Of the Corporations, By the Corporations, and For the Corporations..

High court can't hear apartheid victims' suit

By MARK SHERMANAssociated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday that it can't intervene in an important dispute over the rights of apartheid victims to sue U.S. corporations in U.S. courts because four of the nine justices had to sit out the case over apparent conflicts.

The court's hands were tied by federal laws that require at least six justices to hear any case before them.

The justices have ties to Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Colgate-Palmolive, Credit Suisse, Exxon Mobil, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Nestle, among nearly three dozen companies that asked the high court to step in.