Find below the second complaint, 1 May 2009, of the Khulumani Support Group in the Southern District Court of New York.
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Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, 62 years old, is a United States District Court judge for the Southern District of New York. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994 to a seat vacated by Louis J. Freeh, had her appointment confirmed by the United States Senate on September 28, 1994 and was commissioned on September 29, 1994. She is an alumnus of Cornell Law School, the University of Michigan and of Columbia University. |
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1. The hearing that took place in New York on Thursday, February 26, 2009 considered oral arguments from attorneys for the plaintiffs and the defendants in the Khulumani and the Ntsebeza claims. The hearing considered the defendants' motion for the claims to be dismissed. It lasted two and a half hours with the attorneys being questioned for around a half hour each. 2. The presiding judge, Judge Scheindlin (Photo, right), was reportedly extremely well-prepared and well-versed in all the issues relevant to the arguments. It was clear that she had thoroughly evaluated the comprehensive record – a fact appreciated by all the attorneys acting for the plaintiffs. |
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On October 24, 2008, Michael Hausfeld's firm Hausfeld LLP, filed an amended claim in the Khulumani apartheid litigation. The amended claim is officially cited as First Amended Complaint for Docket MDL No.02-md-1499 (JES); Jury Trial Demanded, Class Action.
The amended civil claim identifies as the plaintiffs in the litigation Khulumani, the plaintiff organisation that provides assistance to victims of apartheid atrocities, on behalf of itself, and thirteen individual plaintiffs or “class plaintiffs†on behalf of themselves and all other individuals similarly situated.
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Michael Hausfeld is one of the United State's top civil litigators, and joined the Law Firm, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. in 1971. He is the head of the Antitrust and International practice groups. He currently represents Jubilee 2000, Khulumani, and other NGOs in litigation involving abuses under apartheid law in South Africa, and is pursuing a RICO litigation against the tobacco industry with regard to the sale of and representations on “light†cigarettes.
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By Georgene M. Vairo: The National Law Journal. Some of the most explosive litigation battles with humongous stakes involve foreign plaintiffs suing multinational companies, including U.S. corporations, allegedly involved in human rights violations.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876 (2nd Cir. 1980), opened the federal courthouse door to the aggressive use of the Alien Tort Claims Act in human rights litigation. |
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A telling remark about US imperialism's double standards was uttered by Clinton-era deputy treasury secretary Stuart Eizenstat, who a decade ago was the driver of reparations claims against pro-Nazi corporations, assisting plaintiffs to gain $8 billion from European banks and corporations which ripped off Holocaust victims' funds or which were 1930s beneficiaries of slave labor (both Jewish and non-Jewish). |
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1. On 12 October 2007, the 2nd Circuit Court of New York overturned the decision of a District Court by reinstating the claims of the Khulumani Support Group ("Khulumani") and other claimants against 23 foreign multinational corporations and banks.
2. Khulumani filed the suit in November 2002 in a District Court of New York against these corporations and banks on the basis that they have aided and abetted the Apartheid government in enabling the said government to commit acts of gross human rights violations. |
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| On October 12, 2007, the Second Circuit Court of Appeal in New York issued its ruling in the Khulumani et al v. Barclays et al lawsuit. In the ruling, the Court reversed the decision of the District Court on the Alien Tort Statute claims, and held that aiding and abetting liability exists and can be pled under the Alien Tort Statue. |
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Argued: January 24, 2006 before KATZMANN and HALL, Circuit Judges, and KORMAN, District Judge. Decided: October 12, 2007. Appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Sprizzo, J.), dismissing, inter alia, plaintiffs-appellants’ claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCAâ€) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (“TVPAâ€).
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Amici include dozens of international human rights organizations throughout the world and individuals who have figured prominently in efforts to ameliorate the lasting damage that the apartheid system inflicted upon its South African victims such as the Plaintiffs in this action. Among amici are the Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa (“TRCâ€), Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and several TRC commissioners.
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This essay by Janet Jobson for her honours degree at Rhodes University, Grahamstown in 2006, argues that in light of the extraordinary power and wealth of the contemporary corporation, legislation such as the US’ Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) must be protected as one of the last meaningful methods by which corporations can be held to account for violating human rights.
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