A Florida federal court has confirmed an arbitration tribunal's decision awarding $32 million to Del Monte International for Inversiones Y Procesadora Tropical Inprotsa's continued use of Del Monte pineapple seeds after the agreement permitting use had expired. Inversiones Y Procesadora Tropical Inprotsa v. Del Monte Int'l, No. 16-24275 (S.D. Fla., order entered May 1, 2017). Inprotsa argued that although it had stipulated "that Del Monte owned the MD2 pineapple variety," "it only stipulated to that fact because Del Monte had falsely represented that it owned the MD2 variety in letters to Costa Rican growers." In response, Del Monte pointed out that the arbitral tribunal "specifically held that the parties' agreement was not procured by fraud." The court found that Inprotsa did not argue "that the two-year arbitration process was fraudulent, that the arbitration tribunal acted fraudulently, or that the final award was procured by fraud." Rather, the company argued that…
Tag Archives Arbitration
Shook Partner Bert Ocariz served as an arbitrator in a dispute between Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. and Inversiones y Procesadora Tropical SA that concluded with an award of $32 million to Del Monte. Del Monte Int'l GmbH v. Inversiones y Procesadora Tropical SA, No. 20097/RD (Int'l Chamber of Commerce). Del Monte argued that the Costa Rican pineapple producer had continued to cultivate its MD-2 pineapple after its contract lapsed in 2013. Ocariz and the other arbitrators found that although a 2002 settlement agreement held the MD-2 was in the public domain, the pineapple grower continued to use the same crops and seeds provided by Del Monte after the companies’ contractual relationship had concluded. The award includes $26.1 million in damages, interest and attorney’s fees as well as costs of $2.5 million. Issue 609
