Judge Calls Suit Over City’s Illegal Referrals Half-Baked

The legal prospects have dimmed for a couple who say the city of Santa Ana ruined their Bivona Baking Co. by referring workers who later were busted by immigration officers.

There’s no dispute that the city’s Economic Development Department, as part of a program to encourage business in impoverished areas, did supply Bivona with the names of workers who later turned out to be undocumented.

It’s also clear that Sharon and Bernie Galasso’s bakery collapsed in April 1996 after the INS hauled off much of the production staff in handcuffs.

But the Development Department says it was never its duty to screen for illegal immigrants. And an Orange County Superior Court judge agreed last week, tossing out the Galassos’ $2.74-million damage lawsuit against Santa Ana.

The Galassos have until July 10 to amend their suit. But Judge David H. Brickner made clear his opinion that the city had “no discernible mandatory duty to screen aliens for residency status” under its enterprise zone program.

Robert J. Wheeler, Santa Ana’s assistant city attorney, said screening the workers is a task for the businesses. “We as a city don’t have the means to check out these people’s working status or whether they are legally in the country. And we tell the businesses that,” Wheeler said.

Bivona lawyer Douglas M. DeGrave said he believes the suit can be reworded to hold the city responsible. Santa Ana may have had no absolute duty to screen the workers, but it took on that obligation by setting up the enterprise program using workers it provided, he said.

City officials “represented to Bivona Bakery that [workers] were screened and they were eligible to work,” DeGrave said.

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E. Scott Reckard covers workplace issues for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7407 and at scott.reckard@latimes.com