After law school, Aaron was a Skadden Fellow in the Employment Law Unit of the Legal Aid Society, where he represented Chinese and other immigrants in a variety of employment and labor disputes. From 2013 to 2014, Aaron served as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In 2021, the Human Trafficking Legal Center honored Aaron as the “Litigator of the Year” for obtaining a $5.9 million judgment on behalf of Chinese construction workers trafficked to Saipan.
Litigation
Forced Labor Litigation for Chinese H1B Worker (Weiting Lyu v. Alfa Chemistry, Inc., et al., No. 23-cv-7951 (E.D.N.Y.)): Aaron and the law firm Kessler Matura P.C. filed a complaint on behalf of a Chinese immigrant female, which alleges forced labor, discrimination, and retaliation against the Chinese individuals and entities who employed her in eastern Long Island. The complaint alleges that the employer routinely defrauded its customers by claiming the chemicals that it sold were sourced in the U.S., but they were actually from China. The complaint further describes the series of coercive tactics used to compel the plaintiff and her Chinese female coworkers to continue working for the company, including a liquidated damages clause requiring that she pay the company $48,000 if she did not work there for four years.
New Mexico Forced Labor Cannabis Litigation (Jihua Kan, et al. v. Irving Rea Lin, et al.): Aaron and New Mexico attorney Ray Vargas filed a lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico alleging claims of forced labor and human trafficking on behalf of 15 Chinese immigrants who were lured to Farmington, New Mexico under false pretenses in 2020, where they were forced to work 14 hours per day trimming marijuana at the Travel Inn motel, forbidden from leaving, and never paid a penny for their work. The complaint, filed on September 27, 2023, alleges that the marijuana was being grown illegally on the nearby Navajo reservation. The case has been covered by the Associated Press and Law360.
USVI Disaster Recovery Forced Labor Litigation (Cotto, et al. v. AECOM, et al., ST-2022-CV-00073): Aaron, along with Kessler Matura and Flag Law VI, represented eight workers in a forced labor suit under the USVI human trafficking statute that alleges they were brought to the USVI to do hurricane recovery work pursuant to a FEMA-funded program, but then worked long hours under bad conditions and were not paid for their labor. The case has been covered by the St. Thomas Source and the The New Yorker magazine.
Prisoner Rights Litigation (Manila v. Guerrero, et al., No. 18-cv-0003 (D. N. Mar. I.)): Aaron and attorney Bruce Berline obtained a settlement on behalf of former CNMI Department of Corrections inmate, Reynaldo Manila, in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that the directors of the DOC acted with deliberate indifference towards his need for immediate retinal surgery to avoid going completely blind in one eye. The settlement was covered by the Marianas Variety.
Amicus Brief for U.S. Congress in Supply Chain Forced Labor Litigation (Ratha v. Rubicon Resources, LLC, No. 23-55299 (9th Cir.)): Aaron and the Human Trafficking Legal Center filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit on behalf of six members of Congress in the Ratha case. The matter involves Cambodian workers subjected to forced labor in a Thai shrimp factory. The defendant imported the shrimp, which it knew was made with forced labor, and tried to sell it to Walmart. Because Walmart refused, the Ninth Circuit said that the importer could not be held civilly liable under the TVPRA. Congress clarified the TVPRA to make clear that the Ninth Circuit misinterpreted the statute, but the district court still refused to hold the importer liable under the clarified statute. Through our brief, Congress informed the Ninth Circuit that its reading of the statute was incorrect and the district court’s ruling must be overruled. The brief is available here.
Saipan Forced Labor Litigation (Wang, et al. v. Gold Mantis, et al., 18-Civ-0030 (D. N. Mar. I.)): Aaron was lead counsel in an action in the federal district court in Saipan alleging forced labor and human trafficking violations by the Imperial Pacific casino and the subsidiaries of two Chinese construction firms. The case has been covered by numerous media outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, Financial Times, The Telegraph, NPR, Forbes, and Law360. He and his co-counsel received a $40,000 grant from the Impact Fund to pursue the litigation. In 2020, the plaintiffs reached settlements with Gold Mantis and MCC. As of October, 2022, the case was resolved and over $6.9 million had been recovered on behalf of the 7 clients.
Racial Discrimination Litigation (Joshua Gray v. Imperial Pacific International (CNMI), LLC, 19-cv-0008 (D. N. Mar. I.)): Aaron and his co-counsel Bruce Berline obtained a judgment for over $5.6 million on behalf of their African-American client who was demoted, retaliated against, and ultimately fired by his employer. The Marianas Variety published a story about the decision.
Wrongful Death Litigation (Cepeda v. Jeju Air, 21-cv-0018 (D. N. Mar. I.)): Aaron served as co-counsel, Bruce Berline, in a federal court action in Saipan on behalf of Mari Cepeda, who alleged that her mother was denied timely, potentially life-saving medical treatment in Korea because Jeju Air wrongfully refused to permit her to board a flight to Korea with her FAA-approved portable oxygen concentrator. A favorable settlement was obtained on behalf of the client.
East Market Wage and Hour Trial (Chen, et al. v. East Market Restaurant, et al., 13-Civ-3902 (S.D.N.Y.)): Aaron co-counseled with the Urban Justice Center to successfully represent Chinese restaurant workers in a federal court trial in 2016, obtaining a $521,000 judgment.
Altour Black Car Drivers: After the New York State Department of Labor determined that a group of workers were entitled to misappropriated gratuities and other monies, Aaron represented them in collecting those funds, as discussed in this Politico article.
Terrorist Financing Litigation (Wultz, et al. v. Bank of China, 11-Civ-1266 (S.D.N.Y.)): Aaron assisted plaintiffs’ counsel, Boies Schiller, in litigating this case on behalf of the family of the victim of a terrorist attack by a Palestinian group allegedly financed by the Bank of China. The case involved critical documents in China, deposing Chinese defendants and witnesses, and issues of Chinese law.
Babi Nails Litigation and Trial (Song, et al v. 47 Old Country, Inc., et al., 09-Civ-5566 (E.D.N.Y.)): Aaron and The Legal Aid Society obtained a $474,000 court award for six Chinese nail salon workers subjected to wage theft and retaliation by their employers after a week-long federal court jury trial. The result was discussed in the New York Times article on labor conditions in New York's nail salon industry.
Related Media
“Chinese immigrant workers sue over forced labor at illegal marijuana operation on Navajo land,” Associated Press, September 27, 2023.
“Seven workers settle with IPI,” Saipan Tribune, November 3, 2022.
“Motion to dismiss wrongful death claims vs Jeju Air denied,” Saipan Tribune, October 20, 2021.
Christian Shepherd, “Overseas Chinese workers sue Saipan casino for ‘forced labour,’” Financial Times, March 15, 2019.
Farah Master, “Hong Kong owner of Pacific island casino sued over forced labour, trafficking claims,” Reuters, March 15, 2019.
Sarah Maslin Nir, “Saying Court Win Helps, Nail Salon Workers Rally,” New York Times, April 10, 2012.