December 13, 2006

Per Josh Gerstein's coverage in the New York Sun, a federal judge has indicated that he is inclined to dismiss a case seeking to hold Wal-Mart liable for conditions and practices at its suppliers' plants in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Swaziland. The judge pointed out that legal rights if valid would naturally run against the supplier companies, rather than the retailer where the goods were eventually sold, and is said to have called some of the plaintiffs' claims in the case "reality-bending". The litigation is being pursued by a union-backed legal center; among plaintiffs, along with selected foreign workers, are U.S.-based supermarket workers who say their jobs are not as remunerative because Wal-Mart outcompetes their employers through its access to the inexpensive foreign suppliers.