Garden Grove Store Defies Court Order to Shut Down
After weeks of legal maneuvering, state labor officials Wednesday finally obtained a court order forcing the California Market chain to shut down its Garden Grove store, at least temporarily.
But stoking the fire in a long-running battle with the state, managers continued to operate the Asian supermarket as usual, even after a state official served the court order to managers and advised them to close the doors.
Exasperated, state officials late Wednesday vowed to obtain a contempt of court order.
“The state views it as very serious. You don’t flaunt a court order like that,” said Barbara Ferguson, a staff attorney for the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which has been pressing its case in court since April, alleging that some of California Market’s six stores are operating illegally without workers’ compensation insurance.
But California Market’s lawyer, former Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, said the business did not have to abide by the court order. The shutdown order, he said, is effective immediately, but only if the store does not currently have insurance. And Reiner, as he has all along, insisted that the supermarket is covered.
“All of this is just frustration on their part,” Reiner complained of the state’s latest court effort against California Market, one of the largest Asian supermarkets in the state.
Reiner added that he will be back in court today to show the judge the insurance policy and have the court order dissolved. Reiner said the policy is with Golden Eagle Insurance of San Diego and is effective through next May.
But on Wednesday morning in Orange County Superior Court, Commissioner Jane D. Myers granted a temporary restraining order. Reiner said that was because one of his associates did not have the complete policy in hand.
However, Ferguson said the supermarket on Garden Grove Boulevard was not covered because the policy was issued to Orange World Inc.--a corporate entity that Ferguson said was a phantom. Reiner disputed that.
California Market is owned by controversial businessman Richard Rhee, whose rags-to-riches story is well known in the Korean American community. But in the last couple of years, Rhee and his businesses have come under increased scrutiny from various government agencies.
The state labor division last year filed a civil lawsuit against Rhee seeking $2.2 million in back wages and penalties for alleged overtime, minimum wage and other labor violations. Rhee also faces multiple criminal counts of falsifying unemployment insurance reports and failing to pay unemployment insurance taxes totaling $237,594.
Rhee, 60, has declined to comment, but he has pleaded not guilty to the criminal complaint and has denied wrongdoing in the civil case.
Times correspondent Leslie Wright contributed to this story.
