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Torts Keyed to Henderson
Dow Chemical Company v. Castro Alfaro
Citation:
786 S.W.2d 674 (1990)Facts
Domingo Castro Alfaro and eighty-one other Costa Rican workers were employed on banana plantations in Costa Rica by Standard Fruit Company, an American subsidiary. They claim they suffered serious personal injuries, including sterility, as a result of exposure to DBCP, a pesticide manufactured by Dow Chemical and Shell Oil. The EPA had banned DBCP for domestic use in 1977, but the defendants allegedly continued to ship the chemical to Costa Rica for use by Standard Fruit. The plaintiffs filed suit in Harris County, Texas, where Shell has its world headquarters and where Dow conducts extensive operations. Shell’s world headquarters was three blocks from the courthouse, and Shell stipulated that all its documents related to DBCP were in Houston. Dow operated the country’s largest chemical plant within 60 miles of Houston. The trial court dismissed the case on forum non conveniens grounds, despite finding it had jurisdiction. The plaintiffs appealed, arguing that section 71.031 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code gave them an absolute right to maintain their action in Texas courts.
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