Patrickson

We consider whether the federal courts have jurisdiction over a class action brought by Latin American banana workers against multinational fruit and chemical companies alleged to have exposed the workers to a toxic pesticide.

I

Dibromoehloropropane (DBCP) is a powerful pesticide. Tough on pests, it’s no friend to humans either. Absorbed by the skin or inhaled, it’s alleged to cause sterility, testicular atrophy, miscarriages, liver damage, cancer and other ailments that you wouldn’t wish on anyone. Originally manufactured by Dow Chemical and Shell Oil, the pesticide was banned from general use in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979. But the chemical companies continued to distribute it to fruit companies in developing nations.

In our case, banana workers from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama brought a class action against Dole Food Company, other major fruit companies and chemical companies (hereinafter “Dole”) for injuries allegedly sustained from exposure to DBCP in their home countries. This case represents one front in a broad litigation war between these plaintiffs’ lawyers and these defendants. In some of the cases, plaintiffs have…