Full opinion text
ORDER DENYING RECOGNITION OF JUDGMENT PAUL C. HUCK, District Judge. This is an action to enforce a $97 million Nicaraguan judgment under the Florida Uniform Out-of-country Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act (Florida Recognition Act). Fla. Stat. §§ 55.601-55.607 (2009). Plaintiffs are 150 Nicaraguan citizens alleged to have worked on banana plantations in Nicaragua between 1970 and 1982, during which time they were exposed to the chemical compound dibromochloropropane (DBCP). DBCP is an agricultural pesticide that was banned in the United States after it was linked to sterility in factory workers in 1977. Nicaragua banned DBCP in 1993. Defendants are Dole Food Company and The Dow Chemical Company, both Delaware corporations. Dow manufactured DBCP from 1957 until 1977, and Dole used DBCP on its banana farms in Nicaragua until the farms were expropriated by the Sandinista regime that came to power in 1979. The judgment in this case was rendered by a trial court in Chinandega, Nicaragua. The trial court awarded Plaintiffs approximately $97 million under “Special Law 364,” enacted by the Nicaraguan legislature in 2000 specifically to handle DBCP claims. The average award was approximately $647,000 per plaintiff. According to the Nicaraguan trial court, these sums were awarded to compensate Plaintiffs for DBCP-induced infertility and its accompanying adverse psychological effects. Defendants have appealed the judgment to an intermediate appellate court in Nicaragua. That appeal is still pending. Defendants raise several objections to domesticating the judgment. They contend that under the Florida Recognition Act this Court cannot enforce the judgment because (1) the Nicaraguan trial court lacked personal and/or subject matter jurisdiction under Special Law 364, (2) the judgment was rendered under a system which does not provide procedures compatible with due process of law, (3) enforcing the judgment would violate Florida public policy, and (4) the judgment was rendered under a judicial system that lacks impartial tribunals. For the reasons set forth below, the Court holds that Defendants have clearly established their entitlement to non-recognition on each of these independent grounds. I. BACKGROUND A. FACTUAL HISTORY 1. Overview of DBCP Litigation This is not the first DBCP case brought in the United States. The first DBCP lawsuits were brought in the mid-1990s, when thousands of plaintiffs from over 23 different countries filed DBCP suits in Texas against various defendants. Those cases were consolidated and the defendants, who included Dole and Dow, won dismissal on forum non conveniens grounds after arguing that the plaintiffs’ various home countries provided adequate alternative forums. See Delgado v. Shell Oil Co., 890 F.Supp. 1324, 1362 (S.D.Tex.1995) (finding that Nicaragua provided adequate remedies for Nicaraguan plaintiffs). None of the plaintiffs in Delgado are plaintiffs in this action. In response to Delgado, which resulted in plaintiffs filing numerous DBCP claims in Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan National Assembly passed the “Special Law for the Conduct of Lawsuits Filed By Persons Affected By the Use of Pesticides Manufactured with a DBCP Base,” commonly referred to as “Special Law 364.” Since the passage of Special Law 364 in October 2000, over 10,000 plaintiffs have filed approximately 200 DBCP lawsuits in Nicaragua, most of which are still pending. To date, however, Nicaraguan courts have awarded over $2 billion in judgments, including the $97 million judgment that is the subject of this case. In a sister case tried after this one, Herrera Rios v. Standard Fruit Co., the same trial judge awarded 1248 plaintiffs over $800 million, an average recovery of approximately $648,000 per plaintiff. Nicaraguan claimants have made one previous attempt to enforce a DBCP judgment in the United States. In 2003, more than 450 Nicaraguan plaintiffs attempted to enforce a $489 million judgment in California, but their complaint was dismissed on technical and jurisdictional grounds without reaching the merits of the defendants’ substantive objections. See Franco v. Dow Chemical Co., No. CV 03-5094 NM (PJWx), slip op. at 7-16, 2003 WL 24288299 (C.D.Cal. Oct. 21, 2003). In a related action, Shell Oil Company obtained a declaratory judgment that it was not subject to personal jurisdiction in the original Nicaraguan lawsuit, which is a requirement for recognizing a judgment under the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act. See Shell Oil Co. v. Franco, No. CV 03-8846 (PJWx), 2005 WL 6184247 (C.D.Cal. Nov. 10, 2005). In an effort to head off multiple enforcement actions in the United States, some DBCP defendants, including Dow, sought declaratory relief in federal court in California against plaintiffs who obtained judgments in Nicaragua but had not yet sought enforcement in the United States. In Dow Chemical Co. v. Calderon, 422 F.3d 827 (9th Cir.2005), the DBCP defendants asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hold that the judgments obtained in Nicaragua could not be enforced in the United States on due process grounds similar to those raised in this case. The Ninth Circuit did not reach defendants’ due process arguments, however, because it found that the Nicaraguans were not subject to personal jurisdiction in the United States and therefore the DBCP defendants could not sue the Nicaraguan plaintiffs in federal district court. Accordingly, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the action without reaching the merits of whether Nicaraguan judgments obtained under Special Law 364 are enforceable in the United States. In addition to the Special Law 364 litigation in Nicaragua, a few Nicaraguan plaintiffs have brought DBCP suits in the United States in recent years. In Tellez v. Dole Food Co., brought by 12 Nicaraguan plaintiffs and tried in 2007 in Los Angeles Superior Court, a jury awarded six plaintiffs over five million dollars and found that the defendants were not liable to the remaining plaintiffs. See Tellez v. Dole Food Co., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BC312852 (Nov. 5, 2007) (special verdict form). Shortly after the verdict in Tellez, Dole alleged to the California trial court that some of the Tellez plaintiffs never worked on a banana farm, perjured themselves during the trial, and presented false documents as evidence. At the time, two other DBCP lawsuits, Mejia v. Dole Food Co. and Rivera v. Dole Food Co., were pending before the same California court, and Dole’s fraud allegations implicated the Mejia and Rivera plaintiffs as well. To determine the veracity of Dole’s fraud allegations, the court established procedures for gathering and presenting evidence from Nicaragua, and to ensure the safety of Nicaraguan witnesses, entered a protective order that permitted the defendants to take dozens of anonymous “John Doe” depositions to investigate the fraud claims. After an evidentiary hearing, the California trial court concluded that the DBCP claims before it were the direct result of a widespread conspiracy to commit fraud by attorneys in Nicaragua and the United States, Nicaraguan doctors and judges (including the Nicaraguan trial judge who issued the judgment in this case), and the plaintiffs themselves. As a result, the California court dismissed with prejudice the fraud-tainted claims in Mejia and Rivera. See Mejia v. Dole Food Co. & Rivera v. Dole Food Co., Los Angeles Superior Court Case Nos. BC340049, BC379820 (June 17, 2009) (order terminating two DBCP lawsuits for fraud on the court). A California appellate court recently remanded Tellez, with instructions that the trial court may vacate the judgment in light of the fraud findings in Mejia and Rivera. See Dole Food Co. v. Tellez, Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. B216182, B216264 (July 7, 2009) (order to show cause). The DBCP claims of over 5,000 plaintiffs from various countries in Central America and Africa are currently pending in California Superior Court in Los Angeles. The plaintiffs in Herrera Ríos, Osorio’s sister action in Nicaragua, have not yet attempted to enforce their $800 million judgment in the United States. This Court now turns to the background issues relevant to determine whether the Nicaraguan judgment at issue in this case may be enforced under the Florida Recognition Act. 2. Special Law 364 At the heart of this case lies Special Law 364. Despite the availability of an agreed upon English translation, the parties contest the import of practically every clause in this law. Their disagreements focus on whether Special Law 364’s provisions can be waived, whether they were applied in this case, and whether they are consistent with due process and public policy. Special Law 364 is unique in that its provisions apply only to DBCP litigation, and only against specific defendants such as Dole and Dow. Nicaragua has no comparable law that only applies to a specific type of litigation and a narrowly defined class of defendants. Special Law 364’s stated purpose is to regulate procedures for DBCP lawsuits “with regard to compensation” of persons injured by the pesticide. Article 1. To accomplish this goal, the law contains some notable provisions which to a great extent are the crux of this litigation. Article 2 states that DBCP defendants, defined as companies that manufactured, imported, distributed, marketed, or applied the pesticide, acted with full knowledge of DBCP’s harmful effects, which the law says include sterility and kidney, liver, and spleen damage. Plaintiffs can establish the defendants’ liability with the benefit of an irrefutable presumption that their sterility was caused by DBCP exposure. Article 9 provides that plaintiffs who prove that (1) they were exposed to DBCP and (2) are now sterile, are entitled to an “irrefutable presumption” that DBCP exposure caused their sterility. Proof of sterility is established by two certified medical examinations from nationally accredited institutions. Each prevailing plaintiff is entitled to minimum damages of $125,000 ($100,000 under Article 3 and $25,000 under Article 11), but the law permits the trial court to award sums in excess of the mandatory mínimums that it finds are comparable to similar personal injury verdicts obtained by plaintiffs in foreign countries such as the United States. See Article 12. With regards to litigation costs, Special Law 364 presumes that the plaintiffs are indigent and provides that the Nicaraguan government will cover their costs. See Article 9. In contrast, the law imposes several burdens on the defendants’ right to participate in the proceedings. For example, defendants are required to post a $100,000 bond “as a procedural prerequisite for being able to take part in the lawsuit.” Article 4. The law provides that the bond will be used to cover court costs and provide compensation to the plaintiffs. See Article 5. Defendants are also required to deposit 300,000,000 córdobas, approximately $15 million, within 90 days after receiving notice of the complaints, “to guarantee payment of the possible compensation to the workers and other costs of the lawsuit.” Article 8. Article 12 requires the presiding trial judge to enforce a “3-8-3” summary proceeding upon pain of punishment. In a 3-8-3 proceeding, “defendants have three days to answer the complaint, the parties have eight days to present their evidence, and the court has three days to issue a verdict.” Shell Oil Co., slip op. at 5. Special Law 364 also eliminates any relevant statutes of limitations, retroactively applies to pending cases, and provides that judgments are immediately executable notwithstanding the pendency of an appeal. See Articles 6, 14, & 15. Another notable provision, Article 7, appears to give the defendants the right to select their venue and opt out of Special Law 364 by agreeing to defend themselves in the United States: Companies that, within ninety (90) days of being given notice of this Law by the plaintiff and service of process through the corresponding channel, have not deposited the sum established in Article 4 hereof, must subject themselves unconditionally to the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States of America for the final judgment of the case in question, expressly waiving the defense of forum non conveniens invoked in those courts. In the event that the defendants decide that the proceedings are to continue in the Nicaraguan courts, they are to deposit the amount established in Article 4 of this Law. Because they elected not to make the Article 4 deposits, Dole and Dow argue that the Nicaraguan trial court improperly exercised jurisdiction over them in clear contravention of Article 7. Moreover, they contend that Special Law 364’s other provisions, which apply only to them — the bond and deposit requirements, minimum damages, irrefutable presumptions of knowledge and causation, 3-8-3 summary proceedings, abolition of statutes of limitations, and effective curtailment of appellate review — are incompatible with due process of law and violate Florida public policy. Defendants also assert that Special Law 364 impermissibly targets a narrowly defined group of foreign companies for disparate treatment. Plaintiffs counter that the Nicaraguan trial court did not impose Special Law 364’s most onerous provisions on Defendants. According to Plaintiffs, any deficiencies in Special Law 364 were ameliorated in this case, first, because they were waived, and second, because the case was tried under general negligence laws in addition to Special Law 364. Plaintiffs also contend that the law is broadly applicable and does not discriminate against specific foreign companies. They contend that Article 7 gives plaintiffs the choice of venue but does not allow defendants to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction. 3. Legal Opinion of the Attorney General of Nicaragua Finding that Special Law 364 is Unconstitutional After the passage of Special Law 364, the Nicaraguan Attorney General rendered a legal opinion that the law violated Nicaragua’s constitution. The Attorney General sent his opinion to the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua and asked the court to forward his opinion to all civil judges in Nicaragua so that when rendering judgments they would be guided by his analysis of Special Law 364’s constitutional infirmities. The Attorney General singled out several provisions of Special Law 364 which he thought were inconsistent with Nicaragua’s constitution. See Attorney General’s Legal Opinion on Law No. 364 (Oct. 23, 2002) [“Attorney General’s Opinion”]. First, the Attorney General argued that it was inappropriate to try a complex lawsuit that could potentially produce large damage awards under a 3-8-3 summary proceeding. He noted that the provisions of Nicaragua’s Code of Civil Procedure which would normally govern a DBCP case do not provide for summary proceedings. He also concluded that a 3-8-3 summary proceeding was inappropriate