Liability of Corporate Actors Under the Alien Tort Statute

Since 1980, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) has emerged as an increasingly popular mechanism for foreign claimants to bring suit in U.S. courts for alleged human rights violations committed abroad. While some courts restrict ATS jurisdiction to suits against state actors (see Saleh v. Titan Corp., 580 F.3d 1, 14 (D.C. Cir. 2009)), other courts have permitted ATS claims to proceed against private individuals and corporations, often under theories of secondary liability such as aiding and abetting a foreign government's violation of international law. Although numerous claims against corporate entities have been dismissed on jurisdictional and other grounds, the issue of whether the ATS can impose liability against corporations and other juridical entities rarely has been addressed by the appellate courts. Recent decisions from the Second Circuit, rejecting corporate liability under the ATS and imposing high standards for successful aiding and abetting claims, provide a fresh look at ATS claims involving corporate actors, with potentially broad implications for this area of litigation.