On April 23rd, a California judge overseeing "banana" cases against Dow Chemical and Dole Foods dismissed two cases on the spot, from the bench, because of what American Lawyer writer Ben Hallman calls "the most egregious plaintiffs lawyer extortion and fraud allegations we've seen this side of criminal indictment." The story, and a link to and earlier story and the fascinating transcript of the judge's remarks about the fraud (which condemn the Nicaraguan legal system as much as the American lawyer's fraud), are available at www.ctbar.org in the "Legal News" section.
A contempt hearing for the lawyer accused of the fraud is set for May 8th.