US judge throws out award against Dole Food Company

A United States judge has thrown out a $2.3 million award won by six Nicaraguans against Dole Food Company, ruling that the firm was the victim of fraud.



In 2007, a jury found in favour of the men who said they had been left sterile by exposure to pesticides while working on Dole banana plantations.



Judge Victoria Chaney said that fraud by the plaintiffs' lawyers had left Dole unable to defend itself.



She said one lawyer had recruited bogus banana workers for the case.

The original trial centred around the use of pesticides, namely dibromochloropropane or DCBP, which was banned in the US but was used on Dole plantations in Central America in the 1970s.



The initial verdict was hailed as a landmark decision that could possibly open the case for thousands of other workers to seek compensation.



BBC reports say the latest ruling now casts doubt over these cases.