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Judge Allows Some Claims To Proceed In Apartheid Litigation
A [US]federal judge on Wednesday allowed some claims by two groups of victims of apartheid in South Africa to proceed in long-running litigation against several corporations for allegedly providing essential assistance to the apartheid regime…U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin in Manhattan allowed some claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act of aiding and abetting the apartheid government to continue against auto makers General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Daimler AG ; computer manufacturer…IBM; and Rheinmetall Group AG, the parent of armaments maker Oerlikon Contraes AG…[T]he judge dismissed other claims of aiding and abetting against Fujitsu Ltd., IBM and the auto makers, but gave the plaintiffs the right to file amended complaints. She also dismissed claims against Barclays Bank PLC and UBS AG.