In a 2007 jury trial before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victoria G. Chaney, Dole lost and was ordered to pay $1.58 million to four of the dozen Nicaraguans claiming injury in that case, several of whom are depicted in Gertten's film. Dole is appealing that case.
Then this spring, in a dramatic reversal of events, Chaney threw out two other lawsuits against Dole after being presented by Dole investigators with evidence gathered from Nicaraguans who said that they had been recruited and coached by lawyers, outfitted with false work histories and falsified medical lab reports, and promised payouts to pose as pesticide victims.
In her April 23, 2009 ruling on the case, Chaney said that "the actions of the attorneys in Nicaragua and some of the attorneys in the United States, specifically the Law Offices of Juan Dominguez, have perverted the court's ability to deliver justice to those parties that come before it."
"What has occurred here is not just a fraud on this court, but it is blatant extortion of the defendants," i.e. Dole, the judge said in her ruling. The "plaintiffs' fraud," the judge said, "permeates every aspect of this case."
Dominguez is facing contempt charges for his alleged participation in the fraud, and Judge Chaney has said she would refer the case to the state attorney general and the California Bar Assn. for possible disciplinary actions. Dominguez has denied any wrongdoing and declined further comment.
Gertten's film had been completed for months prior to this spring's developments and was accepted by the film festival for screening. Rebecca Yeldham, the festival's director, said that the movie had been removed from playing in the "competition" category, where it would be eligible for awards, and is now being presented as a "case study."
The festival screenings will be prefaced by a statement, written and delivered by festival organizers, that the organizers intend to place the controversy surrounding the film in context, Yeldham said. The screenings will be followed by a discussion of the issues the movie raises.
'Point of view'
"We feel that, responsibly, we need to be able to present that movie to our audiences," Yeldham said. The filmmaker, she said, had acted in "good faith" in making the movie.
"This is the filmmaker's point of view. It's not ours," Yeldham said. "We do not program only movies that reflect our subjectivity."
