NSRGY - Supreme Court delves into human rights case against Nestle

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared unlikely to bar lawsuits against American companies over alleged human rights abuses, but appeared to be leaning toward tossing out a case accusing Cargill and a Nestle SA (NSRGY) subsidiary of knowingly helping to perpetuate slavery at Ivory Coast cocoa farms. The case concerns a 1789 U.S. law called the Alien Tort Statute that gives an avenue for non-U.S. citizens to sue for damages in American courts in certain instances. That is an opening that U.S. businesses have looked to close. In the case in front of SCOTUS, the plaintiffs accused Nestle and Cargill of aiding and abetting human rights violations through their active involvement in purchasing Ivory Coast cocoa and allowing slave labor on cocoa farms. A final ruling in the case is due by the end of June.

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Supreme Court delves into human rights case against Nestle