1
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:07,040
[man in Spanish] People die
every day in this community.

2
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,320
Western Nicaragua

3
00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,800
is threatened

4
00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:20,760
by the shadow of death by pesticides�

5
00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,560
�to increase profit,

6
00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,360
and increase production,

7
00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,760
without considering
the people who live here.

8
00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:37,400
Tons of pesticides were spread
on banana plantations.

9
00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,960
We know they're a source of work,

10
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,480
but at the same time,
they are a source of slow death,

11
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,520
of slow death.

12
00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:52,120
[guitar music playing]

13
00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,640
[man in Spanish]
My father was a hard-working man.

14
00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,560
He liked making an honest living
from growing bananas.

15
00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:10,000
He fought for compensation
for the victims of Nemagon.

16
00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,920
And he always spoke of colleagues
who died because of its side effects.

17
00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,280
My father never lost hope.

18
00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,120
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

19
00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,880
[upbeat song in Spanish playing]

20
00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,040
[busy city noises]

21
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,680
[trumpet playing]

22
00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:41,480
ACCIDENTS: THE BEST LAWYER

23
00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,040
[phone rings]

24
00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:46,800
[phone rings]

25
00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,840
[woman] Good morning,
the office of Juan Jose Dominguez.

26
00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:53,840
Is it a workers' comp case
or a personal injury?

27
00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:56,800
Car accident.

28
00:03:58,160 --> 00:03:59,040
Okay.

29
00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:00,800
[man] Hello, William.

30
00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,200
How are you? I'm Juan Dominguez.
I'm the attorney.

31
00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,120
-Is this your sister?
-Yeah, that's my sister.

32
00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:07,600
Pleased to meet you.

33
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,320
William, I understand
you were hit by an ambulance.

34
00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:12,320
Yeah, I was.

35
00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,640
And the ambulance
didn't have their sirens on.

36
00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,640
Didn't have their sirens on,
didn't have their lights on.

37
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,279
And I was knocked out.

38
00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,480
-You were alone in the car?
-Yeah, I was alone in my car.

39
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,440
-Did you wake up at the hospital?
-I woke up at the hospital.

40
00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:27,560
Mm-hm.

41
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,680
[Juan] I do not like
when other people are exploited.

42
00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,280
I've never liked it
since I was a little kid.

43
00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,480
I've never liked the big guy
picking on the little guy.

44
00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,040
And I went to become a lawyer,

45
00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,800
because I wanted to represent people
that needed help.

46
00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,160
We need some doctors to evaluate you,
we need to revalidate the records

47
00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,800
and make sure that you're not cheated
from this case

48
00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,520
because some doctor misdiagnosed you,
or under-diagnosed you.

49
00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,520
[TV announcer in Spanish] Attorney
Juan Dominguez has already secured

50
00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,880
more than 100 million dollars
for his clients.

51
00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:07,200
And won the award for best lawyer
for three consecutive years.

52
00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,160
[in Spanish] I won 4.5 million
thanks to him.

53
00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,640
[in Spanish] Hi, I'm Juan Dominguez,
your lawyer for serious accidents.

54
00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,560
If we don't win, we won't charge you.

55
00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,080
That's what's fair.

56
00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,600
[TV announcer] Juan Dominguez
is just and necessary.

57
00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:22,960
Call: 1 (800) 818-1818.

58
00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,520
[sirens sounding]

59
00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,520
[Juan] I've been a personal injury lawyer

60
00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:32,520
taking on, mostly, disadvantaged clients

61
00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,280
that could never afford a lawyer
in their lives.

62
00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,800
We take the cases on a contingency basis.
If I don't win, I don't get paid.

63
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,760
[sirens sounding]

64
00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,200
I started advertising the day
that I opened my law office.

65
00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:47,160
Basically from day one.

66
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,800
I started in a suite for 400 dollars

67
00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,120
had a common receptionist,
common waiting room.

68
00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:56,960
And worked my way up from there.

69
00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:06,120
About five years ago,
I saw this CNN report from Chinandega,

70
00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:11,160
investigating this pesticide,
dibromo chloropropane, DBCP.

71
00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,840
I decided to come down
on an exploratory mission.

72
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:23,520
[soft instrumental music playing]

73
00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:33,120
To me, personally, this will be
the biggest thing I've ever handled.

74
00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:39,400
[soft instrumental music playing]

75
00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,640
[guitar music playing]

76
00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:49,720
[Juan in Spanish] Tell me about this pump.

77
00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:51,520
[man in Spanish] It's an irrigation pump.

78
00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,760
It sends the Nemagon
to the irrigation razers.

79
00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,400
Are the razers in the field?

80
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:02,800
Yes, the razers are on towers.

81
00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,120
The sprinklers sprayed water
and Nemagon.

82
00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,320
-Both?
-Yes, both.

83
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:10,760
[guitar music playing]

84
00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,840
[man in Spanish] Approximately
500 to 600 people worked here.

85
00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:18,360
Here were the dorms.

86
00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:20,840
They said they were cold
because they were watering

87
00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:22,480
as the plantation ended there.

88
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,080
The sprayed water came in
and they were fine.

89
00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,160
And the workers who slept here
were sprayed?

90
00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:33,160
And the ceiling was broken,
so it poured in.

91
00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,480
[Juan] We were able to meet with banana
workers, union leaders, local attorneys.

92
00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:46,120
They basically came to my hotel to seek me
out, because the word got out really fast

93
00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:48,720
throughout the whole province

94
00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,920
that someone was here
from the United States that spoke Spanish

95
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,000
and was actually Latin,

96
00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,480
and is actually a United States lawyer,

97
00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,680
and had a decent crew of amiable

98
00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,400
humanitarian-type workers with him,

99
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:07,720
that were also Latin,

100
00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:09,480
and spoke Spanish.

101
00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:14,160
It just seemed like we had the calling
to get involved.

102
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,840
I have never experienced
something like that in my life.

103
00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,360
[in Spanish] What plantation
did you work on?

104
00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,320
-Candelaria.
-Candelaria.

105
00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:24,880
-Did you sleep there?
-Yes.

106
00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,840
Were you cutting or bagging
at the plantation?

107
00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,840
-What sort of�?
-I used a machete.

108
00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:36,880
And when you cut them,

109
00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:41,000
did liquid drop on your head and clothes?

110
00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,159
Yes, the poison fell on me,
because the irrigation aerial.

111
00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,920
-Yes, with the sprinklers.
-Yes. The liquid sticks to the leaves.

112
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,920
-When it's sprinkled, it drips on us.
-It all falls on you.

113
00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,840
-Did the Fumazone fall on your body?
-Exactly.

114
00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,120
[Juan] There are over 10,000
Nicaraguan banana workers

115
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,520
claiming that they have been harmed
by DBCP,

116
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,360
known worldwide under the names
Nemagon and Fumazone.

117
00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,760
[in Spanish] Here is the irrigation
system, the cannon.

118
00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,280
The San Pablo plantation.

119
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,920
It's San Pablo because there's--

120
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,240
-It's San Pablo.
-The irrigation sprays over the camp.

121
00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,080
-San Pablo.
-San Pablo.

122
00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:33,320
-Mercedes Candelaria.
-Mercedes Candelaria.

123
00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:37,840
These are small families
who lived inside the farm.

124
00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:39,400
Are these poles?

125
00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,000
This is a barrel of Nemagon and Fumazone.

126
00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,600
There is a barrel of Fumazone.

127
00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:49,480
-And there's half of one, yes.
-There's another one there.

128
00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:52,000
-There's another one there.
-Fumazone.

129
00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,480
-Dow.
-Dow.

130
00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:58,120
Fumazone in a kitchen.

131
00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:03,360
[Juan] The DBCP was produced
by the Dow Chemical Company.

132
00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:07,240
Early on, it was known to cause
severe side effects.

133
00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,200
Cancers, kidney,
and other grave health problems.

134
00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,880
In the '70s, it was banned in the US
for causing sterility.

135
00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,960
But Standard Fruit,
now the Dole Food Company,

136
00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,280
kept using it in the banana plantations
around the world.

137
00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,760
Now, 35 years later,
we find that banana workers are sterile.

138
00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:31,680
[in Spanish] Do you know how
to read and write?

139
00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:34,960
-You can't read or write?
-No. Barely.

140
00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,040
-Do you speak another language?
-I can barely write.

141
00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,480
-Do you have a phone number?
-No.

142
00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:45,920
You don't have one.

143
00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:50,560
-How many children do you have?
-None.

144
00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:53,000
You don't have children?
Did you ever have kids?

145
00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,880
-You've had a wife right? What happened?
-Yes.

146
00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,840
I was young in 1971�

147
00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:01,800
�and I saw this girl.

148
00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,320
I was brought up
in a very religious environment.

149
00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,240
I saw this girl in 1971�

150
00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:12,600
�and in the last months of the year--

151
00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:16,880
-Did you have children with her?
-No.

152
00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,040
We got engaged

153
00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:22,040
in late 1971.

154
00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,640
In other words, she became my wife.

155
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:33,200
I sealed the commitment
and then I moved here.

156
00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:35,640
That's when I came here.

157
00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,240
And I worked from 1971 to 1974.

158
00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,040
[Juan] You know, in this case,
you've got real poor people,

159
00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:49,280
disadvantaged,

160
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,920
very poorly educated, against
corporations that are very powerful,

161
00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:56,520
wealthy, knowledgeable.

162
00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:02,080
And the odds are really against
these clients.

163
00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,920
[man] Please empty your pockets.
The one on the shirt too.

164
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:05,800
NO SMOKING

165
00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,000
-I don't have anything else.
-You don't have anything else?

166
00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:11,480
Here is the collector pot.

167
00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:14,240
-You know what to do, right?
-Yes.

168
00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,440
Then let me know. I'll be right next door.

169
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,840
-Okay.
-Even if I don't succeed.

170
00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,800
PRIVATE
DO NOT ENTER

171
00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,840
We just got the result

172
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,760
from the test we send to the lab.

173
00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:37,480
It turns out that you have
a disease called oligospermia.

174
00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,160
So, you are somewhat infertile.

175
00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:44,320
Is that it?

176
00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,880
It's practically impossible
for you to have children.

177
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,040
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

178
00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,920
[Juan] I'm interviewing one group

179
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,240
of claimants.

180
00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:14,840
And during the interviews,

181
00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:16,160
it became clear�

182
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,160
�that, as of today,

183
00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,920
they don't know that this chemical�

184
00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:27,720
�is the reason why

185
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:33,160
they have gone from woman to woman�

186
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,160
�to woman to woman�

187
00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,680
�and haven't had children.

188
00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:45,080
Some victims believe�

189
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:48,800
�that their wives had betrayed them.

190
00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:54,320
But I say, "Let me correct you on this.

191
00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:56,600
You wife didn't cheat on you.

192
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,200
The pesticide betrayed you."

193
00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:07,600
To date, the corporations refused
to assume responsibility.

194
00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,280
They hide the dangers
of these chemicals�

195
00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:14,840
�for financial gain.

196
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,640
Predatory capitalism.

