U.S. Court Dismisses Apartheid Claims Against Ford

A federal judge in New York City has dismissed a claim against Ford Motor Co. that the company encouraged human rights abuses in South Africa from the 1970s to early 1990s by supplying vehicles to the country's military.

The judge dismissed a similar complaint claiming IBM Corp. supported South Africa's apartheid policies by selling computers to the military. Declared the judge, "I am bound to follow (legal precedent) no matter what my personal view of the law may be."

She ruled that plaintiffs failed to show Ford exhibited apartheid behavior in the U.S. If there were violations, she added, they occurred in South Africa and should be tried there.

Plaintiffs filed their case 12 years ago under America's Alien Tort Statute. The 218-year-old law allows non-citizens to sue in U.S. courts over violations of international law. But last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law covers only violations in the U.S. or elsewhere if they have a strong enough impact on American territory.

The New York judge gave plaintiffs a chance in April to strengthen their case to suit the Supreme Court's definition. She ruled on Thursday that they failed to do so.