Court dismisses retaliation claim against Evans Fruit, ex-foreman

SPOKANE – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington has entered a summary judgment in favor of Evans Fruit and one of its former foremen in a case of retaliation, according to the company's legal representation, Stokes Lawrence.

The court dismissed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s claims that Evans Fruit and the foreman had retaliated against 10 former employees who were assisting the EEOC’s investigation of allegations of sex harassment at Evans Fruit.

Evans Fruit is one of the country's largest apple producers. It has a large operation in the central Columbia Basin.

Just two weeks before the court’s summary judgment ruling, a nine-member jury unanimously rejected the EEOC’s allegations that the ranch foreman and several ranch hands employed by Evans Fruit had sexually harassed 14 female employees, Stokes Lawrence said. The Northwest Justice Project separately represented all 10 of the retaliation claimants and three of the sexual harassment claimants under federal and state statutory and common law claims.

Judge Lonny R. Suko of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington concluded that summary judgment in favor of Evans Fruit was required because the EEOC and Northwest Justice Project had failed to offer admissible evidence that any of the 10 claimants had been the subject of any threat or materially adverse action by anyone associated with Evans Fruit.