The US Supreme Court decided Monday to not block a lawsuit filed by South African apartheid victims against corporations accused of doing business with the country under decades of white rule, the dpa reported.
Four Supreme Court justices recused themself from the case because of stock ties to the companies involved, meaning the court could not assemble the six judges needed to hear a case.
The Supreme Court then effectively upheld an October 2007 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd District in New York allowing apartheid victims to sue the companies.
The companies named in the lawsuit, among others, include British Petroleum, Chevron Texaco, Citigroup, DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, ExxonMobil, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, JP Morgan Chase and Shell Oil.