The United States Supreme Court will hear appeals by two companies – Cargill Inc and a Nestle SA subsidiary, which are accused of knowingly helping perpetuate slavery at Côte d’Ivoire cocoa farms.
The two companies ask the nine justices to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed the lawsuit filed against the companies from former children slaves from Mali who worked on the farms. The lawsuit was filed under the Alien Tort Statute
The plaintiffs accused the companies of aiding and supporting human rights violations through their active involvement in purchasing Côte d’Ivoire cocoa and dismiss the practice of using slave labour on the farms despite being aware of the practice to keep cocoa prices low.
A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit twice, most recently in 2017. The court found that the claims were denied by the latest Supreme Court decisions that have made it harder for plaintiffs to sue corporations in US courts for alleged violations overseas.
The Supreme Court in 2013 and 2018 cases has restricted the power of plaintiffs to accuse companies in US courts under the Alien Tort Statute for overseas human rights violations but has not definitively ruled that US corporations can never be sued under that law.
The US Chamber of Commerce, Chevron Corp, and Coca-Cola Company filed briefs asking the court to hear the Nestle and Cargill appeals.