because, in addition to the large amount of money at stake, the defendants are not afforded sufficient time to refute the evidence against them. Second, the Attorney General found that Special Law 364 was unconstitutional because it does not allow an appeal to the Supreme Court. This curtailment of appellate review violated the constitutional rule that the right to appeal to a court of last resort cannot be restricted in cases involving large sums. Third, the Attorney General found that the law was unconstitutional because it treats plaintiffs and defendants unequally, which “violates the Constitutional right of equality of conditions of parties in proceedings or actions.” Attorney General’s Opinion, at 4. Under Special Law 364, the plaintiffs enjoy all the rights of indigent parties while the defendants are required to make deposits as a prerequisite for being able to participate in the proceedings. According to the Attorney General, this contradicts the Nicaraguan codes, which provide that a trial judge has discretion to determine whether a surety must be posted and the amount of the surety. The Attorney General also noted that several other provisions of Special Law 364 meaningfully depart from settled Nicaraguan law. For instance, the law breaks with Nicaragua’s constitutional framework by incorporating criminal liability into a special law. It also provides that a law of public order concerning workers’ rights will be tried in civil courts, even though litigation involving workers’ rights is generally heard by labor courts. Further, the Attorney General opined that Special Law 364 violates the principle against retroactivity embedded in the Nicaraguan constitution, which provides that retroactive laws cannot be used to impose liability. One additional passage from the Attorney General opinion is notable. Under the Attorney General’s reading of Special Law 364, the law assumes that the plaintiffs will automatically prevail and does not even contemplate the possibility that DBCP defendants might succeed in defeating plaintiffs’ claims. The Attorney General explained: “The deposit shall be used as part of future compensations, which together with the eight-day period granted for evidence-production purposes^] including all charges and the accepted means [of evidence] (two certified medial examinations), means that a ruling in favor of the Plaintiffs is taken for granted.” Attorney General’s Opinion, at 4. This statement appears to provide several reasons why defendants cannot prevail under Special Law 364. First, it notes that that Special Law 364 explicitly provides that the deposits will be held as part of the plaintiffs’ future compensation, and therefore does not contemplate the possibility that the plaintiffs might lose. Moreover, the law also guarantees that the defendants cannot rebut the plaintiffs’ evidence because the defendants are denied ample time to put on a case of their own. The Attorney General’s final reference to the “accepted means [of evidence]” appears to be a reference to the irrefutable presumption of causation afforded to plaintiffs under Special Law 364. According to Article 9, this presumption is established if the plaintiffs (1) show that they were exposed to DBCP (by simply proving that they worked at a banana plantation) and (2) submit medical examinations (sperm sample analyses) demonstrating their infertility. As the Court explains below in its analysis of Special Law 364, this crucial provision operates to establish legal liability without any reliable proof that the defendants actually caused the plaintiffs’ injuries. 4. Consultation of the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua Upholding the Constitutionality of Special Law 364 Following the Attorney General’s opinion challenging Special Law 364’s constitutionality, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court issued an advisory opinion upholding the law. Because the Supreme Court disagreed with the Attorney General’s legal conclusions, it did not comply with his request to disseminate his opinion to Nicaragua’s civil judges. See Consultation to the Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua on Law 364 (Oct. 16, 2003) [“Consultation”]. In its analysis, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court first evaluated Special Law 364 under a Nicaraguan legal doctrine known as the “Principle of Equality,” or “Positive Discrimination.” Consultation, at 4. Unlike the Attorney General’s opinion, which described the constitutional right of equality as a principle that ensures an even playing field between plaintiffs and defendants in the same action, the Supreme Court equated the “Principle of Equality” with an affirmative duty to discriminate in favor of a socioeconomically disadvantaged party. According to the Supreme Court, “the Principle of Equality is based on the social reality of [Nicaragua]” and is designed to ameliorate inequality in the political, social, and economic life of Nicaragua by providing procedural advantages to putatively disadvantaged elements of society. Consultation, at 5. The court explained that “in procedural terms, [the Principle of Equality] consists of the lawmaker’s obligation to treat as equals those who are in an equal situation and as unequal those who are in different situations[.]” Consultation, at 5. In effect, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court acknowledged that Special Law 364 provides unequal treatment to DBCP defendants because Special Law 364 is an attempt to level the litigation playing field by giving the DBCP plaintiffs, termed “peasants” by the court, disproportionate advantages which are not available in other Nicaraguan litigation. After finding that Special Law 364 complied with the “Principle of Equality,” the Supreme Court turned to the Attorney General’s contention that the unique procedures of Special Law 364 deprive defendants of constitutional due process. The court found that Special Law 364 was constitutional in view of the defendants’ right to choose to litigate in the United States instead of Nicaragua. Without dealing with each individual provision of Special Law 364 that the Attorney General found unconstitutional, the court simply noted that the defendants could avoid the strictures of Special Law 364 altogether by exercising their right to choose to defend themselves in the United States instead of Nicaragua: As for the constitutional guarantees of the defendant, Special Law No. 364 offers respect for due process or Due process of law beginning with the opportunity to choose the jurisdiction most convenient to it (Nicaragua or the United States of America), the right to be heard, to present evidence and the recourse of appeal, for which reason the Principle of Equality is not violated. Consultation, at 6 (emphasis added). Accordingly, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court reasoned that Special Law 364’s provisions did not offend due process precisely because the law allows the defendants to avoid them by opting out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction and litigating in the United States. Defendants’ right to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction is also acknowledged in another passage of the Supreme Court’s opinion. In analyzing Special Law 364’s deposit requirements, the court stated that “the deposit required of the defendant companies in case they subject themselves to Nicaraguan jurisdiction does not violate the Principle of Equality.” Consultation, at 5-6 (emphasis added). From its opinion, therefore, it is clear that the Nicaraguan Supreme Court of Justice recognized that Special Law 364 gives defendants the right to decline to litigate in Nicaragua. At the time the Nicaragua Supreme Court issued its opinion, in October 2003, the Osorio plaintiffs had filed suit in Nicaragua but the defendants had not yet been served. 