DBCP: A Conspiracy of Fraud

On June 17, 2009, LA Superior Court Judge Victoria G. Chaney formally dismissed with prejudice the two remaining lawsuits against Dole by Nicaraguan plaintiffs. The Court issued written Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, which formalized the April 23 oral ruling and dismissal with prejudice of Mejia, et al. v. Dole Food Company, Inc., et al. and Rivera, et al. v. Dole Food Company, Inc., et al.

The ruling found "clear and convincing evidence" that the plaintiffs, and certain of their attorneys, fabricated their claims, engaged in a long-running conspiracy to commit a fraud on the court, used threats of violence to frighten witnesses and suppress the truth, and conspired with corrupt Nicaraguan judges to use a targeted Nicaragua statute to deprive Dole and the other companies of due process.

According to the Findings, "[t]he evidence of fraud and obstruction of justice by Plaintiffs and their counsel in this case and in other DBCP cases in and emanating from Nicaragua threatens the integrity of this Court and the integrity of other courts in which such cases are pending or are brought in the future."

In addition, the Court found that Tellez, et al. v. Dole Food Company, Inc., et al. was also "built on somebody's imagination, a case that was put together by smoke and mirrors." The Court continued with the following, "Viewing the testimony of the Tellez Plaintiffs with the benefit of the evidence of fraud collected in the Mejia and Rivera cases that is now before this Court, it is now clear that those Plaintiffs and the evidence presented were all a product of the fraudulent enterprise the Court has found pervasive in these cases. Had the Court had the benefit of the evidence of fraud it now has when it still had jurisdiction over the Tellez case, it would have terminated that litigation as it has in the Mejia and Rivera cases."

More information: http://www.dole.com/CompanyInfo/DBCP/DBCP_Index.jsp

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