Court case
Ongoing
Switzerland
Asmania and others vs. Holcim
Climate Change
Human Rights
Feb 1, 2023
Plaintiffs are former enslaved children who claim they were kidnapped and forced to work on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast. Plaintiffs filed this action against Nestle, Inc. and Cargill, U.S. -based companies that purchase, produce and sell cocoa that was produced in the Ivory Coast. These companies did not own the cocoa farms but they bought cocoa and provided the farms with technical and economic support. Plaintiffs allege that these farms used child slavery to produce cocoa, a fact they allege Nestle and Cargill knew. They claim that buying cocoa and providing support aided and abetted child slavery in the Ivory Coast. Additionally, Plaintiffs allege that with the economic support Nestle and Cargill provided for the farms, they had the power to eliminate child slavery and failed to do so.
The Court granted Defendants motion to dismiss based on its conclusion that corporations can’t be sued under the ATS and the Plaintiffs failed to allege elements of a claim of aiding and abetting.
The Defendants appealed the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court's decision to reverse the District Court's dismissal.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision is reversed and remanded back to the District Court, holding that Plaintiffs must allege more domestic conduct than generalized corporate activity to be able to plead sufficient facts to support domestic application of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS).
The Plaintiffs appealed the District’s Court dismissal
The District Court’s decision reversed, holding that Plaintiffs did plead a valid domestic application of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS).