The court of appeals reversed a district court judgment and remanded the action for further proceedings. The court held that a California federal district court had personal jurisdiction over German corporation DaimlerChrysler for purposes of Argentinean victims’ suit alleging the company’s participation in Argentina’s “Dirty War.”
Twenty-two Argentinian residents brought suit against DaimlerChrysler Aktiengesellschaft (DCAG) in federal district court in California. They brought the action under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victims Protection Act, alleging that one of DCAG’s subsidiaries, Mercedes-Benz Argentina (MBA), collaborated with Argentinean state security forces to kidnap, detain, torture, and kill the plaintiffs and/or their relatives during Argentina’s “Dirty War.”