197
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:22,240
The truth is,

198
00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:23,280
these actions�

199
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:25,840
�are horrible.

200
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:28,720
Unforgivable.

201
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,760
I won't move away
from this great injustice

202
00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,720
committed by this massive corporation.

203
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,360
I am proud to fight for you.

204
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,080
-United?
-[audience] We will win!

205
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,360
-Indeed.
-[audience applauding]

206
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,120
And we will win in your own country,

207
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,760
with your own judges,
with your own lawyers,

208
00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:00,200
with your own jury, and your own law.

209
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:01,560
Because United�

210
00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,600
We will win! We will win!

211
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,800
I've been dialing,
calling the cell phones.

212
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:19,840
I've been calling the landlines.

213
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,280
I've been calling Roberto Tercero.

214
00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,040
I've tried IM, I used the VoIP�

215
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,040
I can't get a hold of absolutely nobody.

216
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,440
Get me a hold of somebody in Nicaragua

217
00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:32,400
that I can talk to,
so I can get things done.

218
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:33,600
Thank you.

219
00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,960
It's been five and half years
I've been involved in this project.

220
00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:45,960
And I've spent a lot of money.

221
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:53,680
No law firm has had success
in trying a case

222
00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:55,600
um, in the United States.

223
00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:56,520
We're the first.

224
00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,280
I need 47.

225
00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:04,680
I need 47, please.

226
00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,840
[woman] I just set it
on the couch right there.

227
00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:08,760
Okay.

228
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,480
Do you want individual copies
or do you want the binder?

229
00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:16,120
Individual copies, stapled,
post-it that says the exhibit number.

230
00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:18,640
[Juan] Duane is the best lawyer
I've ever known.

231
00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,680
Hands down, he's a lawyers' lawyer.

232
00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:26,200
He defends municipalities,
city governments

233
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:27,920
against corporations

234
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,800
that have polluted underground water,

235
00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,360
drinking water for citizens.

236
00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,560
He handles opposition
that's just monumental.

237
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,840
I know I was against some
of the biggest multinational corporations

238
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,240
in the world,
not just in the United States.

239
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,600
So, I partnered with the best I could
partner with, and that's Duane Miller.

240
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,000
[phone rings in background]

241
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,400
[Duane] We're in a position, as lawyers,

242
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,160
to bring pressure on the defendants
to settle the claims.

243
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,720
And without lawyers' involvement,

244
00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,000
I don't see any way Dole would ever pay
any meaningful money.

245
00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:10,280
They certainly haven't
in the past couple of decades.

246
00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:12,440
So�

247
00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,960
By holding corporations accountable,
ultimately, we make them responsible.

248
00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:19,079
That was a great pitch on the, um�

249
00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,560
-Wait till you hear the next one.
-It came through really good.

250
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:26,160
It's gonna be a long week.

251
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:28,319
[elevator dings]

252
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:33,440
[guitar music playing]

253
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,920
[Juan] We're tackling two giants

254
00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:42,080
that are basically throwing
all their weight

255
00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,520
against, basically, two small law firms.

256
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,400
[cars honking]

257
00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,560
So, it's going to be at a high, high cost

258
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,440
in the context
of putting all our finances

259
00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,080
and resources and employees,

260
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,480
and you name it, to bear.

261
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,200
And they're thumping at us
as hard as they can.

262
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:01,800
And they're big, and they can thump.

263
00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,720
And we can thump back.

264
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,720
But they have basically unlimited
resources and money.

265
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,760
[guitar music playing]

266
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,480
[judge] Back in the matter
of Tellez vs. Dole.

267
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:18,600
Be seated.

268
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:21,480
312852.

269
00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:26,640
The records should reflect that we now
have all 12 jurors present.

270
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,000
Duane Miller is present for plaintiffs.

271
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:31,280
Rick McKnight�

272
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:38,200
James Teader,
Erin DeBurgh, and Michael Carter

273
00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,680
are here for Dole.

274
00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,720
I've talked to you during
the jury selection process.

275
00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,640
Many of you said,

276
00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,560
because you have prior experience
in other cases,

277
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,160
you said, "I want to decide
based on evidence,

278
00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,160
I want to decide based on facts."

279
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,040
And I asked one of you:

280
00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:02,920
"Do you think people have the right
to defend their honest beliefs?"

281
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,160
And you said, "Oh, sure!"

282
00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:07,920
And the rest of you said,
"Yes, we agree with that."

283
00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:09,360
You were chosen�

284
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:11,160
[Juan] Dole has hired Rick McKnight

285
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,360
as their lead trial lawyer.

286
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,680
One of the most successful and well-paid
defense attorneys in the country.

287
00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:20,960
Defendants don't have the burden of proof,

288
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,400
of showing no causation.

289
00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,280
Plaintiffs have the burden of proof

290
00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:30,800
to show that they were exposed to DBCP,

291
00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:32,240
and it caused their injury.

292
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:33,880
It's the plaintiff's burden.

293
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,960
And they're accusing my clients

294
00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,360
and the people that worked
at Standard Fruit,

295
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,040
of bad conduct and disbelieving

296
00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:46,520
their firm convictions
about the safe handling

297
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,440
and appropriate use of this chemical.

298
00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,480
[clerk] Sir, please state and spell your
name and last name for the record.

299
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:01,840
David DeLorenzo, D-A-V-I-D
D-E-L-O-R-E-N-Z-O.

300
00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:02,760
[clerk] Thank you.

301
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,600
[McKnight] Mr. DeLorenzo, I want to ask
you some questions about your background

302
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,800
and a little bit about the background
of the Dole companies.

303
00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:12,120
How did you get interested in agriculture?

304
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,080
I've always had some sort of interest.

305
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,400
My dad was a farmer back
on the East Coast.

306
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,320
So, I've got a background in farming.

307
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,760
Why were you moving to Nicaragua?

308
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,600
Well, a position
was offered to me, basically.

309
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,640
It was a new division
and the company knew I wanted to

310
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:32,600
uh, move to Latin America.

311
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,680
How did you find the people in Nicaragua
when you arrived?

312
00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:37,920
They are great. The Nicaraguans

313
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,200
have the reputation of being
the friendliest people in Central America

314
00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,640
and they are wonderful people,
very good, hard workers,

315
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,360
and very friendly people.

316
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,320
I understand you met
one special person there.

317
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,920
Yes, I was married in Nicaragua.

318
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,920
When did you meet Mrs. DeLorenzo?

319
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,480
The first night I was there.

320
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,120
-I was� [laughs]
-[everyone laughing]

321
00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,120
We don't want to know any more.

322
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,840
This is the end product of what we produce
basically all over the world.

323
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:13,120
[judge] Just make sure, if they're real
bananas, they go home with you.

324
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:14,480
[laughing]

325
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:20,040
They are packed on the trucks
in boxes like this.

326
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:26,400
[Duane] You said Standard Fruit had
been operating in Latin America for�

327
00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,320
For over a hundred years, yes.

328
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,360
Why were they just now
going into Nicaragua?

329
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,000
Well, the�

330
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,680
We were invited by the Nicaraguan
government to start with,

331
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:37,680
to see if we would invest there.

332
00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:41,640
The type of operations we do
are pretty desirable for the countries

333
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,600
because, unlike most big multinationals,
we don't work in the capital cities.

334
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,320
We're working out
in the rural countryside, which is--

335
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,360
where there's usually less employment.

336
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:54,880
So the history has been,
in every place we are really,

337
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,920
is that we become an impetus for growth.

338
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:01,560
And so we bring infrastructure,
we bring a lot of better practices with us

339
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:03,760
in healthcare, schools,
that type of thing.

340
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,400
[old film music playing]

341
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:15,480
[man on TV in Spanish] In Chinandega,
the champion of agricultural progress,

342
00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:20,440
General Anastasio Somoza sees
the magnificent results obtained

343
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:26,000
by modern systems for banana farming
implemented by the Standard Fruit Company.

344
00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,560
One of its main strongholds
is banana farming,

345
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:33,880
which is being transformed
by improving its systems.

346
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:36,640
There.

347
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,560
[film continues to play]

348
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,680
[water sounds]

349
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,680
-More puddles.
-[in Spanish] More puddles.

350
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,480
[in Spanish] That kept dripping
on the ground.

351
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:03,680
And it kept dripping and dripping�

352
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:17,400
[man in Spanish]
This is cable number 1 in Elisa.

353
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,920
The bananas come down the cable
and he pulls it.

354
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,000
He's barefoot because
he can't pull otherwise.

355
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,280
He takes his boots off
to walk on his feet.

356
00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:31,880
That's what it looks like
after irrigation?

357
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:33,400
[in Spanish] Yes, this is normal.

358
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,640
After the Fumazone is sprayed,
there are puddles.

359
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,920
[judge] The clock is ticking.

360
00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:52,200
[Duane] Mr. DeLorenzo, what is
your current position with Dole?

361
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:55,360
I am President
and Chief Operating Officer of Dole.

362
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,280
Are you also associated
with the Board of Directors?

363
00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:01,200
Yes, I'm on the Board of Directors.

364
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:04,200
What is your position
on the Board of Directors?

365
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,280
I'm just a board member.

366
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,680
In the past, have you been Vice Chair
of the Board?

367
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:11,080
Yes, I have.

368
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,800
So, you've held some of the highest
positions there are in the company?

369
00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:16,400
Yes, I have.

370
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,640
-And you do today?
-Yes, I do.

371
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,760
[Duane] I've been trying cases
for more than 30 years

372
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:27,400
as a lawyer, and this is the first time
I've had the President

373
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:29,960
and Chief Executive Officer

374
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,560
of a significant corporation on the stand,

375
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,560
testifying live in front of a jury.

376
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,440
Just doesn't happen very often.

377
00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:41,720
[Duane] Mr. DeLorenzo, as the manager
of the Nicaraguan division,

378
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,440
did you know what amount of DBCP

379
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,040
that was considered dangerous
by the government?

380
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,040
I probably maybe knew the statistics.

381
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:52,520
I may not have recalled them,
but basically,

382
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,440
what we were told is,
if you could smell it,

383
00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,680
there was a dangerous level
and you didn't want to be

384
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,680
spending any time in a plantation
when you could smell it.

385
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,080
[Duane] It's also unusual that
that particular person

386
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:11,560
was involved in supervising the workers
in Nicaragua that were injured.

387
00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:14,200
So we had all these problems in Nicaragua

388
00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:17,640
and, despite them, he was promoted.

389
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,320
[Duane] Did you have
a medical toxicologist

390
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,400
that was employed by your firm
at the time?

391
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,280
No, I don't believe we did.

392
00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,200
We rely on the manufacturers

393
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,480
who do work with the government
in these issues.

394
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,800
They're specialists in this.

395
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,760
Were you aware of the fact

396
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,160
that the government of the United States
took the position

397
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:44,600
that any contact of DBCP with human skin

398
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:46,440
could cause sperm damage?

399
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,160
Yes, certainly after 1977, we did, yes.

400
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,560
So, did you start

401
00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,320
a program to launder workers' clothing
that was contaminated with DBCP?

402
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,360
I don't think we started a program
to launder workers' clothing.

