Slave Descendants File $1B Lawsuit

[adios]

I wonder why they're only suing for $1 billion. I would think that genocide and such would fetch a lot more money.


Slave Descendants File $1B Lawsuit (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=4&u=/ap/20040329/ap_on_re_us/slave_reparations_lawsuit)


Slave Descendants File $1B Lawsuit
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NEW YORK - Descendants of slaves filed a $1 billion lawsuit Monday against U.S. and British corporations, accusing them of profiting by committing genocide against their ancestors.



Lawyers for the eight plaintiffs said the complaint was the first slave reparations lawsuit to use DNA to link the plaintiffs to Africans who suffered atrocities during the slave trade.


The suit filed in federal court in Manhattan accuses Lloyd's of London, FleetBoston and R.J. Reynolds of "aiding and abetting the commission of genocide" by allegedly financing and insuring the ships that delivered slaves to tobacco plantations in the United States.


The defendants "have destroyed our national and ethnic identity," one of the plaintiffs, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, said at a news conference announcing the suit.


DNA testing has made a "direct connection" between Farmer-Paellmann and the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, whose people "were kidnapped, tortured and shipped in chains to the United States," the suit said.


Scientific evidence also has linked the other plaintiffs to tribes in Niger and Gambia, the suit said.


Ellen Matthews, a spokeswoman for R.J. Reynolds, said the company had not received a copy of the suit. Calls to the other defendants were not immediately returned.


In January, a federal judge in Chicago threw out a similar lawsuit brought by descendants of slaves.

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
The suit filed in federal court in Manhattan accuses Lloyd's of London, FleetBoston and R.J. Reynolds of "aiding and abetting the commission of genocide" by allegedly financing and insuring the ships that delivered slaves to tobacco plantations in the United States.


The defendants "have destroyed our national and ethnic identity," one of the plaintiffs, Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, said at a news conference announcing the suit.


DNA testing has made a "direct connection" between Farmer-Paellmann and the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, whose people "were kidnapped, tortured and shipped in chains to the United States," the suit said.


[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
In Africa, few Europeans ever actually captured a slave. The work of capturing and enslaving Africans was generally done by other Africans, who sold their prisoners to Arab coastal traders. . .Like slavery through the ages, African slavery becan with prisoners of war. Some were tribal royalty, prizes of war, taken by neigboring or enemy tribesmen and sold to Arab traders for rum, codfish, salt, and Spanish money. In some cases they were criminals or debtors. Eventually they were simply the subjects of African kings and local cheiftains who were unable to resist the temptation of the European riches and goods placed before them. Linked together in coffles ... the Africans were turned over to the Arab merchants who ran the slave markets of Africa's West Coast.

[/ QUOTE ] - Kenneth C. Davis, p.19 Don't Know Much About the Civil War.

I think enough is enough...the institution of slavery is as old as man. There is enough blame to spread in any direction. I believe this lawsuit is not going to do anyone any good.

[nicky g]

" believe this lawsuit is not going to do anyone any good."

Nonsense. Have you forgotten about lawyers?

[ChristinaB]

Romans enslaved conquered people throughout the empire.

Arabs enslaved Europeans, Africans and Asians for centuries (still do some places)

American Indians and various Asian cultures also have throughout their histories.

I doubt there is a person alive not descended from many slaves, also we all descend from many slave owners. African-Americans are more likely to be descended from American slave owners than whites (massive European immigration came after slavery was abolished).

So if you personally weren't a slave, do you have much of a claim against the rest of us fellow slave descendants?

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
" believe this lawsuit is not going to do anyone any good."

Nonsense. Have you forgotten about lawyers?


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm a lawyer, and again, this lawsuit is not going to do anyone any good. This case is obviously on contingency; lawyers make no money unless it wins. Ain't no way in hell this thing wins.

[J.R.]

J.O.K.E.

[Gamblor]

I have often been accused of being a slave to my libido.

[elwoodblues]

Absolutely correct...I also would worry about sanctions. I haven't looked into it, but I wonder under what theory they are would hold liability and how they would get around Statute of Limitations issues.

[J.R.]

I'd guess the plaintiffs seek an equitable remedy like "unjust enrichment". I'm not sure that it should be considered cause of action, as its just a remedy, but the lawyer in mississippi who brought his state's claim against the tobacco companies files an "unjust enrichment" claim, which other state's copied (I think) and mississippi was part of the big multi-state, multi billion dollar settlement. If "unjust enrichment" were the claim the statute of limitaions concern gets cleared because the Plaintiffs wouldn't be seeking legal relief, although "laches" then becomes a problem.

[ThaSaltCracka]

much like the boys in the south park episode involving stem cell research, I don't want to get anywhere near this.

FWIW, if you have seen the episode, Christopher Reeves is able to walk again because he sucks the stem cells out of dead fetuses. He then becomes incredbily strong and turns into an evil villan, however he is subsequently stopped by Gene Hackman who saves the day.

[elwoodblues]

Unjust enrichment have statutes of limitations. I just found this slavery decendents litigation case in a federal district court case in Illinois from January 2004. The court found that all of the Plaintiffs claims were barred by the Statute of Limitations.

One of the headnotes from the case reads:
Common law claims alleging conspiracy, accounting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conversion, and unjust enrichment, and claims for violations of Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, New Jersey, and New York consumer protection law, all brought in action seeking reparations from private organizations for injuries caused to plaintiffs and their ancestors due to slavery, were barred by statutes of limitation in every jurisdiction; claims accrued, at the latest, by the formal end of chattel slavery in the United States

[J.R.]

"Unjust enrichment have statutes of limitations."

I don't even think unjust enrichment is a claim, as its really a remedy, but its an equitable remedy. Because unjust enrichment seeks to invoke a court's equitable power, there is an argument that the stautes of limitations oetaiing to contractual claims should not apply, as the party asserting the unjust enrichment claim is not seeking legal relief but equitable relief.

It is not clearcut, but even if they get around the statute of limitation (which might be posssible in Colorado, for example, as there is case law supporting equitable remedies, ie constructive trusts and the like, in instances where more traditional claims for relief fail for technical reasons), the equitable doppleganger to the staute of limitations, laches, rears itself.

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
"Unjust enrichment have statutes of limitations."



[/ QUOTE ]

Sure, but not exactly. There is a limitations period, after which you cannot recover for unjust enrichment. It is not provided by "statute" which is used for actions at law. As pointed out by J.R., the equitable counterpart to be applied to unjust enrichment is laches, and the standard is not clear cut - as it decided by the judge (pretty much on an ad hoc basis). The judge considers a number of factors to decide whether the action at equity has been brought forth in a timely fashion. One of the most important factors is the diligence of the Plaintiff in acting to request relief.