St. Thomas Law graduate, Victoria Mesa-Estrada, recently won a multi-million dollar verdict on behalf of five female migrant farmworkers. The five women accused the owners of Moreno Farms, located in Felda, Florida, of rape and sexual harassment from incidents that occurred between 2011 and 2012.
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Attorney Victoria Mesa ’08 (left) with her clients Ligia Martinez and Sandra Lopez,
two former Moreno Farms workers who sued over rape and sexual harassment.
PHOTO CREDIT- TIM ELFRINK |
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| Victoria Mesa-Estrada ’08 |
Mesa, a 2008 graduate, revived a case that had been dropped by prosecutors in Hendry County, Florida, who had determined that there was insufficient evidence to proceed. She convinced the EEOC to file a federal complaint against the farm and the case was subsequently argued before a federal jury. The women finally received justice when they were awarded a $17.42 million judgement: $2,425,000 in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. The amount is reportedly one of the largest verdicts ever for mistreatment of farm workers.
Ms. Mesa is the co-founder of Mesa & Coe Law, P.A., a small civil practice law firm serving the south Florida community.
She was previously a staff attorney for the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project and represented migrant, seasonal and guest workers in complex federal class action and collective action cases in the areas of employment law, litigating claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act, and Title VII/EEOC among others. She states that she is a firm believer that every person – no matter their economic status – should have access to an attorney at an affordable fee and receive the best quality of work. She said that she continues to live by this mission and will continue to assist and support her community in any way to improve lives.