403
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,120
We did not believe, and do not believe
today, that workers

404
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:06,600
were contaminated with DBCP,

405
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,440
because we did not believe
that there was any DBCP in the farms

406
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,120
that could contaminate them.

407
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,120
Did it all disappear?

408
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,080
Yes. It all gets drenched into the soil,
or it evaporates.

409
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,880
Mr. DeLorenzo, you got a report

410
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:23,480
that ten out of ten workers

411
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,000
checked in Costa Rica were sterile.

412
00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,120
And when you got that report in 1978,

413
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:31,640
the Nicaraguan division

414
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,480
continued to use DBCP, unchanged, in 1978,

415
00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,760
1979 and 1980, correct?

416
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,880
That's correct, we continued using
DBCP in both Honduras and Nicaragua

417
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:50,320
following the Costa Rican incident.
And for I think very good reasons.

418
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,240
As our people went out
and talked to people,

419
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,040
talked to the doctors,
teachers and workers�

420
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,240
�I recall no report back that we had
infertility in any place.

421
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,680
That's what gave us a great deal
of comfort about using the chemical.

422
00:27:06,360 --> 00:27:09,160
[Juan] Exactly, it's the hammer
that causes the settlement.

423
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,600
You know, the reality is that
this case needs to be tried all the way,

424
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,040
because thousands of people are waiting

425
00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,280
for this to be the bellwether case,

426
00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:23,000
to be the model, so things go all the way,

427
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,440
and everyone knows how
the other ones are going to go.

428
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:27,760
[laughs]

429
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:28,640
That's good, man.

430
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,520
We look at this as a bellwether case,
because�

431
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:38,160
the plaintiffs in this case
are 12 chaperos,

432
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,040
which means machete wielders.
They wielded a machete.

433
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:47,160
They're not the people necessarily
that stay the longest in the plantation.

434
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,280
They're not the people
that irrigate this chemical,

435
00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,800
which means that they have the least
exposure to this chemical.

436
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,920
So, if the jury finds that they
are sterilized by this chemical,

437
00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,960
what does that mean for the other ones
that were there longer?

438
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,880
That slept there? That actually applied
the chemical and handled the chemical.

439
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,800
[Duane] Could you please play the video?

440
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:13,600
[judge] Lights off. We're going to need
the lights off, please.

441
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,680
It will be marked as Court Exhibit 19.

442
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:19,120
Any objection to that video
being included as evidence?

443
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,760
-No, Your Honor. None other than as--
-[judge] Okay.

444
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,960
[Duane] We had hours, and hours,
and hours of hearings,

445
00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,960
fighting over what portion of that film
would be shown to the jury.

446
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,280
They didn't like the shots
that showed men

447
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:45,960
walking without shoes,

448
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:49,200
barefoot men walking
through banana plantations.

449
00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:51,800
They didn't like the shots that show

450
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:57,160
humans being used as beasts of burden
to pull bananas on a cable.

451
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:03,960
They didn't like the amount of water
that is used, the puddles,

452
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:05,760
the muddy conditions,

453
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,120
which involves a greater potential
for exposure to pesticides.

454
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:12,040
Because if the chemicals
don't go into the ground,

455
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,360
they're above the ground,
where human beings are.

456
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,080
[Duane] What job did you have
when you were working?

457
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:25,520
[in Spanish] Making pits for planting.

458
00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,960
Making holes for the planting.

459
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,960
[in Spanish] I also pruned,

460
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:35,760
cutting the leaves�

461
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:38,960
�and placing them on the ground.

462
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,520
Would that cause you to come
into contact with the banana plant?

463
00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:45,720
Yes, because it's like a stick

464
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:49,520
with a knife tied to the tip.

465
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,600
We used to cut the leaves and place them.

466
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,640
-Would your clothing get wet?
-Yes.

467
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:56,840
-Why?
-[interpreter] Why?

468
00:29:58,200 --> 00:29:59,120
Because�

469
00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:02,800
Because the plantation was wet,
and when we got in,

470
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,560
we'd go like this,
and the plantation was wet.

471
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:12,440
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

472
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,680
[Duane] During the time that you
were working in Candelaria,

473
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:26,360
were you ever told stay out of an area
that had been treated with chemicals?

474
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:27,920
-No.
-[interpreter] No.

475
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:32,360
Were you ever told to leave an area

476
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,880
if you could smell the odor of DBCP?

477
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:35,880
-No.
-[interpreter] No.

478
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,680
Did you have any information at all�

479
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,720
�that there was a chemical at work
that could affect your fertility

480
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,040
during the time you were working there?

481
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:49,560
-No.
-[interpreter speaks Spanish]

482
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:51,520
[in Spanish] They never told me anything.

483
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:53,400
[interpreter] They never told us
anything about that.

484
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,600
I worked where I was told.

485
00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:02,480
-Would your clothes get wet?
-Yes. It fell from above, on our clothes.

486
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:04,760
What would come down?

487
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:07,520
[interpreter] What came down
on your clothes?

488
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:11,720
And when we cut,
it fell on our clothes.

489
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:16,240
[interpreter] When they fumigated,
the water would fall on our clothes.

490
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,920
Also, when we were loading the bananas
onto our shoulders,

491
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,200
the water would fall on us as well.

492
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,360
[Duane] Did your employer
ever give you clothing to wear there?

493
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:32,560
-No.
-[interpreter] No.

494
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:36,840
Did they ever give you any clothing
that was supposed to keep chemicals

495
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,280
away from your body?

496
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:40,320
-No.
-[interpreter] No.

497
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:44,240
No. My clothes dried on my body.

498
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,080
I kept my clothes on
until I got home and changed.

499
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,960
We only took it off to sleep,

500
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,280
and then we'd wear the same again.

501
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,600
Did you ever notice an unusual odor?

502
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,480
-Yes, of course, I felt it.
-[interpreter] Yes, of course.

503
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,880
[Duane] Did anyone ever tell you
that if you could smell that chemical,

504
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,920
you were breathing too much of it
that it could hurt you?

505
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:08,880
-No.
-[interpreter] No.

506
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,080
No, no.

507
00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,520
[man on radio in Spanish]
We have Dr. Juan Jose Dominguez

508
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,240
on the line in the monthly program

509
00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:30,200
with information for the Nemagon victims.

510
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:33,360
Radio Caribe is broadcasting our signal.

511
00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:35,520
Good afternoon, Dr. Dominguez.

512
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:41,640
[in Spanish] Good afternoon to all
listeners in Nicaragua and the victims.

513
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:46,320
The first case with the Nicaraguan victims

514
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,600
began in the United States,
in the Los Angeles Court,

515
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:55,080
on July 19th, with the initial
depositions for the jury.

516
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:59,280
Many journalists from the United States

517
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:01,680
and worldwide were there.

518
00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:05,720
As of today, we have
very promising results.

519
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:11,080
We're ready to fight, our war room
is ready at our law firm.

520
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:15,400
[radio continues inaudibly]

521
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,600
[woman in Spanish] I did not know
that my husband had died.

522
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,320
I was in Managua, getting my treatment.

523
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:30,000
Two days after his death, I returned home.

524
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,880
I was very sad because I didn't see him.

525
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,320
I was appalled when I noticed the flowers,

526
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:46,360
and I lost my mind as I
walked through the door.

527
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,600
We had lived together for 36 years.

528
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:55,760
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

529
00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,360
I met him at work.

530
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:09,520
He was my boss.

531
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,679
He told us to be here or there.

532
00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:16,159
He'd say, "You'll do this, work here."

533
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,320
We got together when I was 17.

534
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:28,400
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

535
00:34:32,199 --> 00:34:36,120
In my first pregnancy,
my girl was severely underweight.

536
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:43,880
They told me that she wouldn't survive.
And that's what happened.

537
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:45,600
She died 42 days later.

538
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:53,760
I miscarried the other baby
at six months. They pulled him out.

539
00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:01,560
The doctor said that if I wanted
to have a healthy baby,

540
00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,560
I had to stop working

541
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:06,080
when I got pregnant again.

542
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,760
I listened and I had Byron�

543
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:13,200
�who was born healthy, thank God.

544
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:25,280
[Byron in Spanish] As there was no one
to take care of us,

545
00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,800
our parents took us to the plantation.

546
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:29,960
We watched them work.

547
00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,280
He'd say, "This work is tough,

548
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:38,600
I work hard to send you to school
so you get an education,

549
00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:42,520
so that you won't end up here,
because this is rough."

550
00:35:45,240 --> 00:35:50,760
He'd say we were getting into a minefield,

551
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,280
because it's very dangerous here.

552
00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:58,080
He'd say that what they irrigated,
all these pesticides,

553
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,080
we absorb it all.

554
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:05,120
And pesticides were made for plants,
not people.

555
00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:09,560
He'd tell us when we were kids:
"If you eat them, you will die.

556
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:14,720
But I have to stay, to support you
and bring food to the table."

557
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,040
[inaudible speaking in Spanish on radio]

558
00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:26,560
[Juan in Spanish] We hope the verdict
comes out by mid-September.

559
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,320
Of course, we will continue
to share news with you,

560
00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:34,880
especially regarding the results
of this wonderful case.

561
00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:38,680
It's a pleasure to be
with you again this month

562
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,560
and to continue sharing the information,
as you deserve.

563
00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:48,000
[Duane] Mr. DeLorenzo,
I�d like to show you

564
00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:50,160
Exhibit 6 for identification.

565
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,800
This is a document on
the Dow Chemical Company letterhead,

566
00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,840
dated August 24, 1977, by Mr. Hall,

567
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,800
Product Sales Manager at Dow,
to customers.

568
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,880
"On August 11, 1977,

569
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:09,960
"Dow suspended sales and production
of FUMAZONE.

570
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,680
We took this action,
as a result of preliminary evidence

571
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:15,960
indicating the compound
may cause sterility.

572
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,280
Present testing indicates some
Dow Fumazone production workers

573
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:23,520
in our Magnolia, Arkansas,
plant are currently sterile.

574
00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,840
We urge that all Fumazone products

575
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,240
be returned to Dow."

576
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:31,200
-Do you see that, sir?
-Yes, I do.

577
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,160
Now when your firm received this in 1977,

578
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:38,480
you didn't return�

579
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:44,040
�the DBCP that was in your inventory.
Did you?

580
00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:45,720
No, we did not.

581
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:49,640
-You kept it and you later used it.
-That's correct.

582
00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:53,760
Even though Dow was recommending
that you returned it to them.

583
00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,000
In this letter they were, yes.

584
00:37:57,240 --> 00:37:59,640
Did it occur to you, Mr. DeLorenzo

585
00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:03,000
that maybe it would be best
not to use DBCP

586
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:06,440
until you were sure that your workers
wouldn't be affected

587
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:09,040
instead of waiting for the evidence
to pile up?

588
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:12,080
[DeLorenzo]
Yes, I think it did occur to us.

589
00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:14,720
I think there was a big debate
within the company.

590
00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:19,160
And a study within the company
as to whether it was safe to proceed.

591
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,320
Well, the debate in the company
didn't last very long, did it?

