Bloomberg reports that Judge Victoria Chaney of the Los Angeles County Superior Court has dismissed the claims against Dole by Nicaraguan banana workers. (See our prior posts about this litigation here here and here.) The Bloomberg story says Judge Chaney found “deliberate and egregious misconduct” by the plaintiffs’ lawyers and described the case as “a blatant extortion of the defendants.” What began as a claim for millions of dollars in punitive damages may end up as a disciplinary proceeding before the state bar.

Hat tip: WSJ Law Blog.

UPDATE: AmLaw Daily has posted a link to a .pdf of the hearing transcript.