No. 19-416October Term 2019Decided Jun 17, 2021Updated May 1, 2026
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
- 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.
Documents
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
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Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology