The ongoing conflict in Yemen began in 2014 when Houthi insurgents, who are Shiite rebels with links to Iran and a history of rising up against Yemen's ruling Sunni government, took control of Yemen's capital and largest city, Sana'a, demanding lower fuel prices and a new government. After negotiations failed, the rebels seized the presidential palace in January 2015, forcing President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to resign and flee.

In March 2015, the United Arab Emirates ("UAE") and Saudi Arabia formed a coalition with other countries to take military action at the request of deposed President Hadi. The United States has been intervening in the hostilities between the Coalition and the Houthis in Yemen by providing lethal aid to the Coalition. The conflict continues to take a brutal toll on innocent Yemeni civilians, making Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The plaintiffs in this case are representative victims among the Yemeni civilians who suffered significant bodily harm and property loss due to attacks by the Coalition on civilians with U.S.-made arms. They bring this action on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated current and former victims of war crimes who have been harmed by the strikes carried out by the Coalition military forces, the U.S. government's unlawful decision to approve arms sales contracts to the Saudi-led coalition, and the relevant U.S. defense contractors' willingness to profit from manufacturing and supplying arms to the Coalition, with specific knowledge that such arms have been and will be used for committing war crimes.

The plaintiffs assert claims for injunctive relief and monetary damages under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) against the named leaders of the Saudi Arabian and UAE military forces because they knowingly committed war crimes and extrajudicial killings, including against the plaintiffs. Second, extrajudicial killings committed by the named leaders of the Saudi Arabian and UAE military forces also violate the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). Third, plaintiffs seek injunctive relief and monetary damages under the ATS against the named U.S. defense contractors for aiding and abetting war crimes and extrajudicial killings based on their supply of weapons to the leaders of the Coalition. Fourth, plaintiffs also allege violations of the TVPA against the named responsible executives of the defendant defense contractors because they acted jointly with or aided and abetted these military leaders in committing extrajudicial killings.

Fifth, plaintiffs seek injunctive relief based on the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) against the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Defense, since their decisions to approve the arms sales are arbitrary and capricious, and are in violation of various U.S. statutes, including but not limited to, the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act. Sixth and finally, plaintiffs allege unjust enrichment against the defense contractor defendants and the named individual executives of those companies, and negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress against all defendants except the Departments of State and Defense and their respective Secretaries.