Content provided in partnership with
WOMAN FORCED INTO SLAVERY WINS JURY VERDICT AGAINST CALIFORNIA COUPLE
Law Reporter, Nov 2004 by Santoro, Elizabeth
Ruiz v. Jackson, Cal., Los Angeles County Super. Ct., No. SC076090, Aug. 26, 2004.
Although many Americans think of slavery as a shameful chapter in our history that has long been closed, a recent jury trial provides one example of how thousands of immigrants in this country continue to be exploited and forced into involuntary servitude.
Nena Ruiz came to the United States from the Philippines at age 58. Nena, who had been a schoolteacher, entered this country on a special work visa at the request of James and Elizabeth Jackson, ostensibly to work as a traveling companion and caretaker for Elizabeth Jackson's mother. However, when Nena arrived in California, speaking very little English, the Jacksons almost immediately transferred her to their own home, where they exploited her vulnerability to make her a domestic slave.
- Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »
The Jacksons allegedly took her passport and threatened to report her to immigration authorities. Nena says she received only about $300 for a year of working up to 18 hours per day. Elizabeth Jackson allegedly hit her and frequently pulled her hair. A neighbor finally reported to the police that Elizabeth Jackson was hitting Nena with a water bottle. Although Nena was too timid to tell the police about her plight, the incident emboldened her to run away the next day.
Nena soon found help from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), a group that directs people like Nena to community services that can help them break out of exploitative circumstances.
Through CAST, she found attorney Delia Bahan of Pasadena, California, who is well known for her laborrelations work for plaintiffs. With the help of Bahan and ATLA member Dan L. Stormer, assisted by Puja Batra and Randy Renick-all of Pasadena-Nena sued the Jacksons, claiming involuntary servitude, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, negligence, fraud, and violations of California wage and hour laws, as well as assault and battery.
At trial, Nena testified that she had to prepare hot food for the Jacksons' dogs while she was forced to eat leftovers and give the dogs daily vitamins even though she had no doctor. She also said she had to sleep in a dog bed in the living room and change her clothes and store her personal effects in a tiny laundry room.
"Our expert on slavery listed the indicia of slavery and the reasons people don't report it," Stornier said of slavery expert Joy Zarembka of Washington, D.C. "It applied directly" to Nena.
The jury awarded her $825,000, including $551,000 in compensatory damages and $275,000 in punitive damages. The total award was brought to about $1.65 million because California law provides for double damages where an employer has fraudulently induced an employee to change residence.
Reportedly, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Jacksons for criminal civil rights violations; James Jackson has been suspended from his job as a vice president of legal affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment; and the Jacksons have filed for bankruptcy.
Since the verdict, Nena has reclaimed her life, speaking out about contemporary slavery and earning certification as a nursing assistant. She is seeking permanent residence in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Stornier says, reports that about 50,000 women and children a year are trafficked into the United States to work under inhumane conditions-and that may be a conservative estimate.
He says Nena's case stands out as a rewarding one: "My practice is civil rights, and I've been doing it for about 30 years. It is always gratifying when you are able to obtain justice for a person who has been so horribly mistreated."
-ELIZABETH SANTORO
Copyright Association of Trial Lawyers of America Nov 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: News
Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »