Farmers allowed collective suit against Thai firm

A BANGKOK court agreed to grant class action status to more than 700 Cambodian families suing a Thai sugar firm for evicting them from their homes, a lawsuit that human rights experts see as a test case for transboundary disputes.

The lawsuit against Asia’s largest sugar producer Mitr Phol, for the evictions in 2008-09, is the first class-action lawsuit filed in a Thai court by plaintiffs from another country against a Thai company operating outside Thailand.