Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co.: Difference between revisions

Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Company
Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Company
Court	United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Full case name	Sinaltrainal, Isidro Segundo Gil, The Estate of, Luis Eduardo Garcia, Alvaro Gonzalez Lopez, Jose Domingo Flores, Jorge Humberto Leal, Juan Carlos Galvis, Alvaro Gonzalez, John Doe, as representative of the Estate of Isidro Segundo Gil, Luis Adolfo Cardona, John Doe II, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola De Colombia, S.A., Panamerican Beverages Company, LLC, Panamco, LLC, Panamco Industrial De Gaseosas, S.A., A.K.A. Panamco Columbia, S.A., Richard I. Kirby, et al.
Decided	August 11, 2009
Citation	578 F.3d 1252
Case history
Prior history	256 F. Supp. 2d 1345 (S.D. Fla. 2003); 474 F. Supp. 2d 1273 (S.D. Fla. 2006)
Court membership
Judges sitting	Gerald Bard Tjoflat, Susan H. Black, Emmett Ripley Cox
Case opinions
Majority	Black, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
	Alien Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350

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Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola, 578 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2009), was a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a case filed by Colombian trade union Sinaltrainal (National Union of Food Workers) against Coca-Cola in a Miami district court, demanding monetary compensation of $500 million under the Alien Tort Claims Act for the deaths of three workers in Colombia.

Lawsuit

In 2001 Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola was filed in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, demanding a monetary compensation for $500 million for the deaths of three workers, members of the National Union for Food Industry Workers who worked in the Coca-Cola Bebidas y Alimentos plant in Carepa in northern Colombia.^[1] The lawsuit was brought by the Colombian trade union Sinaltrainal (National Union of Food Workers) and alleged that Panamco, a Colombian Coca-Cola bottling company, assisted paramilitaries in murdering several union members. Even though the alleged human rights violation occurred in Colombia, the union attempted to use the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) to bring the case into a U.S. district court. The ATCA grants U.S. courts jurisdiction in any dispute where it is alleged that a tort has been committed in violation of the "law of nations" or a treaty of the United States.^[2] The plaintiffs also alleged violations of the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

Appeal

On March 31, 2003, the US District Court dismissed the complaint against The Coca-Cola Company because the alleged wrongdoing either occurred in the United States but was too removed from the injury or occurred abroad and did not have a substantial origin within the United States.^[3]^{[better source needed]} Federal Judge Jose E. Martinez allowed the case to go forward against two Coca-Cola bottlers: Bebidas y Alimentos and Panamerican Beverages, but not against Coca-Cola itself.^[4]^{[better source needed]} On September 4, 2006, Judge Martinez dismissed the remaining claims against the two bottlers.

On August 11, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, affirming the District Court's ruling.^[5] In dismissing the ATCA claims, the court cited a lack of evidence to link the actions of the paramilitaries to the Colombian government and Coca-Cola.^[6] Additionally, the Eleventh Circuit converted the District Court's dismissal of the TVPA claims on jurisdictional grounds to a dismissal on the merits for failure to state a claim.^[7]

"Killer Coke" Campaign

A few months after the case, on April 16, 2003 Sinaltrainal union members launched the website killercoke.org, which called for the boycott of Coca-Cola.^[8]^{[better source needed]}

Notes

^ Forero, Juan (July 26, 2001). "Union Says Coca-Cola in Colombia Uses Thugs". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2005.
^ 28 U.S.C. § 1350.
^ "Coca-Cola avoids lawsuit over labor leader's murder". Civil RICO Report. 19 (1). May 12, 2003.
^ Cohan, Jeffrey (April 29, 2003). "Coke Targeted In Union Lawsuit Case Marks Unusual Effort To Aid Labor In Colombia". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. A–1.
^ Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co., 578 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2009).
^ Sinaltrainal, 578 F.3d at 1265.
^ Sinaltrainal, 578 F.3d at 1270.
^ Foust, Dean; Geri Smith; Elizabeth Woyke (January 23, 2006). ""Killer Coke" Or Innocent Abroad? Controversy over anti-union violence in Colombia has colleges banning Coca-Cola". Business Week. 3968: 46.

External links

The Coca-Cola Case Full Documentary.
Archive copy of Order on Motions to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction at Wayback Machine
Website of non-profit Killer Coke.

