Families File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Dole - Conrad & Scherer

Families of 73 Victims of Colombian Paramilitaries File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Dole

LOS ANGELES, April 28 PRNewswire - A wrongful death complaint charges that 73 people were murdered by United Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries working as a "local police force" under hire by Dole Food Company in and around the American company's Colombian banana plantations. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of the heirs of the victims, was filed in Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles by Florida-based law firm, Conrad and Scherer LLP.

The lawsuit said that Dole hired AUC as security forces despite the fact that the group was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in September, 2001, and that the "extreme violent tactics" of the AUC were well known in Colombia since the paramilitary group's inception in 1997.

"We are bringing the lawsuit on behalf of these families because at the very onset of AUC's formation, Dole made arrangements with the leader of the terrorist organization, Carlos Castano, to provide major support of the AUC in return for 'security services,'" said Plaintiff Attorney Terry Collingsworth, managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Conrad and Scherer LLP. Also representing the plaintiffs are William R. Scherer Jr., founding Partner of Conrad and Scherer, and Los Angeles Litigator David Grunwald.

Collingsworth said the lawsuit charges that the AUC performed a number of violent services for Dole including driving small farmers from their land to allow Dole to plant bananas; driving leftist guerillas out of the banana zones, and in the process murdering thousands of innocent people, including relatives of the 73 plaintiffs; keeping unions out of Dole's banana plantations by murdering union leaders and using terror tactics to discourage workers from joining unions or from negotiating collective bargaining agreements with Dole.

The lawsuit contends information about past and ongoing relationships between U.S. multinationals and the AUC surfaced after Colombia began implementing a "Peace and Justice" process that allowed AUC leaders to disarm, surrender and receive minimal jail time if they confessed to all their terrorist crimes. These AUC leaders have consistently testified that Dole was among the major companies that provided substantial support for the AUC's violent activities.

In 2007, Dole's major competitor in the banana business, Chiquita Brands International, plead guilty to making substantial payments to the AUC terrorists from 1997-2004, when it was forced to stop after a board member self-reported to the U.S. Justice Department that the company was making illegal payments. As a result, Chiquita agreed to pay a fine of $25 million and sever its ties to the Colombian entities that were working directly with the AUC. Another civil lawsuit is currently pending against Chiquita in U.S. District Court in Miami brought on behalf of additional AUC victims, also represented by Conrad and Scherer.

Allegations in the new complaint against Dole center on the activities of a unit of the AUC formed by Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, alias "Jorge 40," whose men were based in Caesar, Magdalena and Guajira provinces, together referred to as the Northern Block.

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial on unspecified damages for wrongful death; survival; battery; assault; negligent hiring and supervision; intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Conrad & Scherer LLP is a well-known, established Florida trial law firm recognized for its aggressive, dedicated representations of both plaintiffs and defendants in the areas of commercial litigation, labor and employment law, personal injury, general liability, medical malpractice, health law, international law, and other areas of complex litigation. The firm represents clients at both the trial and appellate level in either state or federal court.

For more information on Conrad & Scherer LLP, go to www.conradscherer.com. The firm is located at 633 S. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33301, Ph: 954.462.5500. The firm also has offices in Washington, D.C. and Quito, Ecuador.