Doe I v. Nestle Usa, Inc.

766 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir. 2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ps, in this case, are three victims of child slavery. They were forced to work on Ivorian cocoa plantations for up to fourteen hours per day six days a week, given only scraps of food to eat, and whipped and beaten by overseers. They were locked in small rooms at night and not permitted to leave the plantations, knowing that children who tried to escape would be beaten or tortured. Ps witnessed guards cut open the feet of children who attempted to escape, and Ps knew that the guards forced failed escapees to drink urine. The Ivory Coast produces seventy percent of the world's supply of cocoa. Ds, in this case, dominate the Ivorian cocoa market. Ds do not own cocoa farms themselves, they maintain and protect a steady supply of cocoa by forming exclusive buyer/seller relationships with Ivorian farms. Ds offer both financial assistance and technical farming assistance designed to support cocoa agriculture. The financial assistance includes advanced payment for cocoa and spending money for the farmers' personal use. The technical support includes equipment and training meant to expand the farms' capacity and act as a quality control mechanism, and either Ds or their agents visit farms several times per year as part of the training and quality control efforts. Ds are well aware of the child slavery problem. Ds have firsthand knowledge and continue to supply money, equipment, and training, knowing that these provisions will facilitate the use of forced child labor. Ds have also lobbied against congressional efforts to curb the use of child slave labor. Ps filed a proposed class action alleging that Ds were liable under the ATS (Alien Tort Statute) for aiding and abetting child slavery in the Ivory Coast. The district court granted Ds' motion to dismiss in that corporations cannot be sued under the ATS, and that even if they could, Ps failed to allege the elements of a claim for aiding and abetting slave labor. This appeal resulted.