Why Are US Plaintiffs' Lawyers in South Africa This Week?

Here's a partial explanation from a South African newspaper:

Groups representing apartheid victims in litigation against foreign businesses are making a concerted effort over the next few days to unite their forces and muster international support.

The groups started a three-day meeting in Johannesburg on Sunday, with the theme "Reparations, lawsuits and the future," to discuss adopting a unified approach in their suits against the multinationals and banks they allege propped up apartheid.

One plaintiffs' lawyer who might be attending the meeting is Michael Hausfeld of Cohen, Milstein. Hausfeld is one of the lead lawyers in the apartheid cases being litigated in New York. According to another South African newspaper, "Hausfeld told reporters in Johannesburg on Monday that his clients' case had been considerably strengthened by a judgment last week in the US Supreme Court."

Hausfeld was referring to Sosa v. Alvarez, in which the Supreme Court held that foreigners wronged by human rights abuses could continue to seek redress in US courts under the 215-year-old Alien Tort Statute. In so ruling, the Supreme Court took away a key defense to the apartheid litigation. According to Hausfeld, "The ruling has opened the door for victims of human rights violations around the world seeking redress under the Alien Tort Claims Act. It has provided a climate of hope for the survivors of gross human rights violations during the apartheid era."

To read more about Sosa v. Alvarez, see this summary in the New York Times (page 7 of the article). For more information about the apartheid litigation, including the complaint, see this page of Cohen, Milstein's website.