Caso Chiquita Brands

DOE V. CHIQUITA BRANDS INTERNATIONAL:
A HISTORIC VERDICT FOR VICTIMS IN COLOMBIA

CASE STATUS: ONGOING
ISSUES: Corporate Accountability

Since 2007, the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands International faces thousands of claims in the United States for financing the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary organization responsible for committing atrocious crimes against civilians in Colombia, including murders, massacres, torture, disappearances, and forced displacements.

After 17 years of legal proceedings, the first trial against Chiquita finally took place. On June 10, 2024, a groundbreaking verdict was reached as the jury held the multinational accountable for human rights violations against the victims. The families of the eight Colombian victims who the AUC tragically murdered were awarded rightful compensation.

Thousands of victims’ claims remain pending trial, as they continue seeking justice.

Aspectos Legales Caso Chiquita Brands en Colombia

LEGAL ISSUES

This case involves numerous legal issues, some of which include:
The legal standards for holding a company and its executives liable for human rights abuses committed by a terrorist group the company illegally funded Whether state law or Colombian law applies to such claims.
Whether claims based on decisions made by and funding from a U.S. corporation can be litigated under the Alien Tort Statute.

Between 1997 and 2004, Chiquita paid over $1.7 million to the AUC to protect its profitable operations in Colombia. These payments, approved by the multinational’s executives, were concealed through an elaborate system of intermediaries, allowing the paramilitaries to consolidate and strengthen their power in the banana-growing region.

Despite the U.S. government designating the AUC as a terrorist organization in 2001, Chiquita continued to finance them, prioritizing its profits at the expense of innocent Colombian lives.

In 2007, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Chiquita admitted its guilt for financing a terrorist group and paid a $25 million fine. That same year, we filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of victims whose family members were murdered by the AUC.

In 2024, for the first time, a group of nine victims was heard by a judge and jury in a Florida court. The jury found Chiquita responsible and ordered compensation for the victims.
We represent hundreds of plaintiffs who are family members of trade unionists, banana workers, political organizers, social activists and others from Colombia’s banana growing region. The Plaintiffs’ family members were targeted, tortured, disappeared, and killed by the paramilitary terrorist group known as the AUC (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) during the 1990s through 2004.

The Plaintiffs, consisting of hundreds of families with similar stories, are seeking justice against banana giant Chiquita, which admitted to illegally financing the AUC for years.
Chiquita Brands International, Inc, the multi-national produce company, for funding and arming known terrorist organizations in Colombia in order to maintain its profitable control of Colombia’s banana-growing regions.

The demobilized paramilitary group AUC was a major actor in the armed conflict in Colombia between 1997 and 2006 and was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government in 2001.

Former executives of Chiquita were personally held accountable for their decisions and actions while exercising their functions at the time of the events.
In addition to EarthRights, counsel for the plaintiffs include Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Paul Hoffman, Arturo Carrillo and Judith Brown Chomsky.

Other teams of lawyers with whom we coordinate are: James K. Green of James K. Green PA, Jack Scarola, Mariano Garcia, and Victoria Mesa-Estrada of Searcy Denney, William R. Scherer and Erik Hager of Conrad & Scherer LLP, Jonathan C. Reiter de Jonathan C. Reiter Law Firm PLLC, and International Rights Advocates.
Chiquita Jury Verdict – June 2024

(11th Circuit Court of Appeals) Brief of Amici Curiae Human Rights Practitioners and Scholars in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants and Supporting Reversal – June 2020

(11th Circuit Court of Appeals) Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Reply Brief and Cross-Appellees’ Response to Cross-Appeal – September 2020

(11th Circuit Court of Appeals) Defendants-Appellees’/Cross-Appellants’ Response Brief and Cross-Appeal Opening Brief – July 2020

(11th Circuit Court of Appeals) Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Opening Brief- May 2020

Jane Doe 8 v. Chiquita Complaint (New Claims) – March 2020

Summary Judgment Decision-September 2019

Chiquita Supreme Court Petition

Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc – August 2014

Chiquita 11th Circuit Opinion – July 2014

Plaintiffs’ Appellees Cross-Appellants’ Response Brief and Cross-Appeal Opening Brief – July 2013

Chiquita Merits Brief on Interlocutory Appeal – May 2013

Chiquita Motion to Dismiss Order – June 2011

Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Consolidated Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaints – April 2010

Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Response in Opposition to Defendants’ Consolidated Motion to Dismiss the Complaints – May 2010

First Amended Class Action Complaint for Damages – February 2010

Reply in Support of Defendants’ Consolidated Motion to Dismiss Complaints – September 2008

New Jersey Plaintiffs’ Separate Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss State Law Claims – August 2008

Plaintiffs’ Response in Opposition to Defendants’ Consolidated Motion to Dismiss the Complaints – August 2008

Chiquita Motion to Dismiss – July 2008

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE CASE AGAINST CHIQUITA?


Chiquita’s relationship with the paramilitary group AUC and its implications in the armed conflict in Colombia.


Chiquita Brands was found liable for its complicity in human rights violations in Colombia.


Compensation for the victims will be delayed until Chiquita’s potential appeal is resolved.


The legal team continues to work to ensure that all plaintiffs obtain justice.

THE DARK HISTORY OF CHIQUITA BRANDS IN COLOMBIA

Chiquita’s presence in Colombia has been marked by a legacy of violence.

Formerly known as the United Fruit Company, Chiquita was involved in the 1928 banana massacre, during which over 1,000 workers were killed while fighting for labor rights.

Almost 70 years later in 1997, the company agreed to pay 3 cents per exported banana box to the paramilitary group AUC, contributing to further violence in the region.

The victim’s tale highlights the violence and displacement suffered by thousands in Colombia’s banana-growing areas.