Doe I v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
572 F.3d 677 (2009)
Wal-Mart (defendant) required its international suppliers to follow a work-conditions standards policy and reserved a contractual right, but not an obligation, to inspect supplier facilities and penalize violations, with no penalty specified if Wal-Mart itself failed to inspect; employees of Wal-Mart's international suppliers (plaintiffs) sued Wal-Mart directly for its suppliers' alleged poor work conditions, claiming third-party-beneficiary rights under the Wal-Mart-supplier contracts, direct employment status, and unjust enrichment, and the district court dismissed all claims for failure to state a claim.
Whether a company will be liable for human rights violations committed by the company's international suppliers.