Case: 22-20112 Document: 00516573514 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/09/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED December 9, 2022 No. 22-20112 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Auner Alexander Garcia-Lopez, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Waste Management of Texas, Incorporated; Unnamed Company X, Defendants—Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas No. 4:21-cv-00944 Before Higginbotham, Duncan, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Plaintiff-Appellant Auner Garcia-Lopez (“Garcia-Lopez”) challenges the dismissal of his claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (“TVPA”) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). Garcia-Lopez contends that the district court * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Circuit Rule 47.5. Case: 22-20112 Document: 00516573514 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/09/2022 No. 22-20112 erred in dismissing his complaint. For the reasons explained below, we AFFIRM the district court’s dismissal. I Garcia-Lopez was an employee of Defendant-Appellee Waste Management of Texas (“Waste Management”) from 2011 to 2014. Garcia- Lopez is a citizen of El Salvador and was never authorized to work in the United States. In 2012, in coordination with Unnamed Company X (“Company X”), a staffing agency, and with Waste Management’s knowledge, Garcia-Lopez obtained false identification so that he could continue working for Waste Management. A 2014 criminal investigation into Waste Management’s practice of hiring illegal immigrants resulted in the convictions of several Waste Management managers. In connection with this investigation, Garcia- Lopez was terminated from his position with Waste Management. On March 23, 2021, Garcia-Lopez filed a complaint against Waste Management and Company X, asserting claims of involuntary servitude, trafficking, and forced labor under the TVPA. The complaint also included a RICO claim alleging that Waste Management and Company X formed a RICO enterprise. Garcia-Lopez alleged that the TVPA violations were the predicate acts for the alleged pattern of racketeering activity required for a RICO claim. Garcia-Lopez filed his First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on April 13, 2021. On June 14, 2021, Waste Management moved to dismiss the FAC under Rule 12(b)(6), and Garcia-Lopez responded by filing his Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”). On August 11, 2021, Waste Management moved to dismiss the SAC under Rule 12(b)(6). On January 27, 2022, the district court granted Waste 2 Case: 22-20112 Document: 00516573514 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/09/2022 No. 22-20112 Management’s motion to dismiss. The district court found that Garcia- Lopez did not adequately plead his forced labor claims, and having failed to state a TVPA claim, Garcia-Lopez lacked the requisite predicate criminal acts for his RICO claim. Garcia-Lopez’s unjust enrichment claim was also dismissed as time-barred. II An appellate court conducts a de novo review of a district court’s dismissal of a complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See Clyce v. Butler, 876 F.3d 145, 148 (5th Cir. 2017). “To survive a [Rule 12(b)(6)] motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals