A Miami judge has ordered that a $98.5 million judgment against U.S. food giant Dole and Dow Chemical Co. cannot be enforced.

U.S. District Judge Paul Huck in Miami ruled Tuesday that the Nicaraguan court that awarded the judgment neither had jurisdiction nor met international legal standards.

A Nicaraguan trial court had awarded the money in 2005 to 150 alleged banana plantation workers under a special law enacted by the Nicaraguan legislature specifically to handle their claims. They said they were exposed to a pesticide that made them infertile.

Huck says the special law fails to meet international legal standards for due process and with the judgment attempts to establish facts ``that do not, and cannot, exist in reality.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@