5. The Osorio Litigation in Nicaragua a. Defendants’ Jurisdictional Challenge and Appeal The underlying lawsuit in this case for personal injuries resulting from the use of DBCP was filed by 201 Nicaraguan plaintiffs in February 2002 in the Second Civil and Labor District Court of Chinandega. The Nicaraguan trial court ordered Defendants to appear and deposit the bond and guarantee monies required by Articles 4 and 8 of Special Law 364. Dole and Dow declined to make the deposits. Instead, they consented to jurisdiction in the United States and waived their defenses under the forum non conveniens doctrine. Their initial pleadings contested the trial court’s jurisdiction and attempted to exercise their opt-out rights under Article 7. In December 2004, 14 months after the Nicaraguan Supreme Court issued its opinion clarifying that Special Law 364 was constitutional because it permitted defendants to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction, the trial court denied Dole and Dow’s jurisdictional challenges. In its order, the trial court did not cite the Supreme Court’s opinion. Apparently, the court interpreted Article 7 to provide plaintiffs with a choice of venue, but permit defendants to argue forum non conveniens in the United States only if they first comply with the deposit requirements of Article 4. In the same order, the trial court reversed its previous ruling and exempted Defendants from posting the bonds and deposits required by Articles 4 and 8, because of an “express waiver of the Plaintiffs.” Defendants appealed the trial court’s interlocutory order denying their jurisdictional challenge to the Western Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court in Leon, Nicaragua. The Western Court of Appeals issued a notification in April 2005 that it had received all the briefs and the appeal was ripe for decision. However, four and a half years later, the appeal is still pending. This Court has asked for and received numerous reports regarding the status of the appeals in Nicaragua, and there is no indication that these appeals will be resolved in the near future. During the pendency of Defendants’ jurisdictional appeal, the proceedings in the trial court continued. After failing in its jurisdictional argument before the trial court, Dow declined to participate further in the trial proceedings because it did not want its continued participation to be interpreted as a waiver of its jurisdictional objections. Dole remained in Nicaragua and defended itself under protest, b. The Evidentiary Period During the evidentiary period, the trial court heard oral testimony from ten out of 201 plaintiffs. Of the 150 plaintiffs who prevailed, 148 submitted microscopic sperm samples, known as spermograms, which were taken ex parte. Most plaintiffs submitted one or two spermograms with diagnoses from two “specialized doctors.” The diagnoses categorized the spermograms according to six different types of sperm impairments, which the Court discusses below. The plaintiffs also submitted psychological exam reports purporting to link various psychological ailments to DBCP exposure. All of the medical evidence, including the evaluations by the specialized doctors, was examined by Dr. Roger Pereira Umaña, the court appointed medical examiner, who reported his findings to the trial court. The trial court denied Dole’s request for an independent doctor to examine individual plaintiffs, as well as Dole’s request to depose the laboratory technicians who took the spermograms. Dole attempted to offer 151 birth certificates into evidence to show that many of the allegedly sterile or infertile plaintiffs had fathered children after their last exposure to DBCP. (According to Dole, one plaintiff fathered as many as nine children.) Defendants claim that this evidence is particularly significant because successfully initiating a pregnancy following DBCP exposure severs the causal link between DBCP exposure and any subsequent sperm impairment. In other words, evidence showing that the plaintiffs fathered children in the years following their last exposure to DBCP conclusively negates a finding that the plaintiffs’ fertility problems were caused by DBCP. If true, this contention undermines the logical underpinnings behind Special Law 364’s irrefutable presumption of causation, because it demonstrates that exposure to DBCP plus sterility is not sufficient, as a matter of medical and scientific fact, to demonstrate that the former caused the latter. The trial court rejected Dole’s attempt to introduce the birth certificates into evidence on procedural grounds. According to Plaintiffs, the court rejected the birth certificates because Dole’s counsel did not sufficiently explain the purpose for which they were offered. Pursuant to Article 12 of Special Law 364, which permits the calculation of damages based on similar foreign judgments, Plaintiffs submitted copies of three judgments in tort suits for chemical exposure in the United States, in which the recoveries were $350,000; $909,000; and $1,923,740 respectively. After eight days had elapsed since the plaintiffs began offering evidence, Dole, apparently believing that the plaintiffs had not yet carried their burden of proof, tried to invoke the evidentiary period of the 3-8-3 format and moved to close the evidentiary period. This motion was also denied, thereby permitting plaintiffs to continue offering evidence beyond the eight days mandated in a 3-8-3 summary proceeding. c. The Judgment The trial court awarded the 150 prevailing plaintiffs a total of $97.4 million. The average award was approximately $650,000 and the minimum award was $188,500. According to the birth certificates Dole presented to this Court, 32 plaintiffs who fathered children after their alleged exposure to DBCP collectively recovered over $21 million. See Judgment entered in Case No. 214-02 Miguel Sanchez Orsorio v. Standard Fruti [sic] Company, Second Civil and Labor District Court of Chinandega, at 37-87 (Aug. 8, 2005) [“Judgment”]. The Judgment lists each plaintiff with a summary of the evidence that was submitted on his behalf, usually two spermograms and two diagnoses prepared by specialized doctors. In many eases the Judgment notes that a psychological exam was also submitted. The Judgment indicates that the plaintiffs who did not recover failed to submit any evidence of sperm damage (that is, they submitted no spermograms at all), or any evidence of work on a banana plantation. Some of the plaintiffs who did not recover submitted psychological evaluations purporting to link their DBCP exposure to, for example, depressive episodes, but the trial court denied recovery to these plaintiffs because they did not produce evidence of physical damage. For each of the 150 plaintiffs who recovered, the Judgment contains a conclusory statement that in the opinion of Dr. Umaña “[the plaintiff] is infertile” and states there is a “possible link” between DBCP exposure and various psychological problems or, in a few cases, physical problems. Judgment, at 37-87. The Judgment does not explain how the sperm samples were evaluated to determine the causes of individual plaintiffs’ sperm impairments, it does not indicate that the doctors obtained or considered the plaintiffs’ medical histories, and it does not explain how DBCP is linked to the plaintiffs’ infertility or psychological damage. In one passage, the Judgment explains that the doctors’ statements “do not show the damage to the plaintiffs or the link between the damages and DBCP, [but] they do illustrate the various diseases that the plaintiffs claim they suffered and the level of seriousness.” Judgment, at 37. This passage is significant because it indicates that the trial court, by its own admission, had no evidence before it demonstrating a causal relationship between DBCP exposure and the individual plaintiffs’ injuries. At one point, the Judgment also addresses Defendants’ constitutional challenges to Special Law 364. Here, the Judgment cites to the Nicaraguan Supreme Court’s advisory opinion from October 2003 upholding the constitutionality of Special Law 364. The Judgment specifically states that the trial court rejects Defendants’ arguments that Special Law 364 is unconstitutional in deference to the views of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court. Judgment, at 87. The Judgment does not mention, however, that the Supreme Court’s rationale for upholding the law rested on defendants’ right to opt out of litigating in Nicaragua, a rationale which the trial court previously rejected. Additionally, while the Judgment acknowledges that Special Law 364 “has a heavy impact on the case,” it states that Defendants’ liability would arise under other provisions of Nicaraguan law even in the absence of Special Law 364. It also states that the deposit requirements and the irrefutable presumption of causation were not applied because the plaintiffs waived them. The Judgment explains that the presumption of causation was not necessary to establish liability because “the quality and quantity of evidence provided by the Plaintiffs make it unnecessary to reach the presumption set forth in Article 9 of Law 364, as there is full evidence on the matters in the Complaint to which reference has already been made in the preceding [section].” Judgment, at 88. Thus, the Judgment reveals both that the evidence before the trial court did not demonstrate causation and that the trial court purportedly did not apply the irrefutable presumption of causation. As the Court will explain, however, it is clear that without Special Law 364’s presumption of causation there was no evidence before the Nicaraguan trial court sufficient to determine that DBCP exposure caused the plaintiffs’ injuries. Defendants appealed the final judgment from August 2005, and that appeal is also still pending before the intermediate appellate court in Nicaragua. B. PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF ENFORCEMENT ACTION The prevailing plaintiffs in the Nicaraguan litigation brought this action to enforce the judgment in the Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County in August 2007, and the defendants removed it to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441. The Complaint alleges that the lawsuits giving rise to the Nicaraguan trial court’s Judgment were “based upon” Special Law 364 but does not allege any other Nicaraguan causes of action. See Compl. ¶ 10. Although multiple appeals are still pending in this case in Nicaragua, neither Special Law 364 nor the Florida Recognition Act requires that appeals be completed before a judgment is enforceable. The parties in this case filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the enforceability of the $97 million verdict under the Florida Recognition Act. Thereafter, Defendants alleged an additional basis for non-recognition: that the judgment was obtained as part of the fraudulent scheme that led to the dismissal of DBCP claims by the California court in Mejia and Rivera. At a hearing before the Court to determine how best to proceed on the motions for summary judgment, Plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to an evidentiary hearing to resolve disputed material facts. Defendants sought fraud discovery similar to that obtained in Mejia and Rivera. As an initial step in resolving the allegations that Plaintiffs’ underlying claims were fraudulent, the Court proposed that, rather than embarking on an extensive and expensive discovery process similar to that used by the California trial court in Mejia and Rivera, a sample of ten or fewer plaintiffs come to Miami for independent evaluations of the validity of their claims, including their exposure to DBCP and medical conditions. Defendants agreed to the Court’s proposal. Plaintiffs objected, arguing that the validity of their claims had already been resolved by the Nicaraguan proceedings. At that point, the Court decided to bifurcate the case. The Court granted Plaintiffs’ request for an evidentiary hearing, denied the cross-motions for summary judgment without prejudice, and set aside the issue of fraud in the event that Defendants do not prevail on any other defenses to recognition. The Court held an evidentiary hearing on September 1-4, 2009. The purpose of the hearing was to determine whether, as Defendants contend, (1) the Nicaraguan trial court lacked personal and subject matter jurisdiction over the Defendants, (2) the underlying judgment was rendered under a system which does not provide procedures compatible with the international concept of due process of law, (3) the cause of action or claim of relief on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of the State of Florida, and (4) the judgment was rendered under a system without impartial tribunals. Any of these grounds, if proven, constitute an independent basis for this Court to deny recognition of the $97 million Nicaraguan judgment. Both sides submitted substantial expert testimony and documentary evidence concerning whether the procedures in place for trying DBCP claims in Nicaragua complied with basic notions of international due process, as well as evidence on the Nicaraguan judicial system, Special Law 364, and the specific Nicaraguan trial proceedings in this case. II. ANALYSIS A. JURISDICTION AND GOVERNING LEGAL STANDARDS This Court has subject matter jurisdiction under the federal diversity statute. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Because the Court’s jurisdiction is based on diversity, the standard for recognizing a judgment rendered abroad is governed by the Florida Recognition Act. See 28 U.S.C. § 1652; Goodwin v. George Fischer Foundry Sys. Inc., 769 F.2d 708, 711 (11th Cir.1985). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a) provides that in “an action tried on the facts without a jury ... the court must find the facts specially and state its conclusions of law separately.” Whether a foreign judgment should be recognized is not strictly a question of fact or law. See Society of Lloyd’s v. Ashenden, 233 F.3d 473, 477 (7th Cir.2000). To a large extent, “it is a question about the laws of a foreign nation,” id., and the Court has broad discretion to consider “any relevant material or source, including testimony” in determining foreign law, irrespective of whether such materials would be admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence. See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 44.1. Accordingly, for the most part, the line between findings of fact and conclusions of law is not clearly drawn. The Court’s findings on the medical and scientific effects of DBCP, the causes of male sterility, and on the presence of corruption and political interference in the Nicaraguan judiciary, however, constitute special findings of fact under Rule 52(a). 