Litigation Fraud Allegations Hotly Disputed in Dole Banana Case

After months of silence, plaintiffs lawyers are adamantly denying allegations that fraud underlies a raft of lawsuits accusing Dole Food Co. of poisoning workers with the pesticide DBCP on banana plantations in Central America and elsewhere. Allegations emerged after a Los Angeles judge issued a written order in June noting actions by lawyers in Nicaraguan DBCP cases. In interviews, attorneys pressing DBCP claims argued that the judge's conclusions were unfair and a distraction from genuine claims.