U.S. justices agree to hear Daimler human rights case
Source: Reuters
U.S. justices agree to hear Daimler human rights case
April 22, 2013 - 11:00am
(Reuters) — Once again showing keen interest in whether multinational corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for alleged human rights abuses abroad, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear Daimler A.G.'s appeal involving its alleged conduct in Argentina in the 1970s.
In a related case, the court asked a lower court on Monday to take a second look at human rights claims against Rio Tinto.
Both cases were on hold for a major human rights case that the court decided last week.In that unanimous decision, the high court limited the ability of human rights plaintiffs to invoke the 1789 Alien Tort Statute when suing companies over alleged collusion with violent foreign governments.
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In the Daimler case, workers or relatives of workers at an Argentina-based plant operated by Mercedes-Benz, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler, sued over its alleged conduct.
They claimed the company had punished plant workers viewed by managers as union agitators and that it had worked alongside the Argentinian military and police forces.
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