Sept 2 (Reuters) - Hundreds of banana farmers from CentralAmerica and South America will again have their day in court,after a U.S. appeals court on Friday revived their lawsuitsaccusing several companies of sickening them by using a toxicpesticide.
By an 11-0 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saida Delaware judge erred in dismissing claims by 228 farmers fromCosta Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama, after a differentjudge in Louisiana had rejected the same claims.
The defendants include several large fruit and chemicalcompanies, among them Chiquita Brands International, Del MonteFresh Produce, Dow Chemical, Occidental Chemical and Shell Oil.
In litigation dating to 1993, farmers blamed the defendants'use from the 1960s to 1980s of dibromochloropropane (DBCP) inpesticides for causing health problems including sterility,birth defects and an elevated risk of cancer. Most uses of thepesticide were banned in the United States in 1977.
Lawyers for the companies did not immediately respond torequests for comment. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by DanGrebler)