Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
Term
2020 Term
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
1. Whether an aiding and abetting claim against a domestic corporation brought under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, may overcome the extraterritoriality bar where the claim is based on allegations of general corporate activity in the United States and where plaintiffs cannot trace the alleged harms, which occurred abroad at the hands of unidentified foreign actors, to that activity.
2. Whether the Judiciary has the authority under the Alien Tort Statute to impose liability on domestic corporations.
Case Updates
U.S. Supreme Court holds that the Alien Tort Statute does not apply when all of the relevant conduct, apart from general corporate oversight, occurred abroad
June 17, 2021
Click here to view the opinion. The U.S. Chamber filed seven amicus briefs supporting this outcome over the life of the case.
U.S. Chamber files a coalition merits-stage amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reject domestic corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute and limit its extraterritorial reach
September 08, 2020
Click here to view the coalition amicus brief. John P Elwood of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP served as co-counsel for the coalition.
The U.S. Chamber previously filed an amicus brief supporting the successful cert petitions in these two consolidated cases. The Chamber also filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for rehearing en banc in the Ninth Circuit.
Cert. petition granted
July 02, 2020
U.S. Chamber files amicus brief in support of two petitions for writ of certiorari concerning the extraterritorial reach of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the liability of a domestic corporation under the ATS
October 28, 2019
Click here to view the coalition amicus brief. John B. Bellinger, III of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP served as co-counsel for the coalition.
The U.S. Chamber previously filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for rehearing en banc in the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing, but over the dissents of eight judges.
Case Documents
- Cert. Petition -- Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe I (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Appendix -- Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe I (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- U.S. Chamber et al. Amicus Brief -- Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe I (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- U.S. Chamber, et al. Amicus Brief (merits) -- Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe I (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf
- Opinion -- Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe I (U.S. Supreme Court).pdf