US federal court’s June 2024 judgement upheld, leaving company liable for millions of dollars in compensation payments
A federal judge has rejected an appeal by Chiquita Brands International against a June 2024 ruling, which found it liable for “knowingly” providing financial assistance to a Colombian paramilitary group.
As a result, the multinational fruit company must now pay more than US$38m in damages to the families of eight victims of Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC).
The original jury decision asserted that the company “knowingly provided substantial assistance to the AUC in the form of cash payments or other means of support, to a degree sufficient to create a foreseeable risk of harm”
Chiquita had argued that the payments were extortion, in response to what it said were violent threats against its workers and facilities.
But the Florida jury concluded that Chiquita had not demonstrated its support for the AUC was to avert any such harm.
At the time, Chiquita said there was “no legal basis” for the claims. “While we are disappointed by the decision, we remain confident that our legal position will ultimately prevail,” it stated.
Its argument during the appeal was that Colombian law, not US law, applied in the case. So it reportedly asked the court to reduce the damages by 97 per cent.
However, with its appeal dismissed, Chiquita becomes the first US company to be found guilty by a US court for human rights violations committed against foreign nationals outside of the country.