1. Standard for Recognition of Foreign Judgments States are not required to recognize judgments rendered in foreign countries under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution of the United States. U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1; Guinness PLC v. Ward, 955 F.2d 875, 883 (4th Cir.1992). In the absence of a treaty, the effect given to a foreign judgment has historically been governed by the more flexible doctrine of comity, which, though often couched in the language of mutual respect and obligation, is most accurately described as a matter of grace. See, e.g., Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 166, 16 S.Ct. 139, 40 L.Ed. 95 (1895) (“No sovereign is bound, unless by special compact, to execute within his dominions a judgment rendered by the tribunals of another State.”) (quoting Wheaton’s International Law, (8th ed.) § 147); U.S. v. Nippon Paper Indus. Co., 109 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir.1997) (“Comity is more an aspiration than a fixed rule, more a matter of grace than a matter of obligation.”). A state’s decision to recognize a foreign judgment will inevitably “depend on a variety of circumstances which cannot be reduced to any certain rule” but it is understood that “no nation will suffer the laws of another to interfere with her own to the injury of her citizens[.]” Hilton, 159 U.S. at 164, 16 S.Ct. 139 (quoting Story’s Conflict of Laws, § 28; Saul v. His Creditors, (1827) 5 Martin (N.S.) 569, 596). The recognition of foreign judgments in Florida is governed by the Florida Recognition Act, Fla. Stat. §§ 55.601-55.607, a variant of the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, which Florida adopted in 1994. See Nadd v. Le Credit Lyonnais, S.A., 804 So.2d 1226, 1228 (Fla.2001) (the Florida Recognition Act “replaced common law principles of comity relating to the recognition of foreign judgments”). The Supreme Court of Florida has noted that the Florida Recognition Act was adopted to “ensure the recognition abroad of judgments rendered in Florida.” Id. Accordingly, the Florida Recognition Act attempts to guarantee the recognition of Florida judgments in foreign countries by providing reciprocity in Florida for judgments rendered abroad. But even though the Florida Recognition Act presumes that foreign judgments are prima facie enforceable, the Act is clearly also designed to preclude Florida courts from recognizing foreign judgments in certain prescribed cases where the legislature has determined that enforcement would be unjust or inequitable to domestic defendants. The Florida Recognition Act specifically provides three mandatory and eight discretionary circumstances where a foreign judgment is not entitled to recognition: 55.605 Grounds for nonrecognition.— (1) A foreign judgment is not conclusive if: (a) The judgment was rendered under a system which does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law. (b) The foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant. (c) The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter. (2) A foreign judgment need not be recognized if: (a) The defendant in the proceedings in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable him or her to defend. (b) The judgment was obtained by fraud. (c) The cause of action or claim for relief on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this state. (d) The judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive order. (e) The proceeding in the foreign court was contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be settled otherwise than by proceedings in that court. (f) In the case of jurisdiction based only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action. (g) The foreign jurisdiction where judgment was rendered would not give recognition to a similar judgment rendered in this state. (h) The cause of action resulted in a defamation judgment obtained in a jurisdiction outside the United States, unless the court sitting in this state before which the matter is brought first determines that the defamation law applied in the foreign court’s adjudication provided at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press in that case as would be provided by the United States Constitution and the State Constitution. Fla. Stat. § 55.605. In this case, Defendants contend that each mandatory ground, as well as the discretionary public policy and fraud grounds, bar enforcement of the judgment. As previously mentioned, the Court does not evaluate the merits of Defendants’ fraud claims and limits its consideration to the other defenses to recognition raised by Defendants. 2. Burden of Proof Under the Florida Recognition Act, a foreign judgment is prima facie enforceable if it “is final, conclusive, and enforceable where rendered, even though an appeal therefrom is pending or is subject to appeal.” Fla. Stat. § 55.603. Once the party seeking to enforce the judgment follows the filing and notice requirements of Fla. Stat § 55.604, the judgment will be enforced unless the judgment debtor objects within 30 days. The party seeking enforcement has the initial burden of proof that the judgment is final, conclusive, and enforceable where rendered. The Court finds that Plaintiffs have satisfied this burden based on their showing that the judgment would be enforceable in Nicaragua under Article 14 of Special Law 364. The burden therefore shifts to Defendants to establish one or more grounds for non-recognition. See Kramer v. von Mitschke-Collande, 5 So.3d 689, 690 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Kam-Tech Sys., Ltd. v. Yardeni, 340 N.J.Super. 414, 774 A.2d 644, 650 (N.J.Super.Ct.App.Div.2001). But see Shen v. Leo A. Daly Co., 222 F.3d 472, 476 (8th Cir.2000); Ackermann v. Levine, 788 F.2d 830, 842 n. 12 (2d Cir.1986). As explained below, the Court finds that Defendants have met their burden on multiple, independent grounds for non-recognition. B. THE NICARAGUAN TRIAL COURT’S JURISDICTION OVER DOLE AND DOW The Florida Recognition Act requires that the rendering court possess both subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction over the defendants. See Fla. Stat. § 55.605(1)(b)-(c). Defendants argue that because they opted out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction under Section 7 of Special Law 364, the Nicaraguan trial court lacked jurisdiction over them. Plaintiffs, on the other hand, argue that Section 7 does not allow defendants to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction, but merely provides plaintiffs with a choice of venue. The issue the Court must decide is whether Defendants were subject to jurisdiction in Nicaragua under Section 7 of Special Law 364. See Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations § 482 cmt. c (1987) (“The most common ground for refusal to recognize or enforce a foreign judgment is lack of jurisdiction .... If the rendering court did not have jurisdiction over the defendant under the laws of its own state, the judgment is void and will not be recognized or enforced in any other state.”) (emphasis added). Section 7 is an unusual provision. Special Law 364 is a law which, as acknowledged by the Nicaragua Supreme Court, deliberately tilts the scales of justice in the plaintiffs’ favor. But Section 7 appears to provide defendants with a way to avoid Special Law 364 altogether by refusing