592
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,040
Because within days of Dow

593
00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:30,120
suspending sales of DBCP,

594
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:36,480
your firm was writing to Dow
demanding more product, correct?

595
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:40,040
Yes, we told them that we'd like
to continue using it.

596
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,600
You didn't just say you'd like to,

597
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,480
you told them that they were
in breach of contract.

598
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:49,120
-Correct?
-That's correct.

599
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:53,240
We told them that we expected them
to continue delivering to us.

600
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:57,240
Now, did you have enough information
at that point in time

601
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:02,800
a couple of days after they said
they were suspending the sale of DBCP,

602
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:05,800
to confidently make a decision

603
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,920
that what you were doing
wouldn't hurt anybody.

604
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:14,080
Um, the company believed it had
enough information, I presume, yes.

605
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,800
At least to go on with the purchase.

606
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,920
Your Honor, Exhibit 9 for identification.

607
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,760
It's dated September 26th, 1977,

608
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:29,960
it's on Standard Fruit Company letterhead.

609
00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,720
"Standard Fruit Company agrees
to indemnify

610
00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:35,160
and hold Dow harmless

611
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:37,800
from any claim by a third party
for injury�

612
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:41,400
�or loss against Dow

613
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:45,480
resulting from the continued use
of the DBCP product."

614
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:48,200
-Do you see that?
-Yes, I do.

615
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:50,520
-You were aware of it?
-Yes, I was.

616
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,160
If there were no problems,

617
00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:57,560
there wouldn't be any need
for this particular provision,

618
00:39:57,640 --> 00:39:58,720
would there?

619
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,800
[traffic noise]

620
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,880
[Juan] Los Angeles for me is home.

621
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:23,240
It's where I grew up.

622
00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:28,280
One of the things I like about Los Angeles
is that it's a very multicultural,

623
00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:31,360
multi-ethnic society,
which I think is very good.

624
00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,080
If you go to the big law firms,
there was an article that just came out

625
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:38,800
in the Los Angeles Times newspaper

626
00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:43,400
that shows that there's a huge
disproportionate number

627
00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:47,480
of lawyers, members of big law firms

628
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,560
that are Anglo-American.
There are hardly no minorities.

629
00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:53,800
But, uh�

630
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:58,320
�if you are in a fight,
a David vs. Goliath type of fight

631
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,240
and you don't like being David,
this is not for you.

632
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:07,240
[man in Spanish on TV]

633
00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:16,000
[Juan] When I came to grammar school
here from Cuba,

634
00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:19,800
I was one of the very few kids
that spoke Spanish.

635
00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:22,920
They'd come and pull me out of classrooms.

636
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,320
"Can we have little Juan Dominguez
over here?"

637
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:28,480
They'd take me to the Principal's office
and I'd translate for moms

638
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:32,600
and kids and others that were
matriculating into the school system

639
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:35,080
or had disciplinary problems, or whatever.

640
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:41,280
This picture here, is when we got here,
to the United States.

641
00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:43,520
I was 10 years old.

642
00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:45,160
And when I left Cuba,

643
00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:48,160
it took about three days
to go from house to house

644
00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,040
visiting relatives and friends
of my parents.

645
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,400
Saying goodbye to my cousins
and my family,

646
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:56,560
all around the island,
all the way until I got, we got to

647
00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:00,760
Varadero that evening.
A plane took us to Miami.

648
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:02,520
As soon as I got out
of the plane in Miami,

649
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:04,880
I got on my knees and kissed the ground.

650
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:09,000
At 10 years old, I knew
that I was happy to get out.

651
00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:11,760
[car engine revving]

652
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:14,320
[upbeat salsa music in Spanish playing]

653
00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:28,520
[upbeat salsa music in Spanish playing]

654
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:44,120
[Juan] I drove the black one first.

655
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:48,560
Black is more incognito.
Does not cause much attention.

656
00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,400
Then the Cuban in me came out, and said,

657
00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:53,640
"I gotta go loud, I gotta get red."

658
00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:57,800
[laughs] I got to be all out there, man.
If it's gonna have a loud motor

659
00:42:57,880 --> 00:42:59,960
and be a Ferrari,
it's got to be red.

660
00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:03,920
It'd be a crime to spend that
much money and not get the red one.

661
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,840
[car revving]

662
00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:12,160
[upbeat salsa music in Spanish playing]

663
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:17,080
[Juan in Spanish] Always tell the truth.
It's important to tell the truth.

664
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:21,080
If you don't remember an event
that happened 35 years ago,

665
00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:22,960
we're all human.

666
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:27,640
If you don't remember,
just say that you don't remember.

667
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:31,560
The interpreter will be with you
at my office

668
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:36,440
to go over your previous testimony.

669
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:42,800
You can share with us, your lawyers,
any anxiety you feel, or any questions.

670
00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:47,120
I'm telling you this
so that you understand

671
00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:50,840
that if you feel anxious,
they can help you relax.

672
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:53,480
[in Spanish] We are under
a lot of pressure.

673
00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:57,680
Because this is important
for our colleagues in Nicaragua.

674
00:43:57,760 --> 00:44:00,800
And all the workers, we have to carry on.

675
00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:03,840
We feel pressure
regarding what we have to do.

676
00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:07,280
What we'll do. Many people know
that we're here.

677
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:11,760
And what we're doing. We're fighting
for them and for ourselves too.

678
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:14,800
I don't want you to think about that.

679
00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:18,160
That will only make you feel stressed.

680
00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:20,520
It's best if you think that you are you.

681
00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:22,680
-Just me.
-Yes.

682
00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:26,720
And you're here to say what you know.

683
00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:29,720
If you don't know, you won't answer.

684
00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:34,200
Just share the information that you have.

685
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,120
Your knowledge.
We will be asking the questions.

686
00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:41,200
Just answer the truth, and that's all.

687
00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:45,080
-We have to get the ball rolling.
-Exactly, the ball rolling.

688
00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:47,200
The ball rolls with your presence.

689
00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:50,320
-Your presence, and a smile on your face.
-Exactly.

690
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:54,600
Because in terms of compassion,
Nicaraguans are with the Americans.

691
00:44:55,520 --> 00:44:59,320
-You win at compassion. Okay?
-Thank you very much!

692
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:03,680
If the jury perceives that compassion,

693
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:05,600
they'll love you.

694
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:18,280
[judge] This is Mr. Ruedes, right?

695
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:21,200
No, Your Honor,
this is Mr. Morales Mendoza.

696
00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:24,200
-Mr. Morales Mendoza.
-One of the plaintiffs in this case.

697
00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:28,360
Before you got married to your wife�

698
00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:30,240
[interpreter speaks Spanish]

699
00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:33,800
�did the two of you talk

700
00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:38,360
about whether you wanted to have children?

701
00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:39,520
-Yes.
-[interpreter] Yes.

702
00:45:40,560 --> 00:45:43,560
Did she want to have children?

703
00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:44,600
- Yes.
- [interpreter] Yes.

704
00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:48,960
-Did you?
-[interpreter] I did too, yes.

705
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:53,480
Did you ever talk about the number
of children that you would like to have?

706
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:55,280
[interpreter speaks Spanish]

707
00:45:56,480 --> 00:46:00,120
Yes, we wanted to have
about four children.

708
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:06,240
When you learned that you were sterile,

709
00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:09,440
how did that make you feel?

710
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:19,600
[sniffles]

711
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:29,680
[interpreter in Spanish]
If you need a tissue, I have some.

712
00:46:30,520 --> 00:46:32,840
-There are some here too.
-Thank you.

713
00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:37,200
[man] I feel very overwhelmed,

714
00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:41,400
sad, because I haven't had someone

715
00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:45,920
who loves me, and that I love too.

716
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:51,040
Someone to look after me in my old age.

717
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,120
I have no one.

718
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:58,560
Sometimes I cry at night, in my ranch.

719
00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:01,800
Why do you cry?

720
00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:06,480
Because I realize that I'm alone.
I live alone, I am alone.

721
00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:10,000
In my house, there are ten siblings.

722
00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:13,440
In my circumstance, for instance,
there are ten siblings.

723
00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:18,040
We always gathered with our parents.

724
00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:20,720
And I don't have that heritage,

725
00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:25,720
I can't meet with my children,
like my father did.

726
00:47:26,720 --> 00:47:29,280
Were you the oldest, youngest?

727
00:47:29,360 --> 00:47:31,400
[interpreter speaks Spanish]

728
00:47:32,600 --> 00:47:35,400
I'm the eldest.

729
00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:38,480
That's all I have, Your Honor.

730
00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:43,680
[McKnight]
Sir, let's go to a different topic.

731
00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:46,200
Let's talk about your work
on the banana farm.

732
00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:49,800
You never applied DBCP, correct?

733
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:51,320
No.

734
00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:54,200
Sir, did you ever smell anything
when the plants were wet?

735
00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:55,200
Yes.

736
00:47:57,200 --> 00:48:01,840
Sir, isn't it true that you never smelled
anything when the plants were wet?

737
00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:04,800
[interpreter] Did you smell anything
when the plants were wet?

738
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:08,560
What?

739
00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:13,880
Can we go to page 113, lines 5 to 7
of the deposition?

740
00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,440
Did you smell anything
when the plants were wet?

741
00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:22,040
Did you smell anything
when the plants were wet?

742
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:22,960
No.

743
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:24,360
No.

744
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:30,720
That was your testimony, in a deposition
you gave, under oath, in this case.

745
00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:33,560
Correct?

746
00:48:34,360 --> 00:48:35,320
Yes.

747
00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:40,560
You're not changing that testimony now,
are you?

748
00:48:42,240 --> 00:48:44,840
Sir, are you trying to change
your testimony now?

749
00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:46,240
No.

750
00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:51,680
In your deposition, you testified,
in response to a question from me,

751
00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:53,480
that you did try to have children.

752
00:48:54,720 --> 00:48:55,800
I'm not too sure.

753
00:48:56,840 --> 00:48:59,880
I have memory problems.

754
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:04,640
Do you recall, sir,
that there were two women

755
00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:09,680
who claimed that you were the father
of their children?

756
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:11,600
I don't remember.

757
00:49:11,680 --> 00:49:14,400
Didn't you get Odesta Flores pregnant,
sir?

758
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:17,760
And didn't the baby die?

759
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:21,080
She got pregnant, I had left her
a long time before that.

760
00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:30,440
[McKnight] Sir, you just had discussions
with Mr. Miller,

761
00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:35,680
and he inquired about your feelings
when you were told that you were sterile.

762
00:49:36,160 --> 00:49:40,080
Sir, I have some good news for you.
Do you know that you are not sterile?

763
00:49:40,600 --> 00:49:41,440
What?

764
00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:44,480
-What did he say?
-[interpreter] What's that?

765
00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:47,640
-You are not sterile. No one told you?
-No.

766
00:49:47,720 --> 00:49:51,680
For more than 30 years,
you drank a lot of alcohol.

767
00:49:51,760 --> 00:49:54,200
So much so,
that it made you sick.

768
00:49:55,120 --> 00:49:56,360
I drank a lot!

