Judge Says Dole Case Is "Bananas!"

By Kevin Fayle on June 17, 2009 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The movie "Bananas!" purports to be an intense look at the struggles of Nicaraguan farmers to obtain compensation for sterility resulting of the use of pesticides on banana plantation.

If the Dole Food Co. and a California Supreme Court Judge are right, however, the movie might have to change its ending.
Judge Victoria Chaney issued a 60-page set of findings of fact and conclusions of law today that detailed a massive fraud on the part of US and Nicaraguan attorneys who sued the food giant, including Los Angeles legal personality Juan Dominguez.

According to the judge, "most of the plaintiffs never worked on Dole-affiilated banana farms," and none of them ever spread the pesticide that the lawsuit blames for their sterility.

Judge Chaney ordered the attorneys to compensate Dole for its legal fees in the case, and set a hearing date of July 24 to determine whether Dominguez should be held in contempt of court. So far the amount of the fees is unknown.

See Also:
Dole Gets Legal Fees as Calif. Judge Details Massive Attorney Fraud on Court (ABA Journal)
Bananas over "Bananas!": The Dole Case Hits the Silver Screen (WSJ Law Blog)