During opening arguments in a closely-watched trial in a Florida federal court this week, attorneys representing the families of 10 murder victims in a Colombian banana-growing region painted Chiquita Brands International as a greedy corporation that put profits above people.
But Blank Rome partner Michael Cioffi countered that his client, Chiquita, was a victim of extortion by the same group that allegedly murdered those individuals and that the company was reluctant to abandon its workers in the violence-torn region.