769
00:49:56,440 --> 00:49:59,640
When you were with Francisca, in 1984,

770
00:49:59,720 --> 00:50:03,000
did you have problems with your erection?

771
00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:06,920
Yes.

772
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:11,360
Had you ever noticed that your testicles
were smaller than they used to be?

773
00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:16,840
She testified that you had complications
with your gender identity.

774
00:50:17,560 --> 00:50:19,400
I'm a man.

775
00:50:20,520 --> 00:50:23,320
Sir, do you understand

776
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:27,600
that you've given two different stories�

777
00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:31,680
�under oath?

778
00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:32,960
Do you understand that?

779
00:50:34,080 --> 00:50:34,920
Excuse me?

780
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:37,840
-Can you explain that?
-Yes.

781
00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:40,920
You told one story here today

782
00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:43,680
and a different story in your deposition,

783
00:50:44,360 --> 00:50:47,600
with respect to your son, correct?

784
00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:49,400
Yes.

785
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:55,000
Sir, you know you have a claim here,
before this jury,

786
00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:59,880
that you are sterile, and have always
been sterile, correct?

787
00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:01,080
You know that, right?

788
00:51:04,640 --> 00:51:08,240
Yes, I couldn't stand it.

789
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:11,000
I love my son, as my son.

790
00:51:11,080 --> 00:51:14,760
-[interpreter] I love my son as my son.
-I couldn't stand it in my heart,

791
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:18,240
I couldn't say, "No, he's not my son."

792
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:21,800
So, I said: "Yes, he is my son."

793
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:25,240
I know he's not mine, but I do this.

794
00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:27,000
That's the only son that I have.

795
00:51:27,080 --> 00:51:31,880
So, I say he's my son, he's my son.

796
00:51:31,960 --> 00:51:34,280
[interpreter]
Here and anywhere, I'll say it.

797
00:51:34,360 --> 00:51:38,520
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

798
00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:09,680
[guitar music playing]

799
00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:20,920
[Juan in Spanish] After 35 long years
of fighting, we are entering a new phase

800
00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:23,280
of battles and war regarding Nemagon.

801
00:52:24,440 --> 00:52:27,560
We are fighting a monster again.

802
00:52:27,640 --> 00:52:30,440
And this monster has strategies

803
00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:33,320
to split the affected banana
plantation workers,

804
00:52:33,400 --> 00:52:37,560
recruiting dishonest leaders
that aren't even lawyers,

805
00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:39,840
to find a way to pay less.

806
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:46,280
As lawyers, it's our obligation to share
this information.

807
00:52:46,360 --> 00:52:50,320
So that you can arm yourselves
and don't let them deceive you.

808
00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:54,120
In Honduras, they've recently
started paying

809
00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:56,760
only 300 dollars to each affected worker.

810
00:52:56,840 --> 00:53:02,120
Those of you listening to this program,
listen to me, don't sign anything!

811
00:53:02,200 --> 00:53:05,840
Don't accept such small amounts

812
00:53:05,920 --> 00:53:10,200
like 1000 or 300 dollars
to settle your case.

813
00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:14,200
-A smile, please.
-Fine, fine.

814
00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:17,800
[in Spanish] As you know, we're setting up
a second group,

815
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:23,000
which will be even stronger
than the first.

816
00:53:23,080 --> 00:53:27,040
I don't want multinational corporations
to take advantage

817
00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:32,600
of our customers, the affected workers,
because you are uninformed.

818
00:53:32,680 --> 00:53:34,320
So, keep them informed.

819
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:37,800
The doctor came from the United States

820
00:53:37,880 --> 00:53:40,720
just to help 13 claimants,

821
00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:42,800
or will you help all of the victims?

822
00:53:43,680 --> 00:53:47,800
The goal is to reach an agreement
for all of the affected workers,

823
00:53:47,880 --> 00:53:51,200
and the strategy to settle all

824
00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:56,200
is to hit the multinational corporations
using small groups,

825
00:53:56,280 --> 00:54:00,560
I see a day on which we will achieve
a global agreement.

826
00:54:00,640 --> 00:54:03,000
The only way to reach that day

827
00:54:03,080 --> 00:54:05,120
is to keep the pressure

828
00:54:05,200 --> 00:54:08,400
and to keep on winning cases against them.

829
00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:17,120
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

830
00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:48,000
[Juan in Spanish]
Each time a worker who worked

831
00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:51,480
at the banana plantation
and was exposed to this chemical dies,

832
00:54:53,120 --> 00:54:55,840
and there is scientific evidence
that proves

833
00:54:55,920 --> 00:55:00,120
that the cause was related
to the use of this chemical,

834
00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:05,760
it's another win
for the Dole Food Company.

835
00:55:07,200 --> 00:55:09,760
Each one that dies, is a victory.

836
00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:16,080
It's a shame for justice, and for me too,
on a personal level.

837
00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:21,520
We decided to base our case
on the infertility

838
00:55:21,600 --> 00:55:24,040
and not on death, or cancer cases,

839
00:55:24,120 --> 00:55:28,680
kidney failure, or birth defects.

840
00:55:29,240 --> 00:55:34,080
Or testicular cancer or any other disease,
although there's science supporting that.

841
00:55:35,720 --> 00:55:38,680
The key scientific evidence
is the science of infertility.

842
00:55:42,400 --> 00:55:45,480
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

843
00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:54,040
[Juan] This is bigger than just a case.

844
00:55:56,120 --> 00:55:59,120
This is the very first time ever that

845
00:55:59,200 --> 00:56:01,880
agricultural workers
from a third world nation

846
00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:04,480
are heard in the United States' court.

847
00:56:07,840 --> 00:56:11,600
These big corporations never
expected this to happen.

848
00:56:12,360 --> 00:56:15,680
They thought they could get away with it,
like they always have.

849
00:56:19,240 --> 00:56:21,840
So, if we are successful in this case,

850
00:56:21,920 --> 00:56:24,200
we will have created the precedent

851
00:56:24,840 --> 00:56:26,720
for other workers to

852
00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:30,000
sue in the United States
and vindicate their rights.

853
00:56:33,240 --> 00:56:36,240
If I can contribute something
to the legal profession,

854
00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:40,440
opening a door for future litigation
regarding global commerce,

855
00:56:41,520 --> 00:56:45,280
and people claiming their rights
when they are exploited,

856
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:50,080
If I can contribute that to the law,
I'd be very satisfied.

857
00:56:50,160 --> 00:56:53,320
More so than leaving a statue
or a building behind.

858
00:57:02,720 --> 00:57:06,400
It should be August 18th, 1977.

859
00:57:06,480 --> 00:57:08,040
[phone rings]

860
00:57:09,760 --> 00:57:12,200
It's gotta be and I need it for argument.

861
00:57:19,720 --> 00:57:23,520
Go to the notes for Claudio Gonzalez.

862
00:57:27,960 --> 00:57:31,080
-Are you ready, Danielle?
-I'm writing it.

863
00:57:31,600 --> 00:57:33,960
[whispering indistinctly]

864
00:57:47,600 --> 00:57:50,480
[ambulance sirens]

865
00:57:52,280 --> 00:57:54,160
Let's see here.

866
00:57:56,440 --> 00:57:58,120
Here we go.

867
00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:01,360
[court footage] And you showed
really extraordinary commitment.

868
00:58:01,920 --> 00:58:03,560
And great attention.

869
00:58:05,480 --> 00:58:08,280
You've really shown a lot
of patient listening

870
00:58:08,360 --> 00:58:10,440
through a very long period of time

871
00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:13,400
and you've been great note takers.

872
00:58:14,040 --> 00:58:18,920
And really demonstrated, I think,
what is important to us all,

873
00:58:19,560 --> 00:58:24,480
and that is really fundamental
in our system of justice.

874
00:58:25,360 --> 00:58:28,840
Now, if this was a car accident case

875
00:58:29,360 --> 00:58:32,040
and the plaintiff said:

876
00:58:32,120 --> 00:58:35,760
"Look, I was healthy before,

877
00:58:35,840 --> 00:58:40,920
I had two good functioning legs,
the car hit me, it broke my leg.

878
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:44,400
I'm injured."
What's the cause of the broken leg?

879
00:58:44,480 --> 00:58:47,480
You could say the cause of the broken leg
was the car that hit it

880
00:58:47,560 --> 00:58:49,800
Before I was fine, now I'm not.

881
00:58:50,760 --> 00:58:52,880
Well here, you don't have

882
00:58:52,960 --> 00:58:55,240
for some of these plaintiffs,

883
00:58:55,320 --> 00:58:57,560
you don't have any evidence
that they were fertile before.

884
00:58:57,640 --> 00:59:01,920
You would think that if you're trying
to pull together some plaintiffs,

885
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:03,440
to bring a case,

886
00:59:03,520 --> 00:59:06,040
that you'd find one
where at least you could prove

887
00:59:06,120 --> 00:59:07,920
that he had some fertility beforehand.

888
00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:09,960
And then went to the farm,
and then was infertile.

889
00:59:10,040 --> 00:59:12,840
That's what you'd expect,
that's not what you have here.

890
00:59:12,920 --> 00:59:14,720
In fact, what you have here

891
00:59:14,800 --> 00:59:20,040
is infertile for half the plaintiffs,
close to half the plaintiffs,

892
00:59:20,120 --> 00:59:22,880
plaintiffs that are infertile
before they go to the farm

893
00:59:23,800 --> 00:59:26,080
and then, of course,
are infertile afterwards,

894
00:59:26,160 --> 00:59:31,440
or, for three, they are fertile beforehand
and fertile afterwards.

895
00:59:31,520 --> 00:59:34,960
Inconsistent with the basic
causation pattern you would expect.

896
00:59:35,040 --> 00:59:36,960
It's a failure of proof.

897
00:59:37,680 --> 00:59:41,840
[on TV] Morales Mendoza, do you have
someone that you consider your son?

898
00:59:41,920 --> 00:59:45,040
He answered: "Well, I have a son
who was given to me."

899
00:59:45,120 --> 00:59:47,200
A woman gave a son away.

900
00:59:47,280 --> 00:59:48,960
He was six months old.

901
00:59:49,040 --> 00:59:52,960
So, that's the son we're raising,
he's 27 years old now.

902
00:59:53,040 --> 00:59:56,240
That's the one whom we call son.
That's what he told you.

903
00:59:56,320 --> 00:59:59,160
A completely different story under oath.

904
00:59:59,240 --> 01:00:01,120
You have a liar here.

905
01:00:01,960 --> 01:00:06,600
Rojas Laguna denied
that he had a prostate problem in 1987.

906
01:00:07,520 --> 01:00:09,440
His records came in, he admits,

907
01:00:09,520 --> 01:00:10,880
when shown those records,

908
01:00:10,960 --> 01:00:12,680
that he had a prostate problem,

909
01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:16,200
and it goes directly to his claim.

910
01:00:17,320 --> 01:00:19,120
These are lies.

911
01:00:19,920 --> 01:00:23,920
And you have so many examples
of that with these plaintiffs.

912
01:00:25,040 --> 01:00:28,760
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

913
01:00:28,840 --> 01:00:32,560
I'm not going to suggest any alternative
number to you for damages.

