Hit squad lawsuit against Coke bottlers dismissed
Duane Stanford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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A federal judge in Miami has dismissed a lawsuit against two Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia that alleged they hired paramilitary groups to kill labor union organizers.
The ruling could end the case filed five years ago against the bottlers and Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, which was dismissed from the lawsuit in 2003. The judge ordered the clerk of court to close the case, saying the allegations weren't specific enough and the court didn't have jurisdiction.
However, the ruling also opens the door for the International Labor Rights Fund, which filed the suit on behalf of workers, to appeal the case and potentially drag Coke back in.
The labor rights group has accused the company of ignoring 15 years of violence against bottling workers trying to organize in Colombia.
The ruling is the latest development in a case that has sparked protests by labor activists, who have staged demonstrations on college campuses and led efforts to pull Coke beverages from college cafeterias and vending machines.
Coke denies the allegations, blaming Colombia's violent political climate.
In a statement Tuesday, Coke spokeswoman Kerry Kerr Redovian in Atlanta said the company is "gratified" by the decision.
"We hope this decision will now enable us to put this case behind us as we continue to focus on working constructively to ensure the rights and safety of Coca-Cola workers in Colombia and worldwide," she wrote.
Terry Collingsworth, executive director of the rights group, said Tuesday he had not yet seen last week's ruling and did not know whether the organization would appeal. But he said he has waited since 2003 for U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez to issue a final ruling in the case so he can appeal Coke's dismissal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
"We've always said the judge's initial opinion was incorrect," Collingsworth said. "We always felt we would win on appeal."
Collingsworth said Coke's dismissal was based on a "hypothetical" agreement between Coke and the Colombia bottlers, which the judge said didn't give the company control over security and labor practices at the bottling plants.
Collingsworth said the labor union wasn't allowed to depose witnesses to show Coke did have oversight over such operations.
In his ruling, Martinez said the union didn't meet any standard needed to go after Coke under the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789, which could be used to hold U.S. companies accountable for violation of international law.
Linda Z. Spencer, legal counsel for Coke, said she is confident that Coke would win any appeal.
"The court did a thorough analysis of the plaintiffs' allegations and relevant case law and determined that the plaintiffs couldn't provide the minimum support necessary for their claims and therefore the case could not proceed," she wrote in a statement Tuesday.
In the United States, the controversy has played out most visibly on college campuses. Several schools, including the University of Michigan, quit buying Coke products because of concerns about the company's labor practices in Colombia.
Earlier this year, Michigan rescinded its ban, however, following an announcement by Coke that the International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations, would conduct a third-party investigation of Coke's practices in Colombia. The report hasn't been completed.
"Regardless of this development, the Coca-Cola Co. continues to support the ILO's independent and impartial investigation and evaluation of labor relations and workers' rights practices of Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia," Redovian wrote in Tuesday's statement by Coke.
Protesters led by labor activist Ray Rogers have showed up at Coke's annual shareholders meetings for several years in a row. The Nation, a left-leaning magazine, last year called Coke "the new Nike." The shoe company was targeted by protesters years ago with on-campus demonstrations about overseas sweatshops. Rogers was carried out of Coke's annual meeting in 2004 after he went over his allotted speaking time while ranting at then-Chairman Doug Daft.
Coke officials have called allegations by Rogers and others "misleading" and unsupported by fact.
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