Contact: Crystal Rockwood

Rockwood Communications
Email: crystal@rockwoodcc.com
Cell: (562) 682-6482

The Facts About the Dole Food Banana Case

What: Closing Arguments in Tellez v. Dole Food Co., Inc.

When: Monday, July 12, 2010, 2 p.m.
Where: Los Angeles Superior Court
111 No. Hill Street, Los Angeles, Dept. 45
Who: Judge Victory Chaney, Presiding
Attorney for Plaintiffs: Steve Condie, California Sole Practitioner
Attorneys for Defendants: Scott Edelman of Gibson Dunn, et al.
Why: Attorneys will present their final arguments before Chaney’s anticipated ruling
Thursday, July 15 from the bench at 2 p.m.

Contact: Mark Sparks, Provost & Umphrey LLP, (409) 409-5100 or msparks@pulf.com
Steve Condie, rscondie@yahoo.com
Jason Glaser, laislafoundation@gmail.com

What is this Case About?

In the 1970s, a farm chemical called dibromochloropropane (DBCP) then used in the
U.S. and elsewhere around the world was found to cause sterility among men. It was
banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the late 1970s and Dow
stopped making the chemical.

Dole Food Company, knowing full well its danger, continued to use the pesticide widely
in Central America countries, including Nicaragua. As a result, thousands of banana
farm workers and others who lived near the farms became sterile. This was a tragedy,
particularly for those living in cultures in which the younger generation takes care of
their elders. Workers who had expected children and grandchildren as their safety net in
their old age were denied that privilege by Dole.

As a result, attorneys throughout the U.S. agreed to represent victims of Dole’s activities
and one of those cases was Tellez v. Dole.

What’s Happening Now?

At first, this case settled and an award was declared in favor of the banana workers.
After a four month trial the jury found in favor of six of the twelve plaintiffs in Tellez.
Some of those who claimed they suffered had in fact lied about their claims. Most did
not lie and had legitimate claims. Yet the case was thrown out on behalf of the lies of a
few.

To back up their claims of fraud, Dole constructed a tale about a mythical meeting. That
tale suggested that attorneys from the law firms representing the workers all agreed to
create false documents that would help them extort money from Dole. Using this tale,
Dole convinced the judge in one of the cases that those who blew the whistle on this
“mythical” meeting had to be protected, and Judge Victory Chaney ordered their
identities to be sealed. That meant that the attorneys protecting the legitimate banana
workers with real claims could no longer help them. That’s because the seal prevented
them from investigating the secret witnesses. Without being able to mount a proper
defense, the judge declared the plaintiffs attorneys guilty of fraud and criminal
conspiracy.

Enter Steve Condie, a solo attorney. He was disturbed by Chaney’s unprecedented

order sealing the case – in blatant disregard of well-established procedures in civil
litigation. Her order, he noted, tied the lawyers’ hands and trapped their clients – many
of whom had suffered real harm from Dole’s continued use of the pesticide in the 1970s
and even into the early 1980s. He appealed the ruling.

The July Hearings & Potential Decision

In oral arguments on July 9 in Judge Chaney’s courtroom, Condie showed evidence

that Dole’s key witnesses had actually lied about the ‘conspiracy’ meeting and they
received bribes to do so. The judge ordered the court closed to the general public when
videotaped evidence was shown.

Condie also argued that Mark Sparks, an attorney with Provost Umphrey LLP, a Texas
firm that is helping banana farm workers suffering from DBCP poisoning, was framed in
alleged fraud perpetrated by the defendants. Sparks and Provost Umphrey never had a
single Nicaraguan case before Judge Chaney, and were never part of any of the Tellez
or other Nicaraguan proceedings before Judge Chaney. Moreover, Judge Chaney—at
Dole’s request—held secret depositions and hearings and forbade Sparks and Provost
Umphrey from learning about them, let alone participate. In fact, Dole put its key, false
whistleblower witnesses up in luxury hotels, provided them with free meals and $1,500
a month – more than thirteen times the average Nicaraguan salary. He also showed
evidence that the attorneys who supposedly attended the mythical meeting to conduct
the fraud could not have actually been there. He based that evidence on passports and
expert witnesses who agreed—and in fact were undisputed by Dole.

What’s next?

Attorneys will present their final arguments before Chaney’s anticipated ruling on
Monday, July 12 and Judge Chaney will rule from the bench on Thursday, July 15 at 2
p.m. Depending on its outcome on Thursday, this case will affect many other cases and
the thousands of workers in Central America who continue to suffer.