914
01:00:32,640 --> 01:00:36,360
It would be a stain on the reputation

915
01:00:38,160 --> 01:00:41,200
of these people whose beliefs
are being challenged

916
01:00:42,640 --> 01:00:46,280
to suggest a dollar in damages.

917
01:00:47,120 --> 01:00:50,080
That would be a stain on the reputation
of the people

918
01:00:50,160 --> 01:00:52,120
at Standard Fruit, whom I represent.

919
01:00:53,080 --> 01:00:55,160
People are entitled
to have their opinions,

920
01:00:55,240 --> 01:00:57,960
but people aren't entitled to have
their own facts.

921
01:00:58,040 --> 01:01:00,120
Facts are stubborn things.

922
01:01:00,200 --> 01:01:05,320
This gentleman, before he ever
stepped foot on a farm, was infertile.

923
01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:07,080
When you change a testimony like that

924
01:01:07,160 --> 01:01:10,760
it's not because you're confused
about dates.

925
01:01:10,840 --> 01:01:14,200
It's because you're not telling the truth.

926
01:01:14,280 --> 01:01:18,360
It is not a problem that these gentlemen
didn't have a college degree.

927
01:01:18,920 --> 01:01:22,480
People without college degrees
can answer questions truthfully.

928
01:01:22,560 --> 01:01:26,760
Standard Fruit and Dole are not liable
to these plaintiffs.

929
01:01:27,640 --> 01:01:32,400
There is no causation. No exposure.
No causation.

930
01:01:32,480 --> 01:01:34,960
These plaintiffs claim fails.

931
01:01:36,560 --> 01:01:38,640
[water sounds]

932
01:01:56,280 --> 01:01:59,320
[Duane on TV] My responsibility
has been my clients' case.

933
01:02:01,520 --> 01:02:03,040
I need to give that to you,

934
01:02:03,920 --> 01:02:08,520
not in the sense that you'd walk
in my shoes as an advocate,

935
01:02:10,080 --> 01:02:14,600
but in the sense that the fate
of their case belongs to you.

936
01:02:16,000 --> 01:02:19,120
This product was banned

937
01:02:19,200 --> 01:02:23,080
by every country in the world
where it was ever used.

938
01:02:25,240 --> 01:02:28,760
They didn't say that it was okay
to use the product

939
01:02:29,280 --> 01:02:32,800
in a way in which it was used
in Nicaragua or anywhere else.

940
01:02:32,880 --> 01:02:34,920
They all banned it.

941
01:02:36,960 --> 01:02:38,880
Mr. McKnight said

942
01:02:39,480 --> 01:02:44,320
that I'm impugning
the honest beliefs of Dole.

943
01:02:46,520 --> 01:02:47,560
That this was safe.

944
01:02:48,960 --> 01:02:52,880
I've got the following questions for you
to think about on that point:

945
01:02:53,600 --> 01:02:58,480
Why would anybody after doing contracts
to buy DBCP for all these years,

946
01:02:59,680 --> 01:03:02,400
suddenly, only after 1977,

947
01:03:02,480 --> 01:03:06,360
say, "By the way, we need to decide
who's going to pay for the injury claims

948
01:03:06,440 --> 01:03:07,840
by third parties."

949
01:03:11,120 --> 01:03:14,280
Dow was saying,
"I will not sell this product

950
01:03:14,360 --> 01:03:18,000
to you unless we have indemnity." Why?

951
01:03:18,880 --> 01:03:22,880
Because they thought there'd be no claims?
What's the purpose of the clause?

952
01:03:23,400 --> 01:03:24,680
It's not needed.

953
01:03:26,280 --> 01:03:28,520
What does that tell you

954
01:03:28,600 --> 01:03:31,440
about what they really thought
and what they really knew?

955
01:03:34,040 --> 01:03:36,840
They sold all the product they had,

956
01:03:36,920 --> 01:03:38,560
500,000 gallons,

957
01:03:38,640 --> 01:03:42,880
to one firm, their biggest client,

958
01:03:42,960 --> 01:03:46,160
only after they said, "We want indemnity."

959
01:03:51,800 --> 01:03:53,520
[tense music playing]

960
01:03:57,000 --> 01:04:00,400
[Duane] So, when they come to us
with their honest beliefs,

961
01:04:02,120 --> 01:04:03,800
why didn't they test the workers?

962
01:04:05,640 --> 01:04:09,280
They knew that they should check
workers who'd been exposed

963
01:04:09,360 --> 01:04:12,640
six months or more, and they never did it.

964
01:04:13,680 --> 01:04:17,080
And even after they learned

965
01:04:17,160 --> 01:04:21,320
that their own workers in Costa Rica
were sterile,

966
01:04:21,400 --> 01:04:24,120
they didn't check workers in Costa Rica,

967
01:04:24,200 --> 01:04:26,320
they didn't check workers in Nicaragua,

968
01:04:26,400 --> 01:04:28,880
but they kept using the product.

969
01:04:30,600 --> 01:04:33,720
[cables squeaking]

970
01:04:40,280 --> 01:04:42,960
[Duane] You were told that Dole stopped.

971
01:04:44,760 --> 01:04:48,040
They stopped when the government
of the United States

972
01:04:48,120 --> 01:04:54,760
in 1979 said, "There is no permitted
level of DBCP in bananas."

973
01:04:54,840 --> 01:04:56,280
There was no residue.

974
01:04:56,360 --> 01:05:00,640
And that's the time they stopped buying
the product within a week, they said.

975
01:05:01,920 --> 01:05:04,160
But what counsel did not say

976
01:05:04,800 --> 01:05:08,320
is they took every drop they had
in their inventory and applied it

977
01:05:08,400 --> 01:05:09,960
even after they knew that.

978
01:05:10,840 --> 01:05:13,680
They never stopped until they ran out.

979
01:05:14,160 --> 01:05:15,480
That's the truth.

980
01:05:17,720 --> 01:05:19,400
There isn't a drop left.

981
01:05:21,400 --> 01:05:23,320
[water sounds]

982
01:05:29,480 --> 01:05:34,600
What we're talking about is something
that in a very practical level is cruel.

983
01:05:37,400 --> 01:05:40,760
Here you have somebody in life
who has very little,

984
01:05:41,320 --> 01:05:46,240
and you take away from them
the opportunity to have children,

985
01:05:46,320 --> 01:05:49,200
one of the few joys they have left
in their life.

986
01:05:49,280 --> 01:05:52,360
[on TV] Some of them
live literally alone.

987
01:05:55,120 --> 01:06:00,440
Many of the women in their lives left them
because they couldn't have children.

988
01:06:06,640 --> 01:06:10,080
We've all had the joy of having a child

989
01:06:10,160 --> 01:06:12,880
taking an entire hand to grab one finger.

990
01:06:15,840 --> 01:06:20,120
My clients have been deprived
of something that is important,

991
01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:24,400
and none of us can ever give
it back to them. It's too late.

992
01:06:26,960 --> 01:06:30,200
But we have to think about how that
has changed their lives

993
01:06:30,280 --> 01:06:33,480
and what it means
if the defendants are responsible.

994
01:06:34,080 --> 01:06:35,600
And I leave that to you, thank you.

995
01:06:36,520 --> 01:06:40,000
[mechanical noises]

996
01:06:47,440 --> 01:06:50,520
We've got some Porto's here,
come on in, enjoy.

997
01:06:50,600 --> 01:06:54,280
Have some good old local Porto's bakery.

998
01:06:55,400 --> 01:06:57,640
It's a waiting game now.

999
01:06:59,120 --> 01:07:00,640
-Thanks.
-Hi guys.

1000
01:07:00,720 --> 01:07:03,160
I brought this juice.

1001
01:07:03,680 --> 01:07:05,880
Pineapple juice from Dole?

1002
01:07:05,960 --> 01:07:08,480
[all laugh loudly]

1003
01:07:10,000 --> 01:07:11,760
You know, I don't want this stuff.

1004
01:07:11,840 --> 01:07:15,440
-Oh, no. More!
-[laughter]

1005
01:07:15,520 --> 01:07:20,680
-Have you switched sides?
-No, you did a good job.

1006
01:07:20,760 --> 01:07:22,520
Thank you, I was just�

1007
01:07:22,600 --> 01:07:25,000
Could I have a beer, please?

1008
01:07:26,000 --> 01:07:26,920
A toast to Juan.

1009
01:07:27,000 --> 01:07:30,600
-To Duane!
-To Duane and Juan!

1010
01:07:31,240 --> 01:07:34,160
Appreciative for Duane, hip-hip, hurray!

1011
01:07:34,240 --> 01:07:38,360
Hip-hip, hurray! Hip-hip, hurray!

1012
01:07:38,440 --> 01:07:41,560
-Alright, Duane. Good job, good job.
-Woo-hoo.

1013
01:07:44,920 --> 01:07:46,240
We'll see.

1014
01:07:50,320 --> 01:07:54,120
Man, in four hours they could throw a lot
of issues into the air.

1015
01:07:58,560 --> 01:07:59,480
[clears throat]

1016
01:08:01,320 --> 01:08:02,840
All I know is I'm tired.

1017
01:08:12,440 --> 01:08:15,640
[Duane] I received a call over
the weekend from Michael Carter,

1018
01:08:15,720 --> 01:08:18,520
the in-house attorney,
general counsel for Dole.

1019
01:08:20,600 --> 01:08:23,920
And he wants to meet with me
for lunch to discuss something,

1020
01:08:24,000 --> 01:08:26,120
and it's undoubtedly settlement.

1021
01:08:27,479 --> 01:08:29,439
He sat through all the final arguments,

1022
01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:31,319
so I think he's having second thoughts

1023
01:08:31,399 --> 01:08:34,960
about whether or not
he should explore his alternatives

1024
01:08:35,040 --> 01:08:37,160
to the verdict and more litigation.

1025
01:08:37,920 --> 01:08:41,240
As far as I'm concerned, I want a verdict.

1026
01:08:41,319 --> 01:08:45,840
I want the jury to come out,
I don't want that process stopped.

1027
01:08:47,560 --> 01:08:49,279
Who's blinking? Who's nervous?

1028
01:08:50,720 --> 01:08:53,840
We're not calling them for lunch.
I want a verdict.

1029
01:08:53,920 --> 01:08:56,520
There's no question that it's going to be

1030
01:08:56,600 --> 01:08:59,439
very difficult to arrive
on an agreement on all this,

1031
01:08:59,520 --> 01:09:02,760
and so we need to put as much
pressure on them as we possibly can.

1032
01:09:03,399 --> 01:09:05,279
And a verdict may do that.

1033
01:09:06,240 --> 01:09:09,920
You speak a lot louder
from a position of strength,

1034
01:09:10,000 --> 01:09:12,840
and I think we need to do that
with these corporations.

1035
01:09:12,920 --> 01:09:15,000
We need to deal from a position
of strength.

1036
01:09:19,520 --> 01:09:21,399
[soft music playing]

1037
01:09:44,200 --> 01:09:47,359
Hi, good morning. I'm calling from
attorney Juan Dominguez's,

1038
01:09:47,439 --> 01:09:51,399
regarding the Tellez vs.
Dole Food Company.