[1] Forero, Juan (July 26, 2001). "Union Says Coca-Cola in Colombia Uses Thugs". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2005.

[2] 28 U.S.C. § 1350.

[3] "Coca-Cola avoids lawsuit over labor leader's murder". Civil RICO Report. 19 (1). May 12, 2003.

[4] Cohan, Jeffrey (April 29, 2003). "Coke Targeted In Union Lawsuit Case Marks Unusual Effort To Aid Labor In Colombia". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. A–1.

[5] Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co., 578 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2009).

[6] Sinaltrainal, 578 F.3d at 1265.

[7] Sinaltrainal, 578 F.3d at 1270.

[8] Foust, Dean; Geri Smith; Elizabeth Woyke (January 23, 2006). ""Killer Coke" Or Innocent Abroad? Controversy over anti-union violence in Colombia has colleges banning Coca-Cola". Business Week. 3968: 46.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|2009 United States Federal Court case}}
+{{Use American English|date=April 2024}}
-'''Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola''' was a court case filed against [[Coca-Cola]] in a Miami [[district court]] in 2001, demanding a monetary compensation of $500 million for the deaths of three workers in [[Colombia]].  The [[plaintiff]] was [[Trade unions in Colombia|Colombian trade union]] [[Sinaltrainal]] (National Union of Food Workers).  The union attempted to use the [[Alien Tort Statute|Alien Tort Claims Act]] but the court rejected the case and the appellate court sustained it.
+{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
+{{Infobox U.S. Courts of Appeals case
+  |Litigants=Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Company
+  |Court=[[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]]
+  |CourtSeal=US-CourtOfAppeals-11thCircuit-Seal.png
+  |ArgueDate=
+  |ArgueYear=
+  |DecideDate=August 11,
+  |DecideYear=2009
+  |FullName=Sinaltrainal, Isidro Segundo Gil, The Estate of, Luis Eduardo Garcia, Alvaro Gonzalez Lopez, Jose Domingo Flores, Jorge Humberto Leal, Juan Carlos Galvis, Alvaro Gonzalez, John Doe, as representative of the Estate of Isidro Segundo Gil, Luis Adolfo Cardona, John Doe II, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola De Colombia, S.A., Panamerican Beverages Company, LLC, Panamco, LLC, Panamco Industrial De Gaseosas, S.A., A.K.A. Panamco Columbia, S.A., Richard I. Kirby, et al.
+  |Citations=578 [[F.3d]] [https://www.leagle.com/decision/infco20090811058 1252]
+  |Prior=256 [[F. Supp. 2d]] 1345 ([[S.D. Fla.]] 2003); 474 [[F. Supp. 2d]] 1273 (S.D. Fla. 2006)
+  |Subsequent=
+  |Holding=
+  |Judges=[[Gerald Bard Tjoflat]], [[Susan H. Black]], [[Emmett Ripley Cox]]
+  |Majority=Black
+  |JoinMajority=''unanimous''
+  |LawsApplied=[[Alien Tort Statute|Alien Tort Claims Act]], {{USC|28|1350}}
+}}
+'''''Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola''''', 578 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2009), was a case in which the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] upheld the dismissal of a case filed by [[Trade unions in Colombia|Colombian trade union]] [[Sinaltrainal]] (National Union of Food Workers) against [[Coca-Cola]] in a [[Miami]] [[district court]], demanding monetary compensation of $500 million under the [[Alien Tort Statute|Alien Tort Claims Act]] for the deaths of three workers in [[Colombia]].
 ==Lawsuit==
-In 2001 '''''Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola''''' was filed in a Miami district court, demanding a monetary compensation for $500 million for the deaths of three workers, members of the National Union for Food Industry Workers who worked in the Coca Cola Bebidas y Alimentos plant in [[Carepa]] in northern Colombia.{{ref|NYT}} The lawsuit was brought by the [[Trade unions in Colombia|Colombian trade union]] [[Sinaltrainal]] (National Union of Food Workers) and alleged that [[Panamco]], a Colombian [[Coca-Cola]] bottling company, assisted [[paramilitaries]] in murdering several union members.  Even though the alleged [[human rights]] violation occurred in [[Colombia]], the union attempted to use the [[Alien Tort Statute|Alien Tort Claims Act]] (ATCA) to bring the case into a US district court.  The ATCA grants U.S. courts jurisdiction in any dispute where it is alleged that a [[tort]] has been committed in violation of the “[[international law|law of nations]]” or a treaty of the [[United States]].{{ref|atca}}
