22 February 2008

Rodriguez Licea v. Curacao Drydock Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13294 (D. Fla. 2008)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Plaintiffs' principal claims are that the Defendant and its government agents and co-conspirators violated the laws of nations by trafficking Ps from Cuba to Curacao and by holding them and forcing them to work there. The main thrust of their action comes under the ATS and federal RICO laws. The only issue before this court was Defendant's motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens.

In declining to dismiss the action, the court said:

"Further, any interest that a forum in Curacao may have is countered by the public interest factors this jurisdiction has in the matter. This case concerns alleged violations of international human rights norms of concern to all nations and that the Alien Tort Statute empowered this Court to address. It concerns an alleged act of international trafficking. It concerns the human rights of people who have been Cuban citizens, an issue of concern to many members of this community. It concerns the foreign policy interests of the United States as expressed in the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, and the interests of Congress expressed in the RICO statute. All these public interest factors militate in favor of this Court's retention of this matter."

Vietnam Ass'n for Victims of Agent Orange v. Dow Chem. Co.

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

Where Vietnamese nationals alleged that manufacturers were liable for violating international law norms prohibiting the use of poisoned weapons and infliction of unnecessary suffering, ATS claims failed because international norms did not prohibit use of materials that were only secondarily, and not intentionally, harmful to humans.