1039
01:09:51,479 --> 01:09:54,279
We're told that there are difficulties
in the courtroom.

1040
01:09:54,360 --> 01:09:57,880
Can you check on that please,
because we're awaiting the live feed.

1041
01:09:59,440 --> 01:10:02,640
Is the camera guy in the courtroom on?

1042
01:10:02,720 --> 01:10:05,200
If it's on, that means we've got problems.

1043
01:10:05,280 --> 01:10:06,120
Okay?

1044
01:10:08,000 --> 01:10:09,240
-Okay.
-Yeah, they have.

1045
01:10:10,080 --> 01:10:11,320
Okay.

1046
01:10:11,400 --> 01:10:13,480
But it's way past 10:30 already.

1047
01:10:14,280 --> 01:10:15,920
Is the jury out yet or not?

1048
01:10:18,360 --> 01:10:21,000
Their camera lost power a minute ago.

1049
01:10:21,560 --> 01:10:22,520
Courtroom camera.

1050
01:10:22,600 --> 01:10:24,320
-Oh.
-Oh, God.

1051
01:10:28,320 --> 01:10:30,520
They're reading the verdicts now, right?

1052
01:10:33,560 --> 01:10:34,480
Okay.

1053
01:10:34,560 --> 01:10:35,720
[phone ringing]

1054
01:10:36,880 --> 01:10:38,840
The offices of Juan Dominguez.

1055
01:10:39,760 --> 01:10:41,840
[beeping sounds]

1056
01:10:46,080 --> 01:10:47,600
I'm not sure what's going on.

1057
01:10:47,680 --> 01:10:50,160
It looks like they're winning
on some and everything,

1058
01:10:50,240 --> 01:10:51,800
and some are half and half.

1059
01:10:51,880 --> 01:10:54,720
But I don't know where I picked up
on the verdict.

1060
01:10:54,800 --> 01:10:59,040
[court feed] Carlos Enrique Diaz Artiaga,
yes.

1061
01:10:59,120 --> 01:11:02,200
Lizandro Espinoza Delgado, no.

1062
01:11:03,080 --> 01:11:05,280
-It's terrible.
-Claudio Gonzalez, yes.

1063
01:11:06,120 --> 01:11:07,960
More than half are getting killed.

1064
01:11:09,520 --> 01:11:12,240
Secundino de Jesus Herrera, no.

1065
01:11:13,080 --> 01:11:15,680
Jose Anastacio Rojas Laguna, yes.

1066
01:11:15,760 --> 01:11:18,160
For each claimant listed below

1067
01:11:18,240 --> 01:11:19,120
that I answer "yes--"

1068
01:11:19,760 --> 01:11:21,480
What amount of damages, if any,

1069
01:11:21,560 --> 01:11:24,360
would you award the plaintiff
to compensate him for that harm.

1070
01:11:25,480 --> 01:11:30,080
[court feed] Julio Cesar Gonzalez,
688,000 dollars.

1071
01:11:30,160 --> 01:11:34,880
Carlos Enrique Diaz Artiaga,
460,000 dollars.

1072
01:11:34,960 --> 01:11:40,280
-Matilde Jose Lopez Mercado, 311,000--
-No! No!

1073
01:11:40,920 --> 01:11:43,360
-Jose Uriel Mendoza Gutierrez--
-What was that?

1074
01:11:43,440 --> 01:11:45,760
--517,600 dollars.

1075
01:11:46,320 --> 01:11:50,480
Jose Anastacio Laguna, 834,000.

1076
01:11:50,560 --> 01:11:56,040
Question number 15: For each plaintiff
for whom you award damages,

1077
01:11:56,120 --> 01:11:59,120
when you report the amount of damages

1078
01:11:59,200 --> 01:12:01,800
by the Dow Chemical Company
and the Dole Food Company--

1079
01:12:01,880 --> 01:12:03,240
[sighs] Terrible.

1080
01:12:05,160 --> 01:12:09,600
[judge] As to Carlos Miguel Blanco,
the response was no.

1081
01:12:09,680 --> 01:12:13,480
As to Macario Fulgencio Morales Mendoza,

1082
01:12:13,560 --> 01:12:16,000
the response was no.

1083
01:12:16,080 --> 01:12:19,840
-And, as to Jose Anastacio Laguna�
-Do the numbers?

1084
01:12:19,920 --> 01:12:21,920
We gotta go to the next stage.

1085
01:12:22,920 --> 01:12:25,680
It's six and six, six out and six in.

1086
01:12:34,280 --> 01:12:37,720
It's not all we expected,
I wanted them all, you know.

1087
01:12:37,800 --> 01:12:40,720
[judge] Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to thank you so far,

1088
01:12:40,800 --> 01:12:42,560
but this is not over.

1089
01:12:42,640 --> 01:12:45,960
We're going to go on to phase two
of the trial.

1090
01:12:46,040 --> 01:12:49,400
Text Louis and text Yvonne.

1091
01:12:49,480 --> 01:12:52,000
Ask for the total amount, and see if it
comes up with the same number as you.

1092
01:12:52,080 --> 01:12:54,760
-And then I'll call Nicaragua.
-Okay.

1093
01:12:54,840 --> 01:12:59,440
[judge] Dole has been found liable
for product liability and concealment.

1094
01:12:59,520 --> 01:13:03,200
You must now decide
whether each plaintiff has proved

1095
01:13:03,280 --> 01:13:07,520
that Dole engaged in that conduct
with malice, oppression or fraud.

1096
01:13:08,920 --> 01:13:13,160
Mr. Miller, your adversary claimed
the victory in this case.

1097
01:13:14,240 --> 01:13:16,520
We, the plaintiffs are gratified

1098
01:13:16,600 --> 01:13:19,680
that the jury have spent four months
paying very careful attention

1099
01:13:19,760 --> 01:13:24,080
to the evidence,
and we have further proceedings

1100
01:13:24,160 --> 01:13:27,360
that we need to have on malice.

1101
01:13:27,440 --> 01:13:29,520
This case is not finished,

1102
01:13:29,600 --> 01:13:31,880
so I cannot comment further at this time.

1103
01:13:40,920 --> 01:13:44,600
[Duane] The verdict's running
11 to 1, or 12 to nothing,

1104
01:13:44,680 --> 01:13:48,160
on fraudulent concealment.
So, they've clearly decided that Dole

1105
01:13:48,960 --> 01:13:51,800
didn't just stub their toe.
They did bad things.

1106
01:13:51,880 --> 01:13:54,120
And we have a very good chance

1107
01:13:55,320 --> 01:13:58,880
of getting serious consideration
on punitive damages.

1108
01:13:59,600 --> 01:14:02,360
I don't know what that means monetarily,

1109
01:14:02,440 --> 01:14:04,320
but this jury did not go hog-wild.

1110
01:14:05,440 --> 01:14:06,720
Anyway, uhm�

1111
01:14:08,240 --> 01:14:10,840
�the Los Angeles Times made it clear

1112
01:14:10,920 --> 01:14:13,880
that they're going to play it up
as a victory.

1113
01:14:14,360 --> 01:14:18,640
They were quizzing Dole about the fact
that they were found 80% at fault.

1114
01:14:18,720 --> 01:14:22,600
And found guilty of fraud and they didn't
want to answer questions on that.

1115
01:14:22,680 --> 01:14:28,040
The jury is going to interpret this
as a verdict against Dole, principally.

1116
01:14:28,520 --> 01:14:30,640
And for the plaintiffs.

1117
01:14:35,040 --> 01:14:37,480
[on radio in Spanish] Good morning
Dr. Juan Jos� Dominguez,

1118
01:14:37,560 --> 01:14:41,640
What news can you share with many
of the affected workers

1119
01:14:41,720 --> 01:14:44,880
who are excitingly anticipating
the Tellez case

1120
01:14:44,960 --> 01:14:49,000
known as the case that will set precedent
for all those affected

1121
01:14:49,080 --> 01:14:51,240
in Central America. Good morning, doctor.

1122
01:14:51,320 --> 01:14:54,280
[Juan] Good afternoon,
Mr. Francisco Rocha!

1123
01:14:54,360 --> 01:14:59,560
I have the honor to tell all the people
listening to the radio,

1124
01:14:59,640 --> 01:15:02,400
and the affected workers in Nicaragua
and Honduras,

1125
01:15:02,480 --> 01:15:05,920
that the jury has read its verdict

1126
01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:09,400
in favor of the affected Nicaraguans.

1127
01:15:09,480 --> 01:15:14,800
I cannot say the names of the people
or the cases that earned money,

1128
01:15:14,880 --> 01:15:18,080
but we need a grand total of one hour,

1129
01:15:18,160 --> 01:15:22,800
because we're going for more money
tomorrow. For now, the court has granted

1130
01:15:23,440 --> 01:15:29,200
3,290,800 dollars.

1131
01:15:30,080 --> 01:15:31,800
This is today's verdict.

1132
01:15:31,880 --> 01:15:35,240
As I explained to all of you on Saturday,

1133
01:15:35,320 --> 01:15:38,320
there will be three decisions,
this is the first.

1134
01:15:39,040 --> 01:15:43,920
Tomorrow they'll decide if the people
were sterilized with malice.

1135
01:15:44,000 --> 01:15:47,520
If it was done with malice,
this will have a great impact,

1136
01:15:47,600 --> 01:15:51,360
because it will create precedent
for thousands of other affected workers,

1137
01:15:51,440 --> 01:15:54,080
who are awaiting their day of justice.

1138
01:15:54,160 --> 01:15:55,240
[firework goes off]

1139
01:15:57,600 --> 01:15:58,720
[firework pops]

1140
01:16:08,640 --> 01:16:11,160
[radio playing in the background]

1141
01:16:11,760 --> 01:16:13,880
[Byron] This is a struggle.

1142
01:16:15,440 --> 01:16:20,680
I hope that the punishment hurts,
that it hits their conscience,

1143
01:16:22,520 --> 01:16:27,880
and that they realize that these people
worked for their benefit.

1144
01:16:37,240 --> 01:16:43,800
I thought that we only had
my father's situation.

1145
01:16:45,720 --> 01:16:48,280
But I was wrong.

1146
01:16:52,640 --> 01:16:54,600
Her story is sadder.

1147
01:16:55,480 --> 01:17:01,160
Her cancer
is attacking her brain.

1148
01:17:06,120 --> 01:17:10,200
There's a person, one more soul,

1149
01:17:10,280 --> 01:17:12,440
that was taken by this banana plantation.

1150
01:17:13,240 --> 01:17:16,200
It's on their conscience.
It's on their conscience.

1151
01:17:16,280 --> 01:17:17,600
It's like a war.

1152
01:17:17,680 --> 01:17:20,720
It's war. You go there and�

1153
01:17:20,800 --> 01:17:24,440
The general doesn't care
how many people they kill.

1154
01:17:24,520 --> 01:17:26,200
Victory is all that matters.

1155
01:17:26,280 --> 01:17:28,800
We have lost many lives,

1156
01:17:28,880 --> 01:17:31,720
something valuable that only God can give.

