Judges Say Fraud Trial Should Never Have Happened
BSF won on appeal for their client, Fresh Del Monte, a fruit company that was sued by Mexican investors who claimed the 1996 sale of the company was induced by a bribe payment. What turned out to be an emotional three-week jury trial won by Fresh Del Monte, ultimately resulted in Florida's Third District Court of Appeal reversing the lower court's pre-trial denial of summary judgment on standing.
According to the Daily Business Review, Judge Ramirez of the appellate court wrote for a unanimous panel that "[t]he dispute...should have been rejected on summary judgment for lack of standing" and should not have been allowed to proceed to trial. The appellate court thus affirmed the judgment in favor of Fresh Del Monte and did not consider the losing investors' appeal from the jury verdict.