Judge Skeptical Over Apartheid Suits

A federal judge suggested on Thursday he might dismiss litigation seeking to hold a long list of corporate defendants liable for aiding the violent South African apartheid regime. More... [but remember, for those of you following this there are two cases. One headed by Ed Fagan, who has now been fired apparently by those he is representing - to which the above headline refers. The other case is by Khulumani and went more favourably largely because of its more specific focus. This is explained in the article].

Gold Fields to fight lawsuit

Johannesburg - Gold Fields, the second-largest gold producer in South Africa, will vigorously defend a lawsuit brought against to it by the company's former employees, said company officials on Monday.Ed Fagan, an American lawyer, and his South African counterpart, John Ngcebetsha, were expected to file the lawsuit in New York on Monday on behalf of Gold Fields' former workers. Fagan and Ngcebetsha claim that Gold Fields exposed more than 500 of its former employees to "dangerous working conditions leading to uranium contamination", and they seek compensation for that, Business Day reported on Monday. Willie Jacobsz of Gold Fields said the company received a letter from Fagan on April 22 telling them he and Ngcebetsha intended suing the gold producer. "I read that they may file; it could be today (Monday) that something could come up," Jacobsz said, adding Gold Fields had not yet received letters confirming that Fagan had filed the lawsuit. Business Day reported that Gold Fields was taking the lawsuit seriously, and would strenuously defend it. Fagan and Ngcebetsha demand compensation of up to $7bn (about R52bn). Ngcebetsha and Fagan are claiming billions of rands from Sasol, De Beers and Anglo American on behalf of victims of apartheid.

Apartheid claims widened

Salzburg - US attorney Ed Fagan is to file lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in compensation from Swiss banks on behalf of victims of the apartheid regime this week, he said on Tuesday. Fagan, who was heckled by a crowd in the heart of Zurich's financial centre as he sought to present a case against Switzerland's two leading banks on Monday, said the incident had provided new material for an additional claim. "The defendants provided the plaintiffs with new and additional information about their involvement and their possession of documents related to their business dealings with the apartheid administration," he said in a statement. The lawsuit claims reparations from UBS, Credit Suisse and US banking group Citibank, on behalf of four victims of apartheid. In the late 1990s, Fagan played a leading role in pressing compensation claims against Swiss banks by Holocaust survivors, triggering international pressure on Switzerland to account for its record during World War II. The banks are accused of "profiteering" under the apartheid regime. They have also been accused of helping to prop up white-only rule in South Africa by continuing to do business with the authorities there after 1985. - Sapa-AFP

Transcript of US District Court 19 May 2003

Click here to download (text file) the transcript of US District Court 19 May 2003, Litigation against international companies supporting apartheid by Fagan and Associates.

Litigation against international companies supporting apartheid

Click here to download (text file) the transcript of US District Court 19 May 2003, Litigation against international companies supporting apartheid by Fagan & Associates.

Mines minister rejects use of US courts for reparations

Minerals and energy minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Friday she "rejected" the use of United States courts in settling issues of reparations and justice in South Africa.

Mlambo-Ngcuka's rejection echoed President Thabo Mbeki's rejection of the same in Parliament last month when he stated that "the South African government is not, and will not, be party to such litigation".

In a statement issued by her office Mlambi-Ngcuka said she found it unacceptable that matters that are central to the future of the country should be adjudicated in foreign courts, which bore no responsibility for the well being of South Africans.

While the government recognised citizens' right to take civil action, the government was informed by the desire to involve all South Africans, including corporate citizens, in a co-operative and voluntary partnership to reconstruct and develop the South African society.

"Accordingly, the government does not believe that it would be correct to impose the once-off wealth tax."

The Minister added that nobody had "a right to impose a crisis on the people of South Africa, and to undermine the initiative to forge a process of reconciliation that caters for all the people of South Africa".

Although the statement did not say what litigation Mlambo-Ngcuka had in mind, her comments followed in the wake of the latest law suit against a South African company, this time Gold Fields.

The US7,4-million (approximately R53-million) lawsuit was filed by South African attorney John Ngecebetsha and US lawyer Ed Fagan.

Fagan came to prominence after securing compensation from Swiss banks for Holocaust victims.

According to media reports the suit was filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court on behalf of Zalumzi Singleton Mtwesi and more than 500 former employees of Gold Fields.

The suit claimed New York jurisdiction because the company does business in that country.

In it workers claimed they were "tortured, enslaved and poisoned with uranium."

Gold Fields has rejected the charges and disputes the jurisdiction of the US courts.

Fagan filed a similar suit against Anglo American in early April and against a slew of foreign banks and companies active in South Africa in the 1980s earlier in the year - Sapa