Nestle, Archer Daniels Midland, and Cargill
Case Name: JOHN DOE et al v. NESTLÉ, S. A, NESTLÉ U.S.A., NESTLÉ Ivory Coast, ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO., CARGILL INCORPORATED COMPANY, CARGILL COCOA, CARGILL WEST AFRICA, S.A, and CORPORATE DOES 1-10
Plaintiffs: The plaintiffs are Malian former child slaves who suffered human rights abuses while working for the defendants.
Institutional Plaintiff:
Global Exchange: A membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. www.globalexchange.org
Summary: A suit was filed in July 2005 against Nestle, Archer Daniels Midland, and Cargill companies on behalf of Malian former child slaves, who were trafficked from Mali into Cote d’Ivoire and forced to work twelve to fourteen hours a day with no pay, little food and sleep, and frequent beatings. The campaign demands full transparency along the companies’ cocoa supply chain, a fair price to farmers for their product, and contractual commitments to work with farmers to remediate problems. To generate public support for these exploited workers, ILRF and partners launched an extensive media campaign in 2005. We argued against Defendants’ dismissal motion in a hearing before the judge in February 2006 and are awaiting a ruling on the issues.
Status: Awaiting a ruling on the defendant’s motion to dismiss
August 2006: Nestle's Supplemental Brief
Plaintiff's Supplemental Brief & Judgment in Rio Tinto case
August 2006: Corrections to original complaint
Jan 2006: Declaration in Opposition of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss
Aug 2005: Nestle files motion to force child labor victims to reveal their names, thus making them face violent retaliation.
July 2005: Lawsuit filed by ILRF against Nestle, Cargill, and ADM press release
Cooperating Attorneys:
Robert F. Childs, Jr., Robert L. Wiggins Jr., Rusty N. Johnson Jr.,
Wiggins, Childs, Quinn and Pantazis, L.L.C
Paul L. Hoffman
Schonbrun, DeSimone, Seplow, Harris & Hoffman, LLP
— 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.