1157
01:17:37,840 --> 01:17:41,880
[Duante] The remaining issue
as to Dole, is really

1158
01:17:41,960 --> 01:17:43,800
how we characterize their conduct.

1159
01:17:45,160 --> 01:17:50,640
You're being asked to judge whether or not
they acted with one of three things:

1160
01:17:51,160 --> 01:17:54,240
Malice, oppression, or fraud.

1161
01:17:55,560 --> 01:17:57,600
Dole, 30 years ago,

1162
01:17:57,680 --> 01:18:01,400
could've done something better,
or could've done something differently.

1163
01:18:01,480 --> 01:18:03,880
I look back at what I did in the '70s

1164
01:18:03,960 --> 01:18:06,800
and I could've done things better,
I should've done things better,

1165
01:18:06,880 --> 01:18:10,120
I could've and should've
done things differently.

1166
01:18:10,200 --> 01:18:14,600
We all can look back on conduct,
and say we could've done it better.

1167
01:18:14,680 --> 01:18:16,320
We should've done it better.

1168
01:18:16,400 --> 01:18:19,400
That's always valuable to do,
you learn lessons from that.

1169
01:18:20,200 --> 01:18:22,600
But that's not the question
that's facing you,

1170
01:18:22,680 --> 01:18:24,160
could Dole have done it better?

1171
01:18:24,960 --> 01:18:29,440
What we're talking about is corporate
accountability and responsibility.

1172
01:18:29,920 --> 01:18:33,240
We have an American corporation overseas

1173
01:18:33,320 --> 01:18:36,040
presenting itself as the face of America.

1174
01:18:36,120 --> 01:18:39,280
You will not find one sentence,

1175
01:18:40,320 --> 01:18:43,080
one thought, one concern,

1176
01:18:43,680 --> 01:18:46,640
for the effect of this chemical
on their workers.

1177
01:18:46,720 --> 01:18:48,360
Even after they knew.

1178
01:18:48,440 --> 01:18:50,920
The claim that's being made now,

1179
01:18:51,000 --> 01:18:53,920
is a very nasty claim.

1180
01:18:54,480 --> 01:18:57,280
It's a very nasty claim.

1181
01:18:57,360 --> 01:18:59,760
The claim that is being made

1182
01:19:00,640 --> 01:19:02,920
is that these individuals,

1183
01:19:03,480 --> 01:19:08,320
Ballesteros, DeLorenzo, and others knew

1184
01:19:09,080 --> 01:19:12,280
that DBCP was going to cause

1185
01:19:12,360 --> 01:19:15,000
the plaintiffs' testicles to be damaged.

1186
01:19:15,080 --> 01:19:18,680
That's what has to be shown here.
That they knew that and more,

1187
01:19:19,680 --> 01:19:24,520
that they acted in a vile way
and intended that it happen.

1188
01:19:24,600 --> 01:19:27,840
Counsel says these are ugly accusations.

1189
01:19:29,960 --> 01:19:33,360
They're strong words.
They're serious issues.

1190
01:19:33,440 --> 01:19:36,960
But, ultimately, when you decide,

1191
01:19:37,920 --> 01:19:40,400
you've got to say whether or not

1192
01:19:40,480 --> 01:19:43,440
it meets the legal standard,
as defined by the judge,

1193
01:19:45,160 --> 01:19:47,320
whether it sounds good or not.

1194
01:19:47,960 --> 01:19:51,640
If the label fits, it should be applied.

1195
01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:02,240
[court clerk] Special verdict form
phase 2.

1196
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:05,600
We answer the question
submitted to us as follows

1197
01:20:05,680 --> 01:20:07,720
regarding the plaintiffs listed below.

1198
01:20:07,800 --> 01:20:11,680
Question one, for each claimant below:

1199
01:20:11,760 --> 01:20:14,560
Did that claimant prove by clear
and convincing evidence

1200
01:20:14,640 --> 01:20:17,240
that Dole engaged in conduct
in California

1201
01:20:17,320 --> 01:20:20,680
with malice, oppression or fraud
to harm the plaintiff?

1202
01:20:20,760 --> 01:20:23,400
Jose Cordero Gonzalez, yes.

1203
01:20:23,920 --> 01:20:26,920
Carlos Enrique Diez Artiaga, yes.

1204
01:20:27,480 --> 01:20:29,800
Claudio Gonzalez, no.

1205
01:20:29,880 --> 01:20:33,080
Matilde Jose Lopez Mercado, yes.

1206
01:20:33,720 --> 01:20:37,280
Jose Uriel Mendoza Gutierrez, yes.

1207
01:20:38,200 --> 01:20:41,360
Jose Anastacio Rojas Laguna, yes.

1208
01:20:41,440 --> 01:20:45,000
Question number two--

1209
01:20:46,080 --> 01:20:48,800
[soft instrumental music playing]

1210
01:21:01,880 --> 01:21:06,920
[in Spanish] Congratulations, Antonio.
This is incredible.

1211
01:21:07,000 --> 01:21:10,000
It's amazing, brother, incredible.

1212
01:21:10,080 --> 01:21:14,320
Today we made history.

1213
01:21:16,040 --> 01:21:20,200
We are in the law books that

1214
01:21:20,280 --> 01:21:25,080
that law school students will study
in the future. I assure you.

1215
01:21:25,160 --> 01:21:27,480
-Congratulations!
-Thank you.

1216
01:21:27,560 --> 01:21:29,200
Tap tap tap.

1217
01:21:29,280 --> 01:21:31,680
-I am not doing this.
-[laughing]

1218
01:21:31,760 --> 01:21:34,120
Yes you are.

1219
01:21:34,200 --> 01:21:35,880
I felt like dancing in the aisle,

1220
01:21:35,960 --> 01:21:38,440
but I had to sit there
and be professional.

1221
01:21:38,520 --> 01:21:41,600
This is better than my dream
of being an NBA player.

1222
01:21:41,680 --> 01:21:43,160
-[laughing]
-You know.

1223
01:21:43,240 --> 01:21:46,200
I wish I could see his face, but I don't.

1224
01:21:46,280 --> 01:21:50,720
He was like� And his shoulders
started slouching down,

1225
01:21:50,800 --> 01:21:54,360
and people started not wanting
to look at each other on the same table.

1226
01:21:54,440 --> 01:21:55,960
It was really evident.

1227
01:21:56,040 --> 01:21:59,120
They will learn.
They can go to trial if they want.

1228
01:22:00,000 --> 01:22:01,720
We'll see how many times they want.

1229
01:22:03,560 --> 01:22:06,800
For these six individual plaintiffs,
this was a wonderful day.

1230
01:22:06,880 --> 01:22:11,200
They will be among the wealthier people
in Nicaragua, and I congratulate them.

1231
01:22:11,280 --> 01:22:14,000
But, for the plaintiff�s lawyers,

1232
01:22:14,080 --> 01:22:17,080
this is a substantial defeat,

1233
01:22:17,160 --> 01:22:22,560
because, for them to have invested
as heavily as they did

1234
01:22:22,640 --> 01:22:24,360
in time and costs,

1235
01:22:24,440 --> 01:22:30,280
and to come up with a result
that won't even come close to paying

1236
01:22:30,880 --> 01:22:34,480
their smallest bills, is a real defeat.

1237
01:22:34,560 --> 01:22:37,520
It will mean the plaintiff's lawyers
are going to have to reassess

1238
01:22:37,600 --> 01:22:39,560
whether they are going
to pursue these cases.

1239
01:22:41,880 --> 01:22:44,960
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

1240
01:22:49,880 --> 01:22:52,800
[guitar music playing]

1241
01:23:00,600 --> 01:23:04,880
[guitar music continues]

1242
01:23:04,960 --> 01:23:08,120
[presenter] Where are all the workers
affected by Nemagon?

1243
01:23:08,200 --> 01:23:10,200
[hollering] Here!

1244
01:23:10,280 --> 01:23:15,240
I want you to get up and give a hand
for Dr. Juan Dominguez!

1245
01:23:15,320 --> 01:23:17,440
-Stand up for a long ovation.
-[crowd cheering]

1246
01:23:17,520 --> 01:23:19,960
[crowd clapping and cheering]

1247
01:23:20,040 --> 01:23:24,720
Show your gratitude
to Dr. Juan Jose Dominguez.

1248
01:23:24,800 --> 01:23:27,680
[crowd clapping and cheering]

1249
01:23:33,480 --> 01:23:36,360
Shake the fans!

1250
01:23:36,440 --> 01:23:38,560
Shake the fans!

1251
01:23:38,640 --> 01:23:42,040
[crowd clapping and cheering]

1252
01:23:44,160 --> 01:23:46,280
[Juan] They're screwed.

1253
01:23:47,920 --> 01:23:49,600
They're cornered.

1254
01:23:51,000 --> 01:23:54,000
And we'll continue to lower the machete.

1255
01:23:55,120 --> 01:23:58,880
Because we hit them really hard
with the machete. They're bleeding.

1256
01:23:59,920 --> 01:24:04,200
I am preparing the next machete,
which will be bigger and sharper.

1257
01:24:04,280 --> 01:24:05,760
And they know that.

1258
01:24:05,840 --> 01:24:10,200
[crowd clapping and cheering]

1259
01:24:10,280 --> 01:24:13,440
Where are we going? Where is this going?

1260
01:24:15,200 --> 01:24:18,120
What will happen with each of your cases?

1261
01:24:20,560 --> 01:24:24,480
What will happen, is the same as always.
More trials.

1262
01:24:27,720 --> 01:24:29,360
Because it's a war.

1263
01:24:31,280 --> 01:24:32,560
It's a long war.

1264
01:24:35,320 --> 01:24:36,600
It takes a lot of patience.

1265
01:24:37,400 --> 01:24:39,840
[dramatic instrumental music playing]

1266
01:24:53,040 --> 01:24:56,240
[plane engine roaring]

1267
01:25:20,080 --> 01:25:24,200
[upbeat music in Spanish playing]

1268
01:25:45,040 --> 01:25:46,960
[McKnight, part of the song]
The claim that's being made now,

1269
01:25:47,040 --> 01:25:50,440
is a very nasty claim.

1270
01:25:50,520 --> 01:25:53,360
[Juan] �that we have a victory.

1271
01:25:53,840 --> 01:25:57,880
-[McKnight] Very nasty.
-[Juan] Take more money.

1272
01:25:57,960 --> 01:25:59,960
[McKnight] Very nasty.

1273
01:26:00,040 --> 01:26:03,280
[Spanish upbeat song continues]

1274
01:26:06,240 --> 01:26:08,200
[Juan] Take more money.

1275
01:26:16,600 --> 01:26:18,320
[English rap is added to the song]

1276
01:26:49,840 --> 01:26:56,640
[upbeat music in Spanish
and English rap continue together]

1277
01:26:58,200 --> 01:27:00,600
[Juan] �that we have a victory.

1278
01:27:07,000 --> 01:27:12,360
[McKnight] The claim that's being
made now, is a very nasty claim.

1279
01:27:12,440 --> 01:27:15,720
It's a very nasty claim.


