KEO RATHA V. PHATTHANA SEAFOOD CO., LTD., No. 18-55041 (9th Cir. 2022)
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Plaintiffs alleged that they were trafficked into Thailand and subjected to forced labor at seafood processing factories. Plaintiffs allege that Thai companies perpetrated these offenses and that companies present in the United States knowingly benefitted from their forced labor. Plaintiffs brought their claims under 18 U.S.C. Section 1595, the civil remedy provision of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (“TVPA”).
The Ninth Circuit filed (1) an order amending its opinion and denying on behalf of the court a petition for rehearing en banc; and (2) an amended opinion affirming the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Defendants.
The court held that Plaintiffs did not present a triable issue. The court reasoned that 18 U.S.C. Section 1596 authorizes extraterritorial application of the TVPRA for specific criminal trafficking offenses. The court assumed without deciding that Section 1595 permits a private cause of action for extraterritorial violations of the substantive provisions listed in Section 1596 so long as the section's other requirements are satisfied.
As to the two foreign Defendants, the court held that Plaintiffs’ claims failed because the company was not “present in the United States” at any time relevant to this lawsuit as Section 1596 requires. The court rejected Plaintiffs’ agency relationship or joint venture argument.
As to the other Defendants, the court held that Plaintiffs failed to produce evidence establishing a triable issue of Defendants’ liability under Section 1595 on a theory that they knowingly benefitted from alleged human trafficking and forced labor abuses, financially and by accessing a steady stream of imported seafood.
Court Description: Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. The panel filed (1) an order amending its opinion and denying on behalf of the court a petition for rehearing en banc; and (2) an amended opinion affirming the district court’s summary judgment in favor of defendants in an action brought under the civil remedy provision of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1595, by Cambodian villagers who alleged that they were trafficked into Thailand and subjected to forced labor at seafood processing factories. Assuming without deciding that § 1595 may apply extraterritorially, the panel held that plaintiffs did not present a triable issue on the requirements for such application or on the merits of their claims. 18 U.S.C. § 1596 authorizes extraterritorial application of the TVPRA for specific criminal trafficking offenses. The panel assumed without deciding that § 1595 permits a private cause of action for extraterritorial violations of the substantive provisions listed in § 1596 so long as § 1596’s other requirements are satisfied. As to two foreign company defendants, the panel held that plaintiffs’ claims against Phatthana Seafood Co. Ltd. failed because Phatthana was not “present in the United States” at any time relevant to this lawsuit as § 1596 requires. Because the success of plaintiffs’ claims against RATHA V. PHATTHANA SEAFOOD 3 S.S. Frozen Food Co. Ltd. depended on the success of their claims against Phatthana, their claims against S.S. Frozen also failed. The panel held that even assuming § 1596 requires foreign companies to possess nothing more than minimum contacts with the United States, plaintiffs did not establish that Phatthana or S.S. Frozen had sufficient contacts with the United States to meet that standard. The panel held that the record did not support either specific or general jurisdiction as a basis for finding minimum contacts. The panel rejected plaintiffs’ argument that Phatthana and S.S. Frozen were present in the United States through an agency relationship or joint venture with defendant Rubicon Resources LLC, a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in California. As to defendants Rubicon and Wales and Co. Universe Ltd., a Thai company registered to conduct business in California, the panel held that plaintiffs failed to produce evidence establishing a triable issue of defendants’ liability under § 1595 on a theory that they knowingly benefitted from Phatthana’s alleged human trafficking and forced labor abuses, financially and by accessing a steady stream of imported seafood. The panel held that no reasonable jury could infer from the evidence that Rubicon benefitted, financially or otherwise, from Phatthana’s alleged TVPRA violations. The panel held that plaintiffs did not raise a triable issue on whether Wales knew or should have known that Phatthana was engaged in alleged violations of the TVPRA when it received a benefit from the alleged venture. The panel further held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying plaintiffs’ motion for an extension of time to respond to defendants’ motions for summary judgment. 4 RATHA V. PHATTHANA SEAFOOD
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on February 25, 2022.
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