US judge dismisses lawsuit over Thai fishing forced labour

Source: Reuters


26th January 2017


A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit claiming that retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. had knowingly sold frozen prawns, the farming of which involved forced labour in Thailand.

Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the world’s second largest retail chain was bound to inform customers that modern-day slavery could be part of its supply chain.

The lawsuit, filed in 2015, claimed U.S.-headquartered Costco was aware the prawns it bought from its Southeast Asian producers came from a supply chain dependent on ships involved in human trafficking and labour abuses.

“The facts described in the (complaint) are tragic and ‘raise significant ethical concerns’,” White wrote on Tuesday in an order to dismiss the case, held in Oakland, California.

Read more: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2017/01/us-judge-dismisses-lawsuit-thai-fishing-forced-labour/