Supermarket operator Bashas’ won one judgement and lost one judgement in separate court rulings last week.
On July 28 Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Rayes refused a request from the United Food Commercial Workers Local 99 asking to throw out Bashas’ claims in a lawsuit the union intentionally interfered with its business, issued false claims and violated RICO extortion laws.
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Bashas’ had filed the lawsuit in response to what it said was a union-instigated publicity campaign accusing it of selling expired baby food.
The judge, however, did reject a Bashas’ claim of defamation and found that a coalition of union members and community activists called Hungry for Respect could not be sued because it is not a distinct legal entity. But Rayes said Bashas’ could amend and refile the complaint.
On July 29 a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judge reversed a lower court decision that had held Hispanic workers at Bashas’ Food City stores did not qualify as a class in a 2003 pay discrimination lawsuit.
The decision doesn’t address the lawsuit itself, which claims Bashas’ discriminated against Hispanic workers because they comprised about 75 percent of the workforce at its Food City stores, which had lower pay scales than its other stores, which had about 15 percent Hispanic workers.
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