More Swiss companies are about to be added to the list of defendants accused by US class-action lawsuits of helping to prop up South Africa’s apartheid-era regime, an aide to US lawyer Ed Fagan said on Wednesday.
Norbert Gschwend, a Swiss-based assistant to controversial attorney Fagan, confirmed media reports that technology group and former arms manufacturer Unaxis, cement company Holcim and specialty chemicals outfit EMS Chemie would soon face a suit in US courts.
”It won’t be today, but the suits are being prepared and will be submitted,” he said, adding this was likely to happen in the next few weeks. Other Swiss companies were expected to be sued as well, he said, but he gave no names.
Fagan has already filed US suits against banks and computer companies over their apartheid-era ties to South Africa. He told a judge in August he planned to file more cases against a slew of other Fortune 500 companies.
He cited weapons, pharmaceutical, electronics, automotive, petrochemical, mining and construction companies as targets.
His suits seek class-action status on behalf of victims of human rights violations under apartheid, during which government policy institutionalised racial discrimination against the non-white majority. Apartheid ended in 1994.
Fagan’s lawsuits are separate from one filed this week by Washington lawyer Michael Hausfeld on behalf of apartheid victims that seeks massive reparations from some of the biggest corporate names in Europe, Japan and the United States.
Two Connecticut law firms have also filed an apartheid case in US federal court naming several blue-chip companies.
Defendants in pending cases filed by Fagan include Citigroup Inc., UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group Deutsche Bank AG, Fujitsu units Amdahl Corp. and ICL Ltd., and Sperry Corp. and Burroughs Corp., which merged to form Unisys.
He has said he plans to expand the number of banks sued to include JP Morgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc National Westminster Bank, Standard Chartered Plc, Credit Lyonnais and Banque Indosuez.
In other categories, he said he plans to sue Vickers Plc, Westinghouse, Volkswagen AG, Isuzu Motors Ltd., ChevronTexaco Corp., Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Roche Holding Novartis AG, and Nestle SA. – Reuters