Martinez-Gonzalez v. Elkhorn Packing Co.

25 F.4th 613 (2022)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Martinez-Gonzalez v. Elkhorn Packing Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
25 F.4th 613 (2022)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Play video

Facts

Elkhorn Packing Company, LLC (Elkhorn) (defendant) hired Dario Martinez-Gonzalez (plaintiff), a Mexican citizen and resident, to harvest lettuce in California. Martinez-Gonzalez was the primary breadwinner for his extended family. Elkhorn paid approximately five times what Martinez-Gonzalez typically earned in Mexico, provided all transportation to and from the United States, sponsored Martinez-Gonzalez’s worker visa, and provided room and board during the harvest season. Several days after Martinez-Gonzalez arrived in California and began working, Elkhorn hosted a mass employee orientation in the parking lot of the hotel in which the migrant workers were housed. The orientation occurred at the end of the workday, and the workers were instructed to line up and sign a stack of employment documents, including an arbitration agreement, as directed by an Elkhorn supervisor. The paperwork was in Spanish, the workers’ native language. Without explaining or giving the workers a chance to read the paperwork, the Elkhorn supervisors directed the workers where to sign. The workers were not given copies of the signed paperwork. Martinez-Gonzalez voluntarily quit partway through the harvest season. Martinez-Gonzalez subsequently sued Elkhorn, alleging various labor-law violations. Elkhorn moved to compel arbitration under the arbitration agreement. The district court held that the arbitration agreement was unenforceable because it was the product of both economic duress and undue influence. Elkhorn appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Bumatay, J.)

Dissent (Rawlinson, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership