Dole, Dow and Shell Win Dismissal of Suit

Dole Food Co., Dow Chemical Co. and Royal Dutch/Shell Group won the dismissal of a complaint brought by Nicaraguans seeking to enforce $489 million in judgments obtained in their country for injuries caused by pesticides.

U.S. District Judge Nora Manella in Los Angeles ruled that the judgment can’t be enforced against the companies because they weren’t properly named or legally notified in the Nicaraguan court action.

Suits on behalf of at least 16,000 Latin American workers have been filed in U.S. courts over the last two decades seeking damages from chemical companies that made the pesticide dibromochloropropane and fruit companies that used it.