U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Daimler “Dirty War” Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Daimler AG's appeal of a lower court decision allowing plaintiffs pursue charges in California that the company was complicit in torture and murder during Argentina's "Dirty War" in 1976-1983.

The complaint was filed in federal court in California by former workers or families of former workers at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Argentina. They charge that the company informed the military junta about employees it considered union agitators, knowing they would be kidnapped, tortured and perhaps killed.

Daimler denies the allegations. The company also contends that the court in California lacks jurisdiction. Plaintiffs say they can sue there because Daimler's U.S. sales unit distributes vehicles to dealers in the state.

A U.S. appeals court in San Francisco ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court will hear arguments about the case during its next term, which starts in October.

The federal lawsuit was brought under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, which is used to sue foreign companies in the U.S. for such alleged wrongdoing as human rights violations, environmental damage and labor abuses that occurred overseas.