Columbia Legal Services v. Stemilt Ag Services, LLC

I. Background

Columbia is a part of the Alliance for Equal Justice, a Washington State network of attorneys whose purpose, according to a declaration of a Columbia attorney, is to “provide and support civil legal aid to low income, vulnerable, and marginalized individuals and communities.” Columbia provides a range of legal assistance, including both impact litigation and legislative advocacy. In the class action that underlies this appeal, Columbia represented H- 2A temporary agricultural workers employed by Stemilt, a subsidiary of a large fruit grower in Washington State. Plaintiffs Gilberto Gomez Garcia and Jonathan Gomez Rivera initiated the class action in 2020, alleging that Stemilt engaged in forced labor and trafficking. Other farmworkers brought a separate lawsuit against Stemilt in 2022, and the suits were eventually consolidated. Columbia represented the plaintiffs in both suits, both before and after consolidation. This appeal arises from a discovery order entered in the initial class action. There were numerous discovery-related motions and orders during the course of that litigation, 6 COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES V. STEMILT AG SERVICES, LLC

including two protective…