The owner of mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay where seven farmworkers were killed last year is being sued by the family of one of the slain workers and his brother, who survived the mass shooting.
Pedro Felix Romero Perez was shot five times but survived the Jan. 23, 2023 shooting. His older brother Jose died.
Attorneys for the family announced Thursday they have filed lawsuits against Xianmin Guan of California Terra Garden, Inc., alleging the farm "failed to take reasonable steps to protect their tenants from violent acts of third parties."
The lawsuits also allege that the shooter, Chunli Zhao, had a documented history of violence and that there had been another shooting on the property in July 2022.
Authorities said Zhao, who worked at the farms, killed four workers and injured a fifth at California Terra Garden and killed three more workers at a farm a few miles away.
California Terra Garden had no plan in place to protect workers from violence, according to a press release from attorneys with Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, which is representing the brothers' family.
"California Terra Gardens profits off the backs of migrant workers like Pedro and Jose, who persevered in the face of unimaginable working and living conditions," said attorney Nabilah Hossain. "Instead of protecting them like the essential workers, California Terra Gardens failed to safeguard them from numerous dangers.
Local
Perez and his attorneys held a press conference Friday. Through a translator, he said that he still recovering.
"I'm still in pain and I'm still trying to get better. This is why we're doing this," he said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Perez also spoke about his late brother.
“I’m always thinking about him. Always thinking about him and I just don’t understand how this happened,” he said.
“In California, landlords, all landlords have a duty to protect their tenants from the criminal acts of people who come on to the property. California Terra Gardens did nothing to protect Pedro or his brother or the other victims of that shooting,” Duffy J. Magilligan, the victim’s attorney.
NBC Bay Area reached out to the owners but they declined to comment or could not be reached.
Perez said he and José lived in shipping containers.
“They were made for shipping goods. But it had been converted into an empty space where they were forced to make their home," he said.
Attorney Joe Cotchett said those conditions led to the shooting.
“The shooter, when you find out the facts what caused him to do the shooting?’ What caused him to do the shooting was the environment he was living in," Cotchett said.
Attorneys said the case could branch out in many directions, a class action lawsuit involving the families of other victims as well as federal and state involvement in trying to improve living conditions for all farmworkers.
A local task force has already been formed to inspect the 120 farm businesses in San Mateo County.
