Lawyers on both sides accuse each other of fraud in Dole banana workers case
By APMonday, July 12, 2010
Both sides allege fraud in Dole case
LOS ANGELES — Lawyers for Dole Foods and six Nicaraguan plaintiffs suing them have accused each other of fraud in heated closing arguments as a judge ponders whether to dismiss a $2.3 million award to purported banana workers.
The Dole defense team noted Monday that plaintiffs’ lawyer Steve Condie never called the six plaintiffs to testify in the current hearing and has not even met them. Condie accused Dole of bribing whistleblower witnesses and conspiring to remove plaintiffs’ lawyers from the case. He acknowledged there was fraud but said his six clients were “clean.”
Judge Victoria Chaney threw out a similar case after testimony that plaintiffs pretended to be banana workers and faked lab tests to falsely show they were rendered sterile by pesticides on Dole banana farms.
