Nestle U.S.A., Inc. v. Doe I

Case Updates

In its brief, the U.S. Chamber encouraged the Supreme Court to resolve several circuit splits regarding the scope of corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The brief argued that the Ninth Circuit erred in watering down the mens rea standard required to state an ATS aiding and abetting claim (to the extent such a claim exists), misapplied the standard for determining extraterritorial application of the ATS under Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, and improperly held corporations may be subject to liability under the ATS for violations of the law of nations.

When combined, the brief argued, these errors permit ATS lawsuits to proceed against companies for allegedly tortious acts committed outside the United States by foreign governments or persons with whom the company does business, simply because the company intended to turn a profit. That result would make the Ninth Circuit a magnet for ever-more-creative ATS claims and invite diplomatic friction with other nations.

The U.S. Chamber filed this brief jointly with the National Foreign Trade Council, National Association of Manufacturers, and Organization for International Investment.

R. Reeves Anderson, John B. Bellinger, III, and Lisa S. Blatt of Arnold & Porter LLP served as co-counsel for the amici with the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.