The first draft of my comment for the San Diego International Law Journal is due in a couple of weeks. Until last night my work was going to focus on analyzing IP decisions from litigation in Beijing, Guangzhou and Jiangsu courts. An unnamed problem and too much time spent thinking about this post at China Law Blog have inspired me to write a comment on tort liability for US companies based on injuries sustained by Chinese workers in Chinese factories manufacturing products for the US company.
The main case I'll be working with is the Bhopal case arising out of a methyl isocyanate gas leak from Union Carbide's plant in Bhopal, India. That's really all I've got right now. That and the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), which Bhopal was largely based on. Is an ATCA claim a bit of stretch? Maybe. I'll keep you posted. This first draft omits much of the analysis, but it will include background and intro information.
6 comments:
Will,
Good luck with the note. One suggestion - a lot of stuff written on this subject often includes analysis of theoretical legal liability, but very little about practical liability. You will find that there is a wide gap between these two things because of low damage awards, evidence rules, and other factors that make it tough to be a plaintiff here. Talk to some litigators and try to work in the practical limitations here and how these actually benefit foreign investors.
--Stan (China Hearsay)
You may want to take a closer look at the Birdgestone-Firestone case pending in Indiana, and the recent decision from the Second Circuit reversing a lower's decision dismissing an ATCA complaint involving claims against U.S. companies for acting in concert with the former Apartheid regime. Both decisions deal with alleged business practices of U.S. companies, as opposed to the Bhopal case, which was not really an ATCA driven action. Last, the recent decision dismissing an ATCA complaint against Yahoo for its business practices in China may prove helpful. Good luck.
William,
I have heard of a case (I think in CA, where else) involving banana workers in South America. You should probably hunt that down. Good luck and great topic.
Stan,
Thank you for suggesting including practical limitations. It seems that a lot of these practical limitations make litigation on either side of the Pacific difficult.
Anonymous,
Thank you, I'll certainly look into these cases.
CLB,
Where else, indeed. I'll look that case up, thanks.
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