Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Corporate Legal Accountability Project
Case profiles – Organized by country where alleged harm occurred
December 2010
KEY:
Posted case profile
Case profile in preparation
Cases under consideration
AFRICA
Lawsuit
Nestle lawsuit re child labor
Trafigura lawsuit
Locus of harm
Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire
Anvil Mining lawsuit
DRC
Firestone lawsuit
Hiribo Mohammed v. Redland Roses
German cos. re Hereros
Chevron lawsuit
Pfizer lawsuit
Shell lawsuit re Ogoni 9
Shell lawsuit re oil pollution
AngloGold Ashanti lawsuit re silicosis
Apartheid reparations
Cape/Gencor
Hoffmann v. South African Airways re HIV
employment discrimination
Biwater arbitration
HIV employment discrimination
DLH lawsuit re link btw timber sales & “funding”
Liberian civil war
Touareg lawsuit against Areva
British American Tobacco lawsuit (re marketing to
minors)
Gas flaring lawsuit
AngloPlatinum lawsuit re displacement
Thor Chemicals
Bushmen lawsuit against Gov’t of Botswana re
displacement & diamond mining concessions from
their land granted to DeBeers
Paladin Energy lawsuit by Citizens for Justice in
Malawi over radioactive pollution from uranium mine
Nigerian NGO case against gov’t & oil companies re
oil pollution
AngloAmerican lawsuit by former miners re work
related illness (silicosis)
Khulumani v Sasol
Lundin Petroleum involvement in Sudan – Swedish
prosecutor investigates
Thomson Safaris re displacement and abuse of
Masai people
Liberia
Kenya
Namibia
Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
Locus of lawsuit
USA
Côte d’Ivoire, UK,
Netherlands
DRC, Australia,
Canada
USA
Kenya
USA
USA
Nigeria, USA
USA
Netherlands
South Africa
USA
UK
South Africa
Tanzania
Kenya
Liberia
ICSID
Kenya
France
Niger
Nigeria
France
Nigeria
Nigeria
South Africa
South Africa
Botswana
Nigeria
South Africa
UK
Botswana
Malawi
Malawi
Nigeria
ECOWAS
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
Sudan
South Africa
Sweden
Tanzania
Tanzania
1
Neuman Kaffee Gruppe – FIAN files OECD
complaint re abuses
ASIA/PACIFIC
Lawsuit
Unocal lawsuit
Total lawsuit
Yahoo! lawsuit
Nokia lawsuit
Coca Cola lawsuit re water depletion issues
Union Carbide/Dow lawsuit
Vedanta lawsuit
ExxonMobil lawsuit re Aceh
Freeport McMoRan lawsuit re West Papua
Chisso Corp. Minamata mercury poisoning
Nishimatsu settlement re wartime Chinese forced
labour
BHP lawsuit re Papua New Guinea
Rio Tinto lawsuit
Sanlu execs on trial re milk scandal
Lapindo Brantas mud volcano
Newmont Mining
Penan people of Sarawak lawsuit re land rights,
logging concessions
Agent Orange litigation
Closure of ship-breaking yards
Lidl charges brought under unfair competition laws
re working conditions of Bangladeshi textile workers
Bayer lawsuit re attempt to limit marketing of generic
drugs
Canadian toxic waste exported to India
Freeport McMoRan lawsuit (Aug 2009 & Mar 2010)
Lawsuit against Japan Tobacco
Landmark court decision re oil palm plantations,
protection of tribal land
Lawsuit against 3 mining firms brought by coastal
village asking court to stop all extraction &
exploration, testing new environmental protections
Marcopper mining charged with putting toxic tailings
into Mogpog River
Cutter (Bayer sub) lawsuit re sale of contaminated
blood products to patients
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand Mae Mo
villagers
EASTERN EUROPE
Lawsuit
Fadeyeva v Russia
Polish labour lawsuit
Deno Gold Mining pollution & Shahumyan Region
Former Deno Gold Mining employees sue for unpaid
wages
Roma discrimination
Croatian Serbs file class action against L-3 & sub,
MPRI re genocide during Balkan war
2
Uganda
Germany
Locus of harm
Burma
Burma
China
China
India
India
India
Indonesia
Indonesia
Japan
Japan
Locus of lawsuit
USA
Belgium
USA
China
India
USA, India
India
USA
USA
Japan
Japan
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
China
Indonesia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Australia/ PNG
USA
China
Indonesia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Vietnam
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
USA
Bangladesh
Germany
India
India
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Philippines
Philippines
Philippines
Taiwan/Hong Kong
USA
Thailand
Thailand
Locus of harm
Russia
Poland
Armenia
Armenia
Locus of lawsuit
Russia, ECHR
Poland
Armenia
Armenia
Bulgaria
Croatia
Bulgaria
USA
Lake Baikal & Trans-Siberian pipeline route
Prosecutors open criminal investigation on
Skochynsky coalmine accident of safety rule
violations
Child labour in Uzbek cotton industry
Betlis Tekstil sued by workers over alleged illegal
dismissals after reporting health & safety concerns
LATIN AMERICA
Lawsuit
Sweatshop labour Bolivian migrant workers
BASF, Shell pay fined re plant contamination case
BP lawsuit
Chiquita lawsuit
Coca-Cola lawsuit
Drummond lawsuit
Occidental lawsuit
Texaco/Chevron lawsuit
DynCorp
Cambior lawsuit re Omai Mine
Daimler re “Dirty War”
Ford lawsuit re “Dirty War”
Botnia paper mill
Celco re river pollution
Agua Mineral Chusmiza re indigenous water rights
Curacao Drydock
Parota Dam
Dole, Dow, Amvac lawsuit re pesticide
Minera Majaz/ Monterrico Metals
Uranios del Sur re uranium mining vs right to healthy
environment
Forced child labour at Nuestra Huella (agri. co.)
