A ruling by Britain's House of Lords in July 2000 opened the doors of the English courts to foreign plaintiffs injured by the overseas operation of British companies and their subsidiaries. The ruling authorized 3,000 South African asbestos victims to continue their case in the U.K. courts against the multinational British company Cape PLC, which produced both raw asbestos and asbestos products in South Africa. The Lords sided with the asbestos victims in refusing to transfer the case to South Africa, as requested by Cape. This decision was a reversal of fortune for Cape and has implications for other British multinationals that may be called upon to defend their overseas actions domestically.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
House of Lords.Opinion of the Lords of Appeal for Judgment in the Case of Schalk Willem Burger Lubbe et al (Appellants) and Cape Plc (Respondent), July 20, 2000.
2.
Lords Rule Cape Cases Can Be Heard in UK. Financial Times, July 21, 2000.
3.
Leigh, Day & Co.Victory for 3,000 Black South African Workers—House of Lords Find in Their Favour This Morning. Press statement. July 20, 2000.
4.
Cape PLC.Company announcement to the London Stock Exchange. July 20, 2000.
5.
Judgement by The Hon. Mr. Justice Buckley, Group ActionAfrika et al. v. Cape PLC. Royal Courts of Justice, London, July 30, 1999.
6.
MeeranR., Multinational accountability for injury overseas. Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) Newsletter10(6), December 2000.
7.
DropkinG.Cape Asbestos Miners' Victory. July 20, 2000. www.labournet.net
Health and Safety Executive.Selected Written Evidence Submitted to the Advisory Committee on Asbestos, 1976–77, p. 47. Cape Industries, 1977.
14.
Barking Town Urban District Council.Reports of the Medical Officer of Health. 1928, 1929, 1930, 1945.
15.
NewhouseM. L., and ThompsonH., Mesothelioma of the pleura and peritoneum following exposure to asbestos in the London area. Br. J. Indust. Med.22: 261–269, 1965.
16.
African Eye News Service.Northern Province Premier Lauds British Stand on Asbestos Case. July 20, 2000.
17.
EagleshamJ.Litigation that looms from land far away: Multinationals warned about implications of Lords ruling that South African workers can sue in the UK. Financial Times, August 22, 2000.
