Coca-Cola II
Case Name: TURIDI et al. v. THE COCA-COLA COMPANY et al.
Plaintiff: Turkish Coca-Cola workers victimized by riot police under orders from Coca-Cola
Summary: In 2005, 105 workers at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Istanbul Turkey joined a union and were terminated. They organized a lengthy sit-down strike in front of the main offices of Coca-Cola in Turkey. After several weeks of protesting, the workers entered the building to demand their reinstatement. While leaders of the workers were meeting with senior management for the company, the company ordered Turkish riot police to attack the workers who were by all accounts peacefully assembled, many with their spouses and children. Nearly two hundred of them were beaten badly and many required hospitalization. The victims sued for torture under the ATCA, as well as battery, assault, emotional distress under New York state law. They also brought claims for unfair business practices because Coca-Cola has been representing to the public that they are not an anti-union company and they require their bottlers to respect fundamental worker rights. The case was initially dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds, with the Court ordering the case transferred to Turkey. Plaintiffs instead appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where the case is pending. The case is currently pending in the 11th Circuit, and the parties have been in protracted discussions in an effort to resolve the issues.
Status: Pending in appeals court
— Chris Saeger, "Strengthening Rule of Law Through Aid for Human Rights Litigation in National Courts: A Case Study of Oil Multinational Corporations Complicit in Human Rights Violations in Sudan and Nigeria (December 2007)
— Terry Collingsworth, "Using the Alien Tort Claims Act to Introduce the Rule of Law to the Global Economy (2005)
International Rights Advocates is a nonprofit dedicated to holding corporations accountable for human rights violations in countries around the world. IRAdvocates already has 14 pending cases but without your support, IRAdvocates will not be able to continue its litigation.