March is Cruelest Month of All for Plaintiff Bar

The powers-that-be at THE WALL STREET JOURNAL have been keeping score on the plaintiff bar.  According to their calculations this March has been a pretty lousy month for plaintiff lawyers.  Two chiefs in that tribe - Dickie Scruggs and Mel Weiss - pleaded guilty to felonies. It's unlikely they will ever get back their license to sue. 

There's more.  In trend-setting California, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney overturned that famous jury verdict for the plaintiff in the Dole foreign worker DBPC case.  Judge Chaney also pitched the punitive award of $2.5 million for the farm workers in Nicaragua who claimed that 30 years ago [think lead paint litigation] DBPC rendered them sterile. The judge stated that there was no scientific evidence that the pesticide causes sterility or any other health problems.

Those who have been doing their tort-reform work spot several red flags here:

• The alleged injury took place in a foreign country and the suit is against a U.S. company being tried in the U.S. 
• The alleged injury took place 30 years ago. 
• The product - DBPC - is used by a number of U.S. food companies - Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita - and produced by U.S. chemical companies - Dow, Shell, Occidental.

Already there are 22 other DBCP cases pending against Dole in the U.S. about alleged personal injury in non-U.S. countries.  Not only that.  As tort reform continues in the U.S., the plaintiff bar looks globally to file lawsuits. 

The WSJ advises: Watch DBPC litigation.