Putative Class Action Alleges Damage to Guatemalan Environment by Chiquita Supplier
A consumer has filed a proposed class action in California federal court
alleging that Chiquita Brands, Inc. is responsible for the destructive practices
of its “de facto subsidiary,” Cobigua, including the effects of its use of
pesticides on the water supply of neighboring communities. Jablonowski v.
Chiquita Brands, Inc., No. 15-262 (S.D. Cal., filed February 5, 2015).
In the complaint, the plaintiff points to Chiquita’s efforts to represent itself as a
responsible company that protects natural ecosystems—including its “famous
blue sticker” designed to show that a banana meets the company’s “strict
standards”—and he argues that the company indicates that its suppliers are
held to the same standards. Cobigua, a Guatemalan company that apparently sells about 95 percent of its stock to Chiquita, “contaminates rivers and
drinking water in the affected area with fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and
organic matter” and “mixes fertilizers into its irrigation system every 14 to
21 days and aerial fumigates its banana fields every 6 to 8 days using toxic
chemicals” without leaving any buffer zone between its property and schools
and homes, the complaint alleges.
The plaintiff argues that Cobigua’s actions have resulted in contamination of
the neighboring communities’ drinking water supplies with levels of nitrites,
nitrates and heavy metals “10 times the maximum level recommended by the
World Health Organization.” These activities rebut Chiquita’s representations
of itself and its suppliers, the complaint says, and had he known of them,
the plaintiff would not have purchased Chiquita’s products. The complaint
alleges violations of California consumer protection statutes as well as fraud
by concealment and unjust enrichment, and the plaintiff seeks damages,
certification of a California class and attorney’s fees.
Issue 555
