Rechtszaak tegen Dole Food Company om vermeende betalingen aan Colombiaanse paramilitairen afgewezen met kracht van gewijsde
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Dole Food Company, Inc., heeft vandaag bekendgemaakt dat de hogere rechter in Los Angeles met kracht van gewijsde de rechtszaak Perez v. Dole Food Company, Inc. heeft afgewezen. Het proces is in 2009 aangespannen door 167 Colombiaanse aanklagers, die beweerden dat Dole gewelddadige paramilitairen (de Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia of AUC) had gefinancierd gedurende het binnenlandse conflict van Colombia.
Onlangs wees de rechtbank Dole tienduizenden dollars aan sancties toe wegens misstanden bij het vergaren van bewijs door de klagende partij en hun advocaat. De rechtbank verordonneerde een apart onderzoek naar betalingen aan getuigen en forensisch onderzoek naar de laptop en andere elektronica van advocaat van de klagende partij. In plaats van een verweer tegen Doles aantijging dat de advocaat van de aanklagers heeft betaald voor valse getuigenverklaringen en getuigenverklaringen op andere wijze ernstig heeft beïnvloed, koos de klagende partij ervoor afstand te doen van haar valse beschuldigingen en de zaak met kracht van gewijsde te laten vallen.
Case Against Dole Food Company Alleging Paramilitary Payments in Colombia Dismissed With Prejudice |
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WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Dole Food Company, Inc. today announced that the Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed with prejudice the case Perez v. Dole Food Company, Inc. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2009, had been brought by 167 Colombian plaintiffs claiming that Dole had funded violent paramilitaries (the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia or AUC) during Colombia’s civil conflict. Recently the Court awarded Dole tens of thousands of dollars in sanctions for the plaintiffs’ and their counsel’s “misuse of the discovery process” and separately ordered discovery into witness payment issues and a forensic investigation of plaintiffs’ counsel’s laptops and other electronic devices. Rather than defend themselves against Dole’s claims that plaintiffs’ counsel paid for fabricated testimony and engaged in other serious witness tampering, plaintiffs and their counsel chose instead to abandon their false allegations and dismiss the case with prejudice. Genevieve Kelly, Dole’s Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, stated: “This is a long overdue dismissal of a case that should never have been brought in the first place. These plaintiffs’ lawyers acted in bad faith throughout almost seven years of litigation in trying to extract undeserved payments from the Company and making false and inflammatory accusations.” Johan Linden, Dole’s President and Chief Operating Officer, also stated: “Dole did not fund the AUC, and all assertions to the contrary are completely outrageous. Dole fought back every step of the way and brought to light the abuse of legal process, which led to the plaintiffs abandoning their case with prejudice.” About Dole Food Company, Inc. Dole Food Company is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education and research. For more information, please visit www.dole.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160308006820/en/ Contacts Dole Food Company, Inc. |
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