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  Oil, gas & coal companies: Lawsuits against companies  

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OIL POLLUTION: IMO Seeks To Set Up New Compensation Fund - International Maritime Organization Secretary General William O'Neil yesterday called for ensuring that those affected by oil pollution around the world are fairly compensated for damages. (UN Wire, 13 May 2003)

Suit Says ChevronTexaco Dumped Poisons in Ecuador - A group of American lawyers representing more than 30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the ChevronTexaco Corporation yesterday. The suit was filed in Ecuador on behalf of 88 plaintiffs in Lago Agrio, a small oil town in northern Ecuador, and asserts that during two decades of operation, from 1971 to 1992, ChevronTexaco dumped over four million gallons a day of toxic wastewater, contaminated with oil, heavy metals and carcinogens into open pits, estuaries and rivers. It also says the company left behind nearly 350 open waste pits that killed people and animals. (Abby Ellin, New York Times, 8 May 2003) 

Occidental Sued in Human Rights Case - The oil firm, accused of aiding a deadly military assault in Colombia, joins list of U.S. firms charged in overseas incidents. - The list of corporations sued in American courts for their alleged involvement in human rights violations in foreign countries grew longer Thursday, when Occidental Petroleum Corp. was accused of aiding a deadly military assault on a Colombian village. (Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2003)

Human rights groups sue Occidental over 1998 Colombia bombing - International human rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Occidental Petroleum and one of its security contractors over a 1998 bombing that killed 17 civilians in a Colombian village...The lawsuit names Los Angeles-based Occidental and Rockledge, Fla.-based Airscan Inc., an aviation security firm, as defendants and accuses the companies of aiding the raid with the Colombian military. (Paul Chavez, Associated Press, 24 Apr. 2003)

Websites:

Oil Companies being sued [refers to ExxonMobil, Total Fina Elf, UNOCAL, Texaco, Shell; Nigeria, Burma, Republic of Congo] (International Campaign against Impunity)

Other materials:

2003:

OIL POLLUTION: IMO Seeks To Set Up New Compensation Fund - International Maritime Organization Secretary General William O'Neil yesterday called for ensuring that those affected by oil pollution around the world are fairly compensated for damages. (UN Wire, 13 May 2003)

Suit Says ChevronTexaco Dumped Poisons in Ecuador - A group of American lawyers representing more than 30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the ChevronTexaco Corporation yesterday. The suit was filed in Ecuador on behalf of 88 plaintiffs in Lago Agrio, a small oil town in northern Ecuador, and asserts that during two decades of operation, from 1971 to 1992, ChevronTexaco dumped over four million gallons a day of toxic wastewater, contaminated with oil, heavy metals and carcinogens into open pits, estuaries and rivers. It also says the company left behind nearly 350 open waste pits that killed people and animals. (Abby Ellin, New York Times, 8 May 2003) 

Occidental Sued in Human Rights Case - The oil firm, accused of aiding a deadly military assault in Colombia, joins list of U.S. firms charged in overseas incidents. - The list of corporations sued in American courts for their alleged involvement in human rights violations in foreign countries grew longer Thursday, when Occidental Petroleum Corp. was accused of aiding a deadly military assault on a Colombian village. (Lisa Girion, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2003)

Human rights groups sue Occidental over 1998 Colombia bombing - International human rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Occidental Petroleum and one of its security contractors over a 1998 bombing that killed 17 civilians in a Colombian village...The lawsuit names Los Angeles-based Occidental and Rockledge, Fla.-based Airscan Inc., an aviation security firm, as defendants and accuses the companies of aiding the raid with the Colombian military. (Paul Chavez, Associated Press, 24 Apr. 2003)

Appellate court ruling means potential trial for Unocal over Myanmar project - A state [California] appellate court ruling could lead to a trial against Unocal Corp. over allegations that it shares responsibility for abuses allegedly conducted by troops guarding a pipeline project in Myanmar. Refugees from the southeast Asian nation formally known as Burma have accused Unocal of being complicit in slavery, murder and rape related to the 1990s construction of the $1.2 billion Yadana pipeline. (Associated Press, 29 Mar. 2003)

Suit Alleging Firm Aided Genocide Proceeds - A Southern District of New York federal judge has refused to dismiss claims that a Canadian oil company abetted genocide by the government of Sudan against its own people. Talisman Energy Inc. had asked Judge Allen G. Schwartz to dismiss the case brought by plaintiffs who said the company was complicit in a campaign of kidnapping, rape, murder and land confiscation conducted by the government against non-Muslim residents who lived within a 50-mile radius of oil fields and transport systems. (Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, in New York Lawyer, 20 Mar. 2003)

