On May 20 Creative Source Group, a graphic design firm previously contracted by Agriprocessors, brought suit against the meatpacking company in federal court for nearly $300,000 in unpaid invoices. The complaint filed by Creative Source Group was answered on June 16 by attorneys Jay Eaton and Patrick White of the Nyemaster, Goode, West, Hansell & O’Brien law firm. The same attorneys filed a motion to withdraw as counsel for Agriprocessors on Sept. 11. The motion was granted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Stuart Scoles on Sept. 22.

“The client has stopped paying counsel for its services and, as such, has failed to substantially fulfill its obligations to counsel,” wrote the Nyemaster Goode attorneys in their motion with the court. “Counsel has given reasonable warning to the client that counsel will withdraw unless the client fulfills its obligations. The client has continued to fail to fulfill its obligations.”

Agriprocessors has been given 21 days to obtain substitute counsel. To date no substitute counsel has filed on behalf of Agriprocessors with the court.

“Agriprocessors is advised that if it fails to obtain substitute counsel by Oct. 13, 2008, then it will be in default and judgement may enter against it,” Scoles wrote in his order.

Although attorneys for the Creative Source Group argued against the motion to withdrawal, they were ultimately unsuccessful in convincing the judge that the change would cause a severe time delay in the case. The case currently has a trail ready date of May 18, 2009.

The Nyemaster Goode law firm was also listed as counsel for Agriprocessors and three members of plant management in a wrongful termination and slander lawsuit brought by former plant supervisor Orlando Rodriguez Perez. Thomas Cunningham, an attorney with Nyemaster Goode, notified the court on Sept. 24 of the firm’s non-representation, citing the filing in the Creative Source Group vs. Agriprocessors case.

The Rodriquez Perez suit names the company as well as Heshy Rubashkin, vice president of operations, marketing and sales, Gary Norris, operations manager and Neal Rawley, warehouse and shipping manager. The three individuals as well as Chaim Abrahams, a representative for Agriprocessors, were sent a letter by Jay Eaton of the Nyemaster Goode law firm in mid-September.

“This letter is to notify you that our firm will not be representing any of you or filing an appearance on your behalf in this action,” wrote Eaton. “The date by which each defendant must answer or file a pre-answer motion is September 29, 2008. Accordingly, we urge you to immediately retain counsel to defend you in this action. Failure to file an answer or pre-answer motion can result in a default judgment filed against you.”

On Sept. 29, attorneys with the Des Moines-based Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn law firm notified the court that they would be representing the defendants and also filed an extension on the previous deadline. Judge Scoles granted their request Tuesday and set a new answer date of Oct. 29.

Agriprocessors runs a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville and was the nation’s largest supplier of kosher meat prior to a massive May 12 federal immigration raid. Since that time the company has come under scrutiny on a wide variety of issues including possible safety violations, humane slaughtering violations, child labor law violations and wage discrepancies.

“In order to convict, the state is going to have to prove that the defendants willfully violated the child labor laws,” said Chaim Abrahams. “That means that the state, as to every one of the alleged violations, is going to have to prove that each defendant know that the employee was underage on the day in question, and knew that it was against the law for the person to be employed in the manner alleged. The state will not be able to carry this burden of proof. Agriprocessors acted in good faith on the child labor issue.”

Abrahams, who is a member of management at Agriprocessors in Postville, was not among the five individuals named in the child labor law violations case filed this morning in Allamakee County. Named along with the company as a whole were Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, Sholom M. Rubashkin, Elisabeth Billmeyer, Laura Althouse and Karina Freund. They all face more than 9,000 counts of violating the state’s child labor laws.

“Agriprocessors vehemently denies these allegations and looks forward to trial so that it may put to rest the insidious notion that it knowingly employed underage workers,” Abrahams said.

According to Abrahams, the minors caught working at the plant during the May 12 immigration raid — as well as any other who claim to have been employed by Agriprocessors — lied about their age to gain employment.

“At the time of hiring, all of the minors, like all job applicants, presented and signed documents stating that they were over 18,” he said. “They know that, if they told the truth about their age, they would not be hired. In addition, the company’s human resources employees, if they suspected that an applicant was underage, routinely and regularly rejected the application until the applicant could produce a birth certificate showing their true age.”

Abrahams said that when the company learned a minor might be on the payroll, it investigated and, if the allegations were found to be true, terminated the employee immediately.

The charges faced by Agriprocessors are simple misdemeanors, each punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of $65 to $625.

The investigation, led by the Iowa Division of Labor and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, has continued in the wake of 57 cases of potential child labor law violations being passed to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.

“Agents from the [DCI] came today to the Agriprocessors’ plant in Postville with a search warrant, took some photographs and obtained samples of certain knives and cutting tools used by workers in the production process,” said Chaim Abrahams, a spokesman for Agriprocessors. “As it has done in the past, the company cooperated completely. No one was arrested, and there was no interference with production.”

Agriprocessors, the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, was the location of one of the largest single-site immigration raids in American history on May 12. To date no members of upper management have faced charges in connection with the federal immigration raid. Two middle-management supervisors were charged with encouraging illegal immigration and have pleaded guilty in federal court. A third supervisor remains on the run.

Eyewitnesses in Postville report DCI agents left the plant with boxes and what was believed to be office electronics. The Attorney General’s Office would not confirm these reports.

The prepared statement from the Attorney General’s Office:

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office previously has acknowledged that at the request of the Allamakee County Attorney the AG’s Office is serving in the role of prosecutor in the enforcement of state laws in connection with investigations arising out of the May 12 activities at the Agriprocessors Postville facility. We are assisting the DCI and the Iowa State Division of Labor, which are the investigating agencies. That investigation is not yet complete.

In connection with that investigation, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and assisting agencies executed a search warrant Friday at the Agriprocessors facility in Postville. No one was arrested.

The execution of a search warrant is not a finding of guilt. We note as usual that any potential criminal charge is merely an accusation and any potential defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

“As the Attorney General’s press release stated, no charges have been filed and the company, like everyone else in America, is to be ‘presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty,’” said Abrahams.