Monsanto lawsuit re GM soy
Belo Monte dam & indigenous peoples’ rights
Promel toxic waste
Nestle lawsuit
Dole lawsuit
Coca Cola & Incasa lawsuit re anti-union violence
Hudbay sued regarding murder of Mayan community
leader opposed to mining activities
Vicini Company class action re Haitian sugar cane
cutters
Copper Mesa lawsuit
Atoyac River pollution by Pemex and Black & Veatch
Grupo Mexico sued over Pasta de Conchos mining
disaster
Occidental lawsuit
Occidential Petroleum lawsuit re Achuar & oil
pollution
Repsol, Hunt Oil lawsuit re lack of consultation w/
indigenous peoples
Doe Run lawsuit
Saramaka People v. Suriname (re indigenous land
rights and logging concessions)
3
Russia
Ukraine
Russia
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan/EU
Uzbekistan
Locus of harm
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia
Colombia
Ecuador
Ecuador
Guyana
Argentina
Argentina
Argentina
Chile
Chile
Curacao/Cuba
Mexico
Nicaragua
Peru
Argentina
Locus of lawsuit
Argentina
Brazil
UK
USA
USA
USA
USA
Ecuador, USA
USA
Canada, Guyana
USA, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina
Chile
Chile
USA
Mexico
USA
Peru/ UK
Argentina
Argentina
Brazil
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Colombia
Guatemala
Guatemala
Argentina
Brazil
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
USA
USA
Canada
Haiti/Dominican Rep.
Dominican Rep.
Ecuador
Mexico
Mexico
Canada
Mexico
USA
Peru
Peru
Peru (dismissed in
US)
USA
Peru
Peru
Peru
Suriname
Peru
IACHR
MIDDLE EAST
Lawsuit
Blackwater lawsuit
CACI/Titan (L-3) lawsuit
KBR lawsuit re human trafficking
Jeppesen lawsuit
Erinys lawsuit re Iraq
Corrie v. Caterpillar
Alstom & Veolia re tram
Bil’in Village v Green Park
ArmorGroup re crimes in Iraq
Nokia Siemens lawsuit re Iran
Aegis Defense Services lawsuit re shooting of US
soldier
KBR rape lawsuit
KBR lawsuit over toxic burn bits
Riwal lawsuit re involvement in building separation
wall btw Israel & Palestine & building settlements
WESTERN EUROPE
Lawsuit
Statoil lawsuit re fraudulent employment of Human
Rights Advisor
IBM lawsuit re Holocaust
SNCF lawsuit re Holocaust
ThyssenKrupp execs re worker deaths
UNITED STATES & CANADA
Lawsuit
BP lawsuit re Alaska
Coca-Cola race bias
Gulf of Mexico oil spill lawsuits
Kivalina lawsuit (Alaska)
Mitsubishi sexual harassment
Nike v Kasky (re commercial speech)
Saipan garment workers
Slavery reparations
Shoshone tribe sue to stop Barrick Gold mine
Wal-Mart gender bias
Citigroup gender bias
Esmor Correctional Services (conditions at INS
detention centre)
Ford lawsuit re sexual harassment
Mossville, LA dioxin poisoning
Red Chris mining lawsuit re threat to Tahltan Nation
Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia (re logging
concessions and indigenous peoples’ land rights)
EPA action e-waste exporter to 3rd wld
Inupiat lawsuit re water pollution
4
Locus of harm
Iraq
Iraq
Iraq
Morocco, Egypt,
Jordan
Iraq
Occupied Terr.
Occupied Terr.
Occupied Terr.
Iraq
Iran
Iraq
Locus of lawsuit
USA
USA
USA
USA
Iraq
Iraq
Israel/OPT
USA
USA
Netherlands
Locus of harm
Norway
Locus of lawsuit
USA
Switzerland
France
Italy
Switzerland
France, USA
Italy
Locus of harm
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA (Comm. of N.
Marianas Islands)
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Locus of lawsuit
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Canada
Canada
USA
Inter-American
Comm’n for HR
Canada
Canada
USA
USA
USA
USA
UK
USA
France
Canada
Iraq
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
Myriad Genetics challenged on patenting breast
cancer gene
PA Child Care lawsuit re juvenile offenders &
lengthened detention through kick-back scheme with
judges
Pregnancy bias lawsuit v Bloomberg
Starbucks re anti-union activity
Wells Fargo discrimination in sub-prime mortgages
US cities sue Sygenta to have them remove toxic
weed killer from drinking water
Global Horizons lawsuit re human trafficking of Thai
farmworkers
Lorillard Tobacco lawsuit re enticing black children to
smoke (1950s)
5
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA