020

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Bluebook (online)
95 F. Supp. 3d 1013, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37403, 2015 WL 1387941, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adhikari-v-daoud-partners-txsd-2015.