However, the fast-track law made the prospect of a Nicaraguan trial so unappealing to multinational corporations that they began agreeing to have such cases heard in U.S. courts.
That, of course, is no guarantee of success.
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Pesticide cases could be upended
An L.A. judge's dismissal of Nicaraguan banana workers' litigation against Dole puts numerous related cases in jeopardy.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, July 19, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 3 inches; 119 words Type of Material: Correction
Pesticide cases: A July 12 article in Section A described the unraveling of lawsuits brought against U.S. corporations by Nicaraguan men alleging chemical exposure left them sterile. The article said that a ruling by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge finding fraud in the cases was having an effect on suits pending elsewhere in the country, including some in Florida. The article said the judge's ruling "implicates Provost and Umphrey, a Texas law firm representing plaintiffs in the Florida case along with Podhurst Orseck, in the alleged fraud." Podhurst Orseck, a firm based in Miami, is representing plaintiffs in Florida along with the Texas firm. The judge's ruling did not implicate Podhurst Orseck along with Provost and Umphrey.
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In addition to the cases from Nicaragua, a DBCP lawsuit brought before Chaney by nearly 700 men from Ivory Coast is also unraveling.
In April, a man claiming to represent workers there contacted Dole, offering information about the plaintiffs' lawyer in that case, Raphael Metzger.
"We are ready to collaborate with any initiative to expose and prosecute corrupt lawyers," Jean Pierre Nassoue wrote in an e-mail to a Dole executive.
Attorneys for Dole asked Chaney for permission to look into Nassoue's claims and bring him to the U.S. to testify. Metzger objected, saying Nassoue was a dangerous, disgruntled former legal assistant who was trying to blackmail him for more money.
In June, Metzger indicated that he would like to withdraw as the plaintiffs' counsel on the case, telling the court that the allegations by Nassoue makes it impossible for his firm to effectively represent them.
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victoria.kim@latimes.com
alan.zarembo@latimes.com
