Alien Tort Claims Act Cases Keep Coming
Oil companies, fruit growers, beverage producers, automotive companies, tire producers, pharmaceutical companies -- name an industry, and its members likely have been subject to suits brought in the U.S. in the last decade or so under the Alien Tort Claims Act. Despite direct Supreme Court precedent cautioning against liberal expansion of the ATCA beyond its narrow 18th Century applications (piracy, crimes against ambassadors, and violating "safe conduct" requests), certain courts have continued to entertain ever-broadening interpretations of international law to broaden its scope. As a result, companies have defended suits in the U.S. alleging that they were responsible for a host of activities that occurred abroad, including environmental harm, civil war violence, and even apartheid.
This blog will continue to follow such cases. An article of mine summarizing recent cases appeared yesterday in the National Law Journal.
