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No. 19-416October Term 2019Decided Jun 17, 2021Updated May 1, 2026

Docket 19-416October Term 2019 (2019–2020)

Nestlé USA v. Doe

Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe

Former child slaves from Mali sued Nestlé USA and Cargill under the Alien Tort Statute, alleging the companies helped cocoa farms in Ivory Coast use child slavery by providing money, training, and other support.

Case status

Decided 8-1 · June 17, 2021 · Opinion by Justice Thomas

Read the opinion (PDF)
Current stage
Decided
Latest event
Decision released Jun 17, 2021
Case Accepted
Arguments
Decision ReleasedJun 17, 2021
What it's about

Former child slaves from Mali sued Nestlé USA and Cargill under the Alien Tort Statute, alleging the companies helped cocoa farms in Ivory Coast use child slavery by providing money, training, and other support. The case asked whether those claims could be heard in U.S. courts when the alleged injuries happened overseas and the companies’ U.S. conduct was mainly general corporate decisionmaking.

Question presented

1. Whether an aiding and abetting claim against a domestic corporation brought under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, may overcome the extraterritoriality bar where the claim is based on allegations of general corporate activity in the United States and where plaintiffs cannot trace the alleged harms, which occurred abroad at the hands of unidentified foreign actors, to that activity. 2. Whether the Judiciary has the authority under the Alien Tort Statute to impose liability on domestic corporations.

Case path

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Jun 17, 2021

Area

Decided Supreme Court case

Timing

Decided June 17, 2021

The Court released its decision on June 17, 2021 without hearing oral argument.

Activity

Docket activity3
  • Brief added: Questions Presented

    May 1, 2026 | Court records

  • Opinion added: opinion

    Jun 17, 2021 | Court records

  • Brief added: Petition

    Sep 25, 2019 | Court records