Thread: Mohawk update

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Mohawk suit sent back to 11th Circuit court of Appeals


06/05/06
Chris Marr, Rome News-Tribune



A lawsuit against Mohawk Industries will return to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals after two rulings today by the U.S. Supreme Court that limit the use of civil anti-racketeering laws.

In the Mohawk case, a group of workers has sued the Calhoun-based carpet manufacturer under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, accusing the company of suppressing worker wages by deliberately hiring illegal immigrants.

Attorneys for Mohawk have denied the accusations and asked that the case be dismissed without a full trial, arguing in part that the racketeering laws cannot be used in this situation.

The federal court in Rome denied the motion to dismiss, and the Court of Appeals upheld its ruling, prompting Mohawk’s appeal to the Supreme Court.

Today’s Supreme Court rulings tackled the increased use of civil provisions of the racketeering law that was designed to root out organized crime from legitimate businesses. In a case separate from Mohawk’s, the court reversed an appeals court decision that had allowed Ideal Steel Supply Corp. of New York to sue its chief competitor, National Steel Supply Inc., owned by Joseph and Vincent Anza.

Ideal Steel alleged that National Steel defrauded New York state authorities by offering lower prices, minus taxes, to customers who paid in cash. But the Supreme Court said the direct victim of the fraud was not Ideal Steel, but the state of New York.

Carter Phillips, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing Mohawk in its case, said the ruling in the Ideal Steel case should influence the appeals court to rule in Mohawk’s favor and disallow the racketeering lawsuit against the company. “I think the logic of the two cases is quite strong,” he said.

Matthew Thames, a Dalton attorney representing the plaintiffs, disagreed, saying he expects the lawsuit to move ahead after the appeals court reconsiders it. “It doesn’t appear to me that it will change anything,” he said about the Supreme Court’s order. “It’s just another court to go through.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

I think that in the meantime, Mohawk continues to employ illegals using the "they gave us documents" ruse.