Duty of Vigilance: Bredin Prat advises Danone on its dispute with three NGOs and the settlement agreement entered into between the parties

Following a mediation process, Danone and the three NGOs ClientEarth, Surfrider Foundation Europe and Zero Waste France have entered into a settlement agreement to end the legal proceedings brought by the NGOs against the company before the Judicial Court of Paris in January 2023.

The NGOs presented several arguments relating to Danone’s vigilance plan and relied on the provisions of the French law of 2017 which introduced the ‘duty of vigilance’.

This type of settlement is very rare in disputes relating to the duty of vigilance.

The Bredin Prat team advising Danone included:

• Litigation: Jean-Daniel Bretzner and Tom Vauthier (partners), Maxime Perchais

ClientEarth, Surfrider Foundation Europe and Zero Waste France were represented by the law firm Seattle Avocats, with a team including Sébastien Mabile (partner), Camille Chaffard-Luçon and Alexandre Bonnier (associates).

Professor Valérie Lasserre acted as mediator.