+In 2001 ''Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola'' was filed in the [[Florida Third District Court of Appeal]], demanding a monetary compensation for $500 million for the deaths of three workers, members of the National Union for Food Industry Workers who worked in the Coca-Cola Bebidas y Alimentos plant in [[Carepa]] in northern Colombia.<ref>{{cite news
-==Appeal==
-On March 31, 2003, the US District Court dismissed charges against The Coca-Cola Company because the alleged wrongdoing either occurred in the United States but was too removed from the injury or occurred abroad and did not have a substantial origin within the United States.{{ref|RICO}} Federal Judge [[Jose E. Martinez]] allowed the case to go forward against two Coca-Cola bottlers: Bebidas y Alimentos and [[Panamco|Panamerican Beverages]], but not against Coke itself.{{ref|Pitt}}  On September 4, 2006, Judge Martinez dismissed the remaining claims against the two bottlers.
-A Florida District Court in 2006 and the US Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit in 2009 ruled for Coca-Cola's motion to dismiss. The Circuit court cites a lack of evidence to link the allegations to the Colombia government and Coca-Cola. They change it from a geographical dismissal to a subject matter and claims dismissal.
-=="Killer Coke" Campaign==
-A few months after the case, on April 16, 2003 [[Sinaltrainal]] union members launched the website killercoke.org,{{ref|killer}}{{ref|BW}} which called for the [[boycott]] of Coke.
-==Notes==
-# {{note|NYT}} {{cite news
 | first =Juan
 | last =Forero
-| authorlink =
 | date =July 26, 2001
 | title =Union Says Coca-Cola in Colombia Uses Thugs
 |newspaper=New York Times
-| volume =
-| issue =
-| id =
 | url =http://www.usleap.org/Colombia/Coke/NYT7-26-01UnionSaysCocaColainColombiaUsesThugs.htm
-| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20051109163731/http://www.usleap.org/Colombia/Coke/NYT7-26-01UnionSaysCocaColainColombiaUsesThugs.htm
+| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051109163731/http://www.usleap.org/Colombia/Coke/NYT7-26-01UnionSaysCocaColainColombiaUsesThugs.htm
-| archivedate=2005-11-09
+| archive-date=2005-11-09
+}}</ref> The lawsuit was brought by the [[Trade unions in Colombia|Colombian trade union]] [[Sinaltrainal]] (National Union of Food Workers) and alleged that [[Panamco]], a Colombian [[Coca-Cola]] bottling company, assisted [[paramilitaries]] in murdering several union members. Even though the alleged [[human rights]] violation occurred in [[Colombia]], the union attempted to use the [[Alien Tort Statute|Alien Tort Claims Act]] (ATCA) to bring the case into a U.S. district court. The ATCA grants U.S. courts jurisdiction in any dispute where it is alleged that a [[tort]] has been committed in violation of the "[[international law|law of nations]]" or a treaty of the [[United States]].<ref>{{USC|28|1350}}.</ref> The plaintiffs also alleged violations of the [[Torture Victims Protection Act]] (TVPA).
-}}
-# {{note|atca}} http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/atca/
+==Appeal==
-# {{note|BW}} {{cite journal
+On March 31, 2003, the US District Court dismissed the complaint against The Coca-Cola Company because the alleged wrongdoing either occurred in the United States but was too removed from the injury or occurred abroad and did not have a substantial origin within the United States.<ref>{{cite journal |last= |first= |date=May 12, 2003 |title=Coca-Cola avoids lawsuit over labor leader's murder |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/74169.html#3a |journal=Civil RICO Report |volume=19 |issue=1}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2022}} Federal Judge [[Jose E. Martinez]] allowed the case to go forward against two Coca-Cola bottlers: Bebidas y Alimentos and [[Panamco|Panamerican Beverages]], but not against Coca-Cola itself.<ref>{{cite news
-| first =Dean
-| last =Foust
-| authorlink =
-|author2=Geri Smith |author3=Elizabeth Woyke
- | date =January 23, 2006
-| title ="Killer Coke" Or Innocent Abroad? Controversy over anti-union violence in Colombia has colleges banning Coca-Cola
-| journal =Business Week
-| volume =3968
-| issue =
-|page=46
-| id =
-| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/74169.html#1a
-}}
-# {{note|23}}{{cite web
-| author =Collingsworth, Terry
-| date =March 5, 2006
-| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/73962.html#1
-| title =Another "Classic Coke" Move to Deny and Delay Accountability for Human Rights Violations in Colombia
-| format =
-| work =
-| publisher = International Labor Rights Fund
-| accessdate =April 9, 2006
-}} [http://www.laborrights.org/press/Coke/AnotherClassicCokeMove_ilrfrelease_030506.pdf PDF file]
-# {{note|Pitt}}{{cite news
 | first =Jeffrey
 | last =Cohan
-| authorlink =
 | date =April 29, 2003
 | title =Coke Targeted In Union Lawsuit Case Marks Unusual Effort To Aid Labor In Colombia
 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
-| volume =
-| issue =
 | pages =A–1
-| id =
 | url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/74169.html#4a
+}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2022}} On September 4, 2006, Judge Martinez dismissed the remaining claims against the two bottlers.
-}}
-# {{note|RICO}} {{cite journal
+On August 11, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, affirming the District Court's ruling.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co. |vol=578 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1252 |court=[[11th Cir.]] |date=2009 |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/infco20090811058 |access-date=2019-02-20 }}</ref> In dismissing the ATCA claims, the court cited a lack of evidence to link the actions of the paramilitaries to the Colombian government and Coca-Cola.<ref>''Sinaltrainal'', 578 F.3d at 1265.</ref> Additionally, the Eleventh Circuit converted the District Court's dismissal of the TVPA claims on jurisdictional grounds to a dismissal on the merits for failure to state a claim.<ref>''Sinaltrainal'', 578 F.3d at 1270.</ref>
-| first =Author
-| last =Unknown
+=="Killer Coke" Campaign==
-| authorlink =
+A few months after the case, on April 16, 2003 [[Sinaltrainal]] union members launched the website [http://killercoke.org killercoke.org], which called for the [[boycott]] of Coca-Cola.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Foust |first=Dean |author2=Geri Smith |author3=Elizabeth Woyke |date=January 23, 2006 |title="Killer Coke" Or Innocent Abroad? Controversy over anti-union violence in Colombia has colleges banning Coca-Cola |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/74169.html#1a |journal=Business Week |volume=3968 |page=46}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2022}}
-| date =May 12, 2003
-| title =Coca-Cola avoids lawsuit over labor leader's murder
+==Notes==
-| journal =Civil RICO Report
+{{Reflist}}
-| volume =19
-| issue =1
-| id =
-| url =http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/74169.html#3a
-}}
-# {{note|laborrights}}[http://www.laborrights.org/press/Coke/ILOinvest_bloomberg_030406.htm laborrights.org]
-# {{note|killer}}[http://www.killercoke.org killercoke.org]
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVifFHpJycc&feature=relmfu The Coca-Cola Case] Full Documentary.
+*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVifFHpJycc&feature=relmfu ''The Coca-Cola Case''] Full Documentary.
-*[http://web.archive.org/web/20060418063313/http://www.laborrights.org/projects/corporate/coke/Coke_Decision_March03.pdf Archive copy] of ''Order on Motions to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction'' at [[Wayback Machine]]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060418063313/http://www.laborrights.org/projects/corporate/coke/Coke_Decision_March03.pdf Archive copy] of ''Order on Motions to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction'' at [[Wayback Machine]]
 * [http://www.killercoke.org Website of non-profit Killer Coke.]
 {{Colombia_conflict|state=collapsed}}
+{{Coca-Cola}}
-[[Category:United States district court cases]]
-[[Category:Colombian conflict (1964–present)]]
 [[Category:2003 in United States case law]]
+[[Category:2009 in United States case law]]
+[[Category:United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit cases]]
+[[Category:United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida cases]]
+[[Category:Colombian conflict]]
 [[Category:Coca-Cola litigation]]
 [[Category:Boycott organizers]]