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.How bad does the U.S. NEED tort reform?
Well, our “litigious society” has gotten so litigious that a California law firm had taken Dole Foods to court on behalf of Nicaraguan farm workers, none of whom had any standing in, nor had even set foot in America!
The lawsuit was over the charge that Dole Foods had used the pesticide DBCP (Dibromochloropropane) in the 1970s, with a group of farm workers claiming that the DBCP left them sterile.
A California jury found that Dole Foods had used DBCP and was liable and subsequently awarded the workers $2.5 MILLION in punitive damages.
Thankfully, for the USA, on March 7, 2008 Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Victoria Chaney (pictured above) overturned that verdict and threw out the entire punitive award!
The war on out-of-control Civil Litigants has been in full throttle over the past five years, as it’s been a passion of the Bush administration’s.
This March has been an especially difficult month for the tort bar with two of its stars (Richard (Dickie) Scruggs and Mel Weiss both accepting felony plea deals.
Now this California ruling is threatening to halt the practice of drumming up lawsuits abroad to be tried within the United States.
DBCP, used to kill microscopic worms that feed off the roots of banana plants, was not only approved by Nicaragua at the time, but also the U.S., Australia, Europe and South America.
Moreover, there is still NO scientific evidence that links exposure to DBCP to sterility or ANY other human health problems.
Judge Chaney noted, “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the evidence compels a verdict for the defendants as a matter of law.”
Can you say “Junk science based nuisance suit?”
2 comments:
No help or answers pertaining to the continued escalation of DBCP in Fresno, CA. A pesticide that was banned in 1977, has a short life-span, yet continues to increase. How is that possible.
Perhaps this is what is being used behind the felony altering of sewer and water lines throughout Fresno. Despite a trail of illness, lung/respiratory, asthma, infections, amputation, death, I can get no answers as to what is being used for the eradication of sewer rats, sewer roaches or mosquito infestations that follow this barbaric operation. Instead, the effort continues being put into covering this up - felony altering of the city sewer and water lines.
I have seen some online resources that indicate investigations and/or lawsuits regarding DBCP. If you follow the citywide "upgrade" you will find the Dept. of Public Works conspiring with a former appraiser for the City of Fresno in overriding the Planning Dept. in unauthorized alterations and major construction, without permits or inspection - followed discharging of disease-carrying sewage, mosquito infestations and chemicals that appear to be extremely dangerous.
I don't know whether DBCP was/is being used as a pesticide in the Fresno sewer system now, Marla, although it's most common use had been as a fumigant - it was injected into soil to control parasitic thread-like worms called nematodes that damage the roots of crops and other plants.
There have been a number of successful litigations WITHIN the USA over DBCP. "Workers at the Dow Chemical plant producing DBCP were made sterile by exposure to DBCP. These male reproductive effects were consistent with animal experiments showing that DBCP sterilizes rabbits. The workers successfully sued the company, and most domestic uses of the chemical were banned in 1977. Amid growing concerns over DBCP's effects on male workers, Dow ceased production and reclaimed DBCP that had been shipped to its users."
My problem here, however, isn't over the efficacy of U.S. citizens suing over the use of DBCP, but U.S. law firms actively seeking foreign nationals as clients to sue U.S. companies in U.S. courts.
Although our courts and Trial Lawyer groups have fought to expand "Constitutional protections" to BOTh citizens and non-citizens, America's Founders were crystal clear that America's Constitutional protections ONLY extend to U.S. citizens.
That's demonstrably so, since the Constitution is basically an affirmation of INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS (freedom FROM government intervention) and corresponding RESPONSIBILITIES and since no foreign national has ANY existing responsibilities to the USA, it also stands to reason that they have neither any "Constitutional Rights" nor any "legal standing" in a U.S. court.
I am heartened that a number of rather nefarious trial lawyers have now been sentenced to prison for the practice of drumming up lawsuits within the USA by foreign nationals.
In my view, those lawyers SHOULD be tried for treason, not merely malfeasance.
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