A Florida civil trial jury ruled June 10 in favor of 17 plaintiffs seeking compensation from Chiquita Brands for the deaths of relatives killed by a paramilitary group in Colombia.
According to Colombiafinance.com, the ruling directed Chiquita Brands International to pay up to $2 million for each of the deaths of eight relatives by Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC. In total, the company was ordered to pay $38.3 million to surviving relatives of those slain by the paramilitary group, according to the report.
The ColombiaFinance.com report said Chiquita was held liable for its total of $1.7 million dollar payments between 1997 to 2004 to the AUC, a violent right-wing criminal group that was involved with narcotrafficking, extortion, sexual violence and other crimes.
For its defense, Chiquita said it was obligated to pay the AUC what mounted to extortion in order to protect the company’s workers in Colombia, according to the report.
Chiquita said in a statement that it will appeal the jury’s verdict.
“The situation in Colombia was tragic for so many, including those directly affected by the violence there, and our thoughts remain with them and their families. However, that does not change our belief that there is no legal basis for these claims. While we are disappointed by the decision, we remain confident that our legal position will ultimately prevail,” the company said in the statement.
The plaintiffs alleged that Chiquita paid the AUC nearly $2 million, while facilitating shipments of arms, ammunition and drugs, despite knowing that the AUC was an illegal organization engaged in a “reign of terror,” according to a news release from the law firm representing the plaintiffs.
“Our clients risked their lives to come forward to hold Chiquita to account, putting their faith in the United States justice system. I am very grateful to the jury for the time and care they took to evaluate the evidence,” Agnieszka Fryszman, chair of Cohen Milstein’s Human Rights practice and one of the attorneys leading the case, said in the release. “The verdict does not bring back the husbands and sons who were killed, but it sets the record straight and places accountability for funding terrorism where it belongs: at Chiquita’s doorstep.”
The civil claims were brought on the heels of a 2007 Chiquita guilty plea to criminal charges brought by the U.S., the release said.
The claims were consolidated by the multidistrict litigation panel and heard by a federal court in Florida. A group of plaintiffs, referred to as “bellwether” plaintiffs, was selected to proceed to trial. This jury verdict concludes the first six-week bellwether jury trial, which began on April 22, 2024. The second bellwether trial is scheduled for July 15, 2024, according to the release.
The plaintiffs in John Doe I v. Chiquita Brands International are represented by Agnieszka Fryszman and Leslie M. Kroeger of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC; Marco Simons, Rick Herz, Maryum Jordan, Marissa Vahlsing, Wyatt Gjullin and Gabriela Paola Valentin Dias of EarthRights International; and Paul Hoffman of Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes, the release said.