Rights case against Talisman allowed to proceed - A federal [U.S.] judge Wednesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Talisman Energy Inc., one of Canada's biggest oil companies, alleging it participated in human rights abuses against non-Muslim residents of southern Sudan. (Reuters, 19 Mar. 2003)

BP faces record fine for spoiling Los Angeles air [USA] - BP is facing a record $320m (£200m) pollution fine and allegations that the oil company submitted false documentation to air quality control regulators (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 14 Mar. 2003)

Reps Order Shell to Pay Ijaw $1.5b Compensation [Nigeria] -...the House of Representatives has ordered Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigeria Limited to pay the sum of US$1.5 billion to Ijaw Aborigines of Bayelsa State as compensation for the untold hardship and environmental devastation it has brought the Ijaws since 1956. The House of Representatives issued this directive to Shell (SPDC) following the recommendation of a-four-man advisory legal panel which it set up to consider the petition filed by Ijaw Aborigines against Shell. (Lemmy Ughegbe, Vanguard [Nigeria], 12 Mar. 2003)

Pollution agency seeks $319 million from BP Arco [USA] - The South Coast Air Quality Management District filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking more than $319 million in damages from BP Arco for alleged violations of emissions standards. (Associated Press, 12 Mar. 2003)

Lion Oil Reaches Clear Air Settlement With Government [USA] - The U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said they had reached a comprehensive Clean Air Act settlement with Lion Oil Co. to reduce harmful air emissions from the company’s El Dorado refinery by 1,380 tons per year. (Arkansas Business, 12 Mar. 2003)

Brazil's "green" chief targets Petrobras polluter - Brazil's new Environment Minister Marina Silva says she wants to crack down on the country's record holder for environmental fines, state-owned oil giant Petrobras. (Frances Jones, Reuters, 21 Jan. 2003)

TotalFinaElf weathers the storms [refers to complaint in a French court alleging the company used forced labor during pipeline construction in Burma] (Kim Housego, Associated Press, 14 Jan. 2003)

EEOC sues Pickle Manufacturing Company for discrimination against workers from India [USA] - Low Wages, Mistreatment, Harsh Living Conditions Lead to Federal Suit on Behalf of Immigrants - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the John Pickle Company, alleging that the Tulsa-based oil industry parts manufacturer discriminated against a class of at least 52 workers on the basis of their race (Asian) and national origin (East Indian) (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2 Jan. 2003)

2002:

Court puts Exxon Valdez punitive damages at $4 bln [USA] (Reuters, 10 Dec. 2002)

Justices turn away asbestos fight [USA] - The Supreme Court has refused again to get involved in a dispute over a giant asbestos trial in West Virginia that big corporations claimed could cost them millions. The court in September refused to stop the trial from starting and then said today it would not review arguments from Mobil Corp. and other large companies that the large trial was unconstitutional. (Associated Press, 7 Oct. 2002)

Shell faces litigation - Fourteen individual plaintiffs filed a class action suit [in a U.S. court] against Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport, plc, on September 20 for alleged human rights abuses in Ogoniland, Nigeria...the complaint alleges that Shell knowingly instigated, planned and facilitated in unprovoked attacks by the former Nigerian military government against the unarmed residents of Ogoniland, resulting in murder and gross human rights abuses. (Tomorrow: Your sustainable business toolkit, 26 Sep. 2002)

Recent court decision could further isolate Burma -...On September 18, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the California-based oil giant UNOCAL could be sued for egregious abuses of Burmese villagers committed by government soldiers in charge of security for a pipeline construction project. (Robert Lebowitz, Digital Freedom Network, 26 Sep. 2002)

Holding Businesses and Burma's Government Responsible for Human Rights Abuses -...the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) is using American courts to enforce international human rights standards and punish multinational corporations that abuse them...The suit charges that Unocal knowingly used forced labor for the pipeline, which was completed in 1998. (Terry Collingsworth, Open Society News, fall/winter 2002-3)

Plaintiffs Win Ninth Circuit Victory over Unocal - On September 18, 2002, the [U.S.] Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a landmark decision against Unocal Corp, allowing plaintiffs to proceed to trial in federal court on their claims that they were forced to labor on Unocal’s pipeline project in Burma. (International Labor Rights Fund, 18 Sep. 2002)

Court Tells Unocal to Face Rights Charges - An appellate court said today that the Unocal Corporation must face a trial in the United States over claims of human-rights abuses involving villagers in Myanmar who worked on the company's $1.2 billion pipeline there. (Bloomberg News, in New York Times, 18 Sep. 2002)

Powell's Awkward Position [USA/Aceh-Indonesia] -...A State Department ