Note: The headline for an In Brief item published on April 21 misreported the status of a professional disciplinary matter against former U.S. Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch. A State Bar Court of California judge recommended that he be barred from practicing law for 30 days for his role in the deletion of files from federally owned computers.
A federal judge ruled on April 17 that victims of South African apartheid can seek compensation from three Fortune 100 companies under the Alien Tort Statute, directly contradicting a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruling in another case implicating that law. In a 30-page decision, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in New York held that Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and International Business Machines Corp. can be held liable because they provided equipment to the South African government.
