Pursuant to the criminal law of Guatemala, the court issued an order in 2007 respecting Indigenous communities’ trespass on and occupation of the property of a foreign subsidiary of Skye Resources Inc. (“Skye”). The 11 plaintiffs assert that they were sexually assaulted by a group of Guatemalan police officers, army soldiers and company security personnel during enforcement of the state order. Canadian mining company, Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay”) later acquired Skye and became HMI Resources Inc. (“HMI”). Hudbay and HMI amalgamated in 2011.
Hudbay and HMI rigorously defended these allegations asserting, among other things, that there were no occupiers present when the “eviction” took place.
The plaintiffs sought to adopt the doctrine of control into the common law and expand the tort of negligence. Moreover, the plaintiffs sought to hold the Canadian parent company of a foreign subsidiary responsible for the alleged criminal conduct of a foreign state’s actors (police and army). The plaintiffs’ proposed legal liability for parent corporations respecting the operations of their foreign subsidiaries sought to undermine the bedrock principle of separate corporate personality which has been firmly entrenched in both the common law and federal and provincial corporate statutes for over 100 years. Success for the plaintiffs would result in a seismic shift of the law.
In October 2024, the action was settled without admission of liability by the defendants and with the acknowledgement that the parties continue to have fundamentally differing views on the facts underlying the allegations, including the allegations of civil and criminal misconduct by the Guatemalan subsidiary.
Fasken represented Hudbay and HMI with a team comprised of Tracy Pratt, Robert Harrison, and Vaso Maric.
Decisions
- Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc., 2011 ONSC 4490 (CanLII)
- Choc v Hudbay Minerals Inc., 2013 ONSC 1414 (CanLII)
- Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc. et al., 2013 ONSC 998 (CanLII)
- Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc., 2018 ONSC 1288 (CanLII)
- Caal Caal v. Hudbay Minerals Inc., 2020 ONSC 415 (CanLII)
Commentary & Media
- Resource Extraction in the Courtroom: The Significance of Choc v Hudbay Minerals Inc for Transnational Justice in Canada, 2014 CanLIIDocs 33441 (CanLII)
- Human Rights Violations by Canadian Companies Abroad: Choc v Hudbay Minerals Inc, 2014 CanLIIDocs 203 (CanLII)
- Guatemalan Womens' Claims Put Focus On Canadian Firms Conduct Abroad (The New York Times)
- Federal Government Must Regulate Canadian Mining Companies Operating Overseas, Says Activist (CBC)
- Canadian miner Hudbay settles long-standing lawsuits alleging human rights abuses in Guatemala (The Globe and Mail)
- Hudbay Settles Lawsuits With Indigneous Mayans After Decade-Plus of Litigation (National Post)
Jurisdiction
- Ontario