to make the required deposits in Nicaragua and waiving defenses based on forum non conveniens in the United States. In light of the onerous conditions imposed on DBCP defendants by Special Law 364, the history of the DBCP litigation, the Nicaraguan legislature’s reaction to the dismissal of DBCP claims in Delgado, and the acknowledged discriminatory treatment of DBCP defendants in Nicaragua, it is not undue speculation to infer that Special Law 364 may not have been primarily intended for the actual litigation of cases in Nicaragua, but instead to provide Nicaraguan plaintiffs with a forum in the United States. The law accomplishes this by effectively eliminating forum non conveniens defenses in the United States in DBCP litigation because it makes the foreign forum so unattractive from a defendant’s perspective. One commentator has opined that the law is an attempt to restore the plaintiffs’ traditional rights under Latin American law, where the plaintiff always has the “unfettered right to choose [to litigate] in the defendant’s court.” Henry Saint Dahl, Forum Non Conveniens, Latin America and Blocking Stat utes, 35 U. Miami Inter-Am. L.Rev. 21, 26 (2003). Accordingly, Special Law 364 may be properly viewed as a “blocking statute.” In this context, a blocking statute is a law that closes the doors of a foreign country’s courts to prevent a United States court from finding that an alternative forum exists under the forum non conveniens doctrine. Scotts Co. v. Hacienda Loma Linda, 2 So.3d 1013, 1015 n. 2 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Walter W. Heiser, Forum Non Conveniens and Retaliatory Legislation: The Impact on the Available Alternative Forum Inquiry and on the Desirability of Forum Non Conveniens as a Defense Tactic, 56 Kan. L.Rev. 609, 622 (2008) (explaining that a “blocking statute is intended specifically to prevent courts in the United States from finding that an alternative forum is ‘available’ to hear the plaintiff’s lawsuit”). Some blocking statutes also operate after the fact by extinguishing “the jurisdiction of their [country’s] courts with respect to any tort claim first filed against a foreign defendant in a [United States] court but later dismissed on grounds of forum non conveniens.” Heiser, 56 Kan. L.Rev. at 623. Special Law 364 appears to be somewhat unique among blocking statutes in that it operates by establishing onerous conditions under which defendants would litigate and then providing the defendants with the right to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction. See Saint Dahl, 35 U. Miami Inter-Am. L.Rev. at 24 (classifying Special Law 364 as a blocking statute and stating that it “offers defendants the possibility of opting out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction by subjecting them[selves] to [United States] jurisdiction, provided they waive the defense of [forum non conveniens ]”). It is beyond dispute that Special Law 364 provides ample incentives for the defendants to exercise their opt-out rights by, as the Court will explain, effectively depriving them of due process in their effort to mount a defense. As the Nicaraguan Supreme Court rationalized in responding to the Attorney General’s opinion that Special Law 364’s was unconstitutional, the constitutionality of Special Law 364 rests in large part on the defendants’ right to choose to litigate in the jurisdiction most convenient to them. In other words, either DBCP defendants have a right to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction, which requires that the Court deny recognition under Fla. Stat. 55.605 § (1)(b)-(c), or they are subject to a legal regime that does not provide due process, which requires denying recognition under Fla. Stat. 55.605 § (1)(a). In practical terms, it does not matter which of these is actually the case because either circumstance constitutes a mandatory ground for refusing to recognize this judgment under the Florida Recognition Act. This is Plaintiffs’ “Catch-22.” See Joseph Heller, Catch-22 46 (Simon & Schuster ed. 2004) (1961) (“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22 .... If he flew [bombing missions] he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.”). Plaintiffs and the Nicaraguan trial court claim that Article 7 does not give defendants a right to opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction by refusing to make the deposits. Instead, they argue, the defendants’ failure to make the deposits simply precludes them from arguing forum non conveniens if the plaintiffs decided to sue in the United States. But plainly, Nicaraguan law cannot prescribe the legal effect that defendants’ actions in Nicaragua will have in United States courts. Nicaraguan law can only determine what effect such actions will have in Nicaragua’s own courts. Here, Special Law 364 provides that defendants’ refusal to make the deposits and waiver of forum non conveniens defenses has the legal effect, in Nicaragua, of removing the case from the jurisdiction of Nicaragua’s trial courts. Special Law 364 does not dictate what legal effect the defendants’ actions will have in subsequent proceedings in the United States, nor does it purport to do so. What happened in this case, therefore, is that Defendants expressly opted out of Special Law 364 by refusing to make the required deposits and by waiving their forum non conveniens arguments in United States courts. These actions had the legal effect of depriving the Nicaraguan courts of jurisdiction. In addition to the clear terms of Special Law 364 and the Nicaraguan Supreme Court’s Consultation, the Court is also persuaded by the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Calderon, which, in dictum, found that Article 7 is most reasonably read to provide DBCP defendants with a right to elect jurisdiction. Calderon, 422 F.3d at 832-33 (interpreting Article 7 to allow a company to “refuse [ ] to submit to the jurisdiction of the Nicaraguan Courts by electing not to deposit the required sum” and giving defendants the “option of posting the requisite bond ... and defending the case in the Nicaraguan courts”) (emphasis added). Of course, Article 7 does not enable the defendants to compel the plaintiffs to sue in the United States, but it does allow the defendants to divest the Nicaraguan courts of their jurisdiction by refusing to make the deposits otherwise required by Special law 364 and waiving their forum non conveniens defenses. The Court finds that Article 7 is a jurisdictional provision because it affects the courts’ power to resolve the issues before it. See Black’s Law Dictionary 927 (9th ed. 2009) (defining jurisdiction as a “court’s power to decide a case or issue or decree”); see also U.S. v. Morton, 467 U.S. 822, 828, 104 S.Ct. 2769, 81 L.Ed.2d 680 (1984) (stating that “Subject-matter jurisdiction defines the court’s authority to hear a given type of case”); Black’s Law-Dictionary 931 (defining “subject-matter jurisdiction” as the court’s jurisdiction “over the nature of the case and the type of relief sought; the extent to which a court can rule on the conduct of persons or the status of things”). Ultimately, it does not matter whether the impact of Article 7 is stated in terms of subject matter or personal jurisdiction because either interpretation results in a mandatory ground for non-recognition under the Florida Recognition Act. Fla. Stat. § 55.605(1)(b)-(c). Of course, comity will ordinarily require United States courts to defer to foreign courts on the interpretation of their own jurisdictional statutes. In this case, however, the trial court did not follow the interpretation of the Nicaraguan Supreme Court, and Article 7 expressly provides that it is the defendant’s right to “decide that the proceedings are to continue in the Nicaraguan courts,” or not. The conclusion that the defendants can opt out of Nicaragua’s jurisdiction is not only the finding of this Court, but also that of Nicaragua’s highest court, the Ninth Circuit, and at least one legal commentator. See Saint Dahl, 35 U. