BANANAS!*

BANANAS!* wears its tagline proudly on its sleeve, “The film Dole Food Co. doesn't want you to see.” It’s more than a simple marketing ploy; it’s the truth. Dole spent considerable time, money, and energy trying to silence this Swedish documentary about a landmark lawsuit against the company. Ultimately these efforts, viewed by many as an attack on free speech, proved a public relations disaster and Dole ceased trying to muzzle the film. Like many journalists who have watched the film and were puzzled by Dole’s antagonism, I too feel they overreacted. This film, while provocative, does a commendable job of representing the facts and events in a way that provides ample voice to both sides. Above all, BANANAS!* will appeal to those who love a good court room drama.

The crux of story is Standard Fruit Company’s (later Dole) use of a pesticide dipromochloropropane (DBCP) known by its brand names, Nemagon and Fumazone. In 1977 Dow Chemical discovered that some of their California employees who had handled DBCP were sterile. Within months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had suspended most uses of the chemical. Dow wrote to Standard Fruit Company that they were ceasing DBCP production and that Dole should return unused inventory. Dole wrote back that if Dow did not continue delivering the pesticide it was in breach of contract. Dow agreed to continue delivering DBPC only after Dole’s lawyers promised to indemnify Dow for any future liabilities stemming from its use. Dole complied with this request and stopped using DBCP only after it had depleted its last canister.

Flash forward to the new century. Juan Jose Dominguez, a Los Angeles based personal injury lawyer, sees a news report on CNN about the widespread use of the pesticide in the 60s and 70s and its link to illness and sterility. In 2004 he makes an exploratory trip to the banana growing Chinandega province of Nicaragua and finds many aging, family-less men saying they were sickened by exposure. He registers 10,000 workers who claim to be afflicted and launches a lengthy lawsuit against Dole representing 12 allegedly sterile plaintiffs.

This is no open and shut case though. Dole spares no expense to hire a top notch defense attorney who raises considerable doubts as to whether the plaintiffs were ever fertile or even if they truly became sterile. His tactics include bringing up issues of proximity and exposure, impotence, gender identify, alcoholism, paternity, and contradictory testimony. He succeeds in muddying the issue and raising an element of doubt. This important case, known as Tellez, was unique in that it was the first DBCP case brought before jurors in the United States and had the potential to expose corporations to substantial liabilities. However, last month a Los Angeles judge dismissed the lawsuit saying the Nicaraguan plaintiffs engaged in fraud. Confusingly, also in March the State Bar of California cleared Juan Dominguez of all “allegations of professional misconduct.”

Regardless of the perplexing post production developments, BANANAS!* shines a spotlight on this fascinating and controversial court room case, revealing the inner decisions of a major international corporation and the tireless efforts of two small law firms taking on the big guns - a true David and Goliath story. The movie spends ample time on both prosecutorial and defense arguments, giving a hint of the difficult thicket of testimony a jury must consider in its deliberations. I will leave it to the viewers to determine if the film distorts the truth with bias and falsehoods, as Dole claims. Given the contradictory findings of the California Court and Bar Association it is difficult to know. What I can aver is that Dole’s attempts to prevent this film from seeing the light of day was an ugly attack on freedom of expression.

BANANAS!*

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