Posted on: Thursday, May 31, 2001

Appeals panel routes trial against Dole to state court

Bloomberg News Service

A class-action lawsuit claiming Dole Food Co.'s banana workers in Latin America were injured by a toxic pesticide must be argued in a Hawai'i state court, a federal appeals panel ruled.

Dole had sought to argue the case in federal court. Plaintiffs in class actions often file in state court, where juries are perceived to be more sympathetic and laws often allow for larger monetary awards. Dole has significant operations in Hawai'i.

Dole claimed that the federal court had authority to hear the case because it may involve foreign relations. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying thousands of plaintiffs from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama are simply pursuing negligence, conspiracy and strict liability claims under Hawai'i law.

The lawsuit involves the use of Dibromochloropropane, or DBCP, which was banned in the United States in 1979.

The suit also named the Pineapple Growers Association of Hawai'i, Del Monte Foods Co., Chiquita Brands International Inc., Dow Chemical Co. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.'s Shell Oil and Dow Chemical as defendants.