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. at 24. Accordingly, the Court finds that Defendants effectively invoked their opt-out rights under Article 7 of Special Law 364. This act divested the Nicaraguan trial court of jurisdiction. Therefore, the Florida Recognition Act does not permit the Court to enforce this judgment because the foreign court lacked subject matter and/or personal jurisdiction over Defendants. See Fla. Stat. § 55.605(1)(b)-(c). C. SPECIAL LAW 364’S COMPATIBILITY WITH THE “INTERNATIONAL CONCEPT OF DUE PROCESS” A foreign judgment cannot be recognized in Florida if it was “rendered under a system which does not provide ... procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law.” Fla. Stat. § 55.605(1)(a). The term “due process” in this context does not refer to the “latest twist and turn of our courts” regarding procedural due process norms, because it is not “intended to reflect the idiosyncratic jurisprudence of a particular state.” Asilencien, 233 F.3d at 476-77 (interpreting an identical provision of the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act under Illinois law). Rather, it is meant to embody an “international concept of due process,” defined as “a concept of fair procedures simple and basic enough to describe the judicial processes of civilized nations, our peers.” Id. at 477. Both parties have agreed that the Seventh Circuit’s definition of “due process” in Ashenden accurately defines the term as it is used in the Florida Recognition Act. Accordingly, the Court will apply the Seventh Circuit’s definition and evaluate the provisions of Special Law 364 to determine whether they are “ ‘fundamentally fair’ and do not offend against ‘basic fairness.’ ” Id. (quoting Ingersoll Milling Mach. Co. v. Granger, 833 F.2d 680, 687-88 (7th Cir.1987)). Defendants argue that the procedures under which this case was tried are incompatible with the requirements of due process because numerous provisions of Special Law 364 fail to provide “basic fairness” to the DBCP defendants subject to its provisions. The Court takes up this issue as follows: First, it examines the scientific basis for the irrefutable presumption of causation afforded to plaintiffs who establish DBCP exposure and sperm damage, and evaluates whether the presumption constitutes a procedure consistent with due process in light of the medical testimony in this case. Second, the Court analyzes the remaining provisions of Special Law 364 under the rubric of disparate or discriminatory treatment of foreign defendants. 1. Special Law 364’s Irrefutable Presumption of Causation Defendants argue that Special Law 364’s irrefutable presumption of causation fails to comport with due process because it is inconsistent with medical and scientific facts and it deprives DBCP defendants of the opportunity to defend themselves. The irrefutable presumption of causation has the effect, according to Defendants, of making any causation defense they might have offered in the Nicaraguan trial court futile because, by definition, one cannot refute an irrefutable presumption. Plaintiffs suggest, however, that the Court should not examine whether the findings of the Nicaraguan trial court are in accord with the body of medical and scientific facts relating to the causes of sterility in men, because the Nicaraguan trial court’s medical findings are entitled to deference in this Court. Plaintiffs also claim that the Nicaraguan trial court did not actually apply the irrefutable presumption of causation and that this case was tried under legal theories other than Special Law 364, and, therefore, the issue of the irrefutable presumption’s fairness (or lack thereof) is not before the Court. Alternatively, Plaintiffs cite several cases which they argue support the proposition that Special Law 364’s irrefutable presumption of causation does not offend due process. As an initial matter, the Court rejects Plaintiffs’ contention that the medical conclusions of the Nicaraguan trial court are beyond this Court’s consideration. This position cannot be reconciled with the Court’s obligations under the Florida Recognition Act, because the Act requires that the rendering court’s procedures comply with due process, which necessarily requires the Court to examine the procedures, including any applicable legal presumptions, which were in place or were applied by the rendering court. In order to evaluate whether the irrefutable presumption of causation in Article 9 of Special Law 364 comports with basic fairness under the international concept of due process it is necessary to understand the underlying medical causes of sterility. As a general rule, the validity of a statutory presumption depends on the extent with which it conforms to the universe of scientific fact and the parties’ ability to fairly rebut it. The Connecticut Supreme Court has aptly explained that A presumption of law must be based upon facts of universal experience and be controlled by inexorable logic.... Even in the case of a rebuttable presumption, the fact which is specified to be prima facie evidence of the fact to be inferred or presumed must be a fact which in common experience leads naturally and logically to the fact inferred or presumed. Ducharme v. Putnam, 161 Conn. 135, 285 A.2d 318, 321 (1971) (quotations and citations omitted). Additionally, statutes that condition the payment of substantial sums on a set of facts which the defendant is unable to controvert are presumptively unfair. Cf. Heiner v. Donnan, 285 U.S. 312, 325, 52 S.Ct. 358, 76 L.Ed. 772 (1932) (“[A] statute which imposes a tax upon an assumption of fact which the taxpayer is forbidden to controvert, is so arbitrary and unreasonable that it cannot stand under the Fourteenth Amendment.”). Special Law 364 does not permit defendants to rebut the presumption that DBCP exposure caused the plaintiffs’ sterility. Therefore, for the presumption to be fundamentally fair there must be a scientifically and medically valid causal relationship between the predicate facts and the fact to be presumed; otherwise, the presumption will operate to impose liability irrespective of fault. According to Article 9, the predicate facts of the irrefutable presumption are (1) the plaintiffs exposure to DBCP and (2) two medical analyses of spermograms indicating that the plaintiff is sterile, and the fact to be presumed is that DBCP exposure caused the plaintiffs sterility. This irrefutable presumption of causation attached without regard for the circumstances which clearly impact the potential for DBCP to cause sterility, including the nature, intensity, and duration of exposure to DBCP. Moreover, in practice, the Nicaraguan trial court found exposure to DBCP simply from the fact that a plaintiff purportedly worked on a banana farm, without regard for the type of work performed (and whether it involved exposure to DBCP) or the duration of the work. Further, as the Court will explain below, the requisite evidence accepted as proof of sterility was factually i