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DBCP victims' lawyers found guilty of fraud! |
6 May 2009, Banana Link
“The court became deeply concerned that fraud may be occurring and that it has tentacles that extend to all of the Nicaraguan (pesticide) cases pending before it," wrote Los Angeles County Judge Victoria G. Chaney in court documents after a hearing in late March. On 23rd April, she threw out two cases against Dole Food Company and Dow Chemical brought by US-based lawyer Juan Dominguez and a Nicaraguan colleague finding the prosecution lawyers on behalf of Nicaraguan victims guilty of fraud, conspiracy and denial of due process to the defending companies."What occurred here is not just fraud on the court but blatant extortion of defendants," declared Superior Court Judge Victoria G. Chaney. "I cannot in good conscience allow this case to continue."
Nevertheless, if good conscience and decent lawyers win the day, the
pesticide manufacturers and fruit companies concerned in the use of a
toxic chemical that affected tens of thousand of former banana workers
in Latin America, Africa and the Philippines are unlikely to avoid
having to pay out major compensation claims to thousands of plaintiffs
from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras and the Ivory Coast also
pending in Chaney's court.
Sources: The National Law Journal, 24/03; AP and Reuters, 21/04; The American Lawyer, 27/04.
To read more about the history of this case please visit our Pesticide News Archive .
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