Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial by 200 Colombian Plaintiffs in Jane Doe 8 et al. v. Chiquita Brands International, Inc in New Jersey District Court
[Full text of the complaint]
20 YEARS OF
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[Full text of the complaint]
A U.S. court has ordered Chiquita Brands International to pay $38.3 million to Colombian families after finding the company liable for financing a paramilitary group responsible for their relatives' deaths.
A federal court jury in West Palm Beach ruled against Chiquita Brands International, awarding $38.3 million to Plaintiffs in a landmark case regarding Chiquita's financial support of the violent Colombian paramilitary group AUC from 1996 to 2004.
"After 17 years of litigation, a monumental win for victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia before a court in the United States."
"Six-week jury trial is the first of a series of bellwether trials in 16-year wrongful death lawsuit. In 2007, Chiquita pled guilty to a federal crime arising out of its payments to the terror group responsible for the murders."
The trial against Chiquita follows more than a decade of litigation over illegal payments the banana giant made to Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, a militant group known to kidnap and kill civilians.
"The decision overturns a lower court ruling and reinstates claims against Chiquita in a historic lawsuit over the company’s role in funding paramilitary groups in Colombia."
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed additional evidence to be admitted in a case involving Chiquita's alleged backing of a Colombian terrorist organisation, Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). Family members of victims allegedly murdered by the group seek to hold the banana company liable for financing the AUC, as the families argue that the murders would not have occurred without such support. The Court partially overturned the verdict of the lower court, which had excluded expert testimony and circumstantial evidence.