Legal Ethics
Dole Lawyer Doesn’t Like ‘Bananas’ or Starring Lawyer’s Recusal Motion
Posted Jun 17, 2009, 09:30 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A lawyer accused of encouraging impoverished Nicaraguan men to fake claims of sterility in lawsuits against Dole food company is going on the offensive and provoking the ire of his courtroom opponent.
Los Angeles lawyer Juan Dominguez claims the judge who reported his alleged fraud to federal prosecutors and state bar authorities has singled him out for hostile treatment and has prejudged his guilt, the Associated Press reports.
Dominguez filed a motion last week seeking the recusal of the judge, Victoria Chaney of Los Angeles superior court. The document says Dominguez was barred from some hearings and not allowed to defend himself, AP says.
Dole lawyer Scott Edelman called Dominguez's recusal claims "outrageous" and told AP that Chaney had gone out of her way to be fair to the lawyer.
Chaney has ordered Dominguez to appear at a contempt hearing today. She tossed two consolidated lawsuits contending Dole pesticides caused sterility in Nicaraguan banana workers after hearing evidence that lawyers recruited men to pose as injured plaintiffs.
Today’s contempt hearing isn’t the only forum where Dominguez plays a central role. He is also featured in a more positive light in a new documentary on the plight of the plantation workers called Bananas! Dole says the movie presents a false story, and has threatened to sue the filmmaker and the Los Angeles Film Festival for defamation if the movie is shown there, according to a separate Associated Press story and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Edelman calls the movie “a phony story,” according to the Law Blog.