LOS ANGELES — A U.S. federal appeals court dismissed Tuesday lawsuits by former prisoners of war and civilians who were forced into slave labor during World War II for major Japanese firms, and said a statute permitting them to sue was unconstitutional.
In the decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed all 28 lawsuits against firms such as Nippon Steel Corp and Mitsubishi Corp that relied heavily on a California statute that extends the statute of limitations for war-related disputes.
"We hold that California Code of Civil Procedure section 354.6 is an unconstitutional intrusion on the foreign affairs power of the United States and that appellants' remaining claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations," according to the three-judge panel.
The statute is "invalid" under the U.S. Constitution and as well an
"unconstitutional intrusion on the foreign affairs powers," the judges said, adding that such lawsuits are "time-barred."
The California statute, which took effect in 1999, allows victims who had been forced into wartime slave labor by Japanese and German firms to sue them until 2010.
In the decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed all 28 lawsuits against firms such as Nippon Steel Corp and Mitsubishi Corp that relied heavily on a California statute that extends the statute of limitations for war-related disputes.
"We hold that California Code of Civil Procedure section 354.6 is an unconstitutional intrusion on the foreign affairs power of the United States and that appellants' remaining claims are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations," according to the three-judge panel.
The statute is "invalid" under the U.S. Constitution and as well an
"unconstitutional intrusion on the foreign affairs powers," the judges said, adding that such lawsuits are "time-barred."
The California statute, which took effect in 1999, allows victims who had been forced into wartime slave labor by Japanese and German firms to sue them until 2010.