US Court of Appeal relaunches Nestlé's child slavery lawsuit

By Tina Bellon

<p class = "canvas-canvas-text canvas Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "(Reuters) – US Federal Court of Appeal Tuesday reinstated a lawsuit filed by a group of former child slaves accusing the US unit of Nestlé SA , the largest food manufacturer in the world, and Cargill Co, which perpetuates child slavery in Ivorian cocoa farms. "data-reactid =" 23 "> (Reuters) – A US federal court of appeal has reinstated Tuesday the lawsuit filed by a group of former child slaves accusing the US unit of Nestlé SA , the largest food manufacturer in the world, and Cargill Co, who perpetuate child slavery on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire.

Judges at the US Court of Appeals 9th Circuit in Pasadena, California, unanimously said that the group could pursue its claims despite the alleged abuses committed abroad.

"In summary, the allegations paint a picture of the slave labor abroad that the defendants perpetuated from their US headquarters," the court wrote.

The court did not rule on the merits of the plaintiffs' claims.

The complainants, from Mali, claim that the companies have aided and abetted human rights violations by actively participating in the purchase of cocoa from Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). ;Ivory).

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "They initially sued Nestle USA, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and Cargill Inc in 2005. Archer-Daniels-Midland was struck off the litigation in 2016, according to court records. The case has since been referred to the US Supreme Court, which in 2016 dismissed the trial. "Data-reactid =" 28 "> They initially sued Nestle USA, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and Cargill Inc in 2005. Archer-Daniels-Midland was struck off the litigation in 2016, according to court records. The case has since been referred to the United States Supreme Court, which in 2016 rejected the offer of the companies that the case be dismissed.

The companies have denied the allegations.

Nestle said Tuesday in a statement that it had explicit policies against child labor and was working to tackle the global problem. The company said that it disagreed with the decision of the 9th circuit and that it was evaluating the calling options.

"Unfortunately, by filing such lawsuits, plaintiffs' class action lawyers are targeting the very organizations that are trying to fight forced labor," said Nestlé.

Cargill did not respond to a request for comment.

A Los Angeles district court dismissed the lawsuit twice, the latest in March 2017. This court found that the ex-child slave's claims were excluded because of decisions of the US Supreme Court that made it more difficult for plaintiffs to sue companies in US courts for alleged foreign violations.

According to these decisions, violations committed elsewhere must "affect and affect" US territory "with sufficient force".

The 9th Circuit said Monday that the plaintiffs' claims met these requirements, the alleged violations being outside the scope of the company's business conduct.

The former child slaves claimed that the companies provided financial and technical assistance to local farmers to ensure the cheapest source of cocoa.

The Federal Court of Appeal said that these "bribes" were corroborated by regular inspections of Ivorian cocoa farms by employees of the US company who knew of the financing agreements and confirmed them.

Ivory Coast is the largest cocoa producer in the world. The other main cocoa producers are Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and Cameroon.

(Report by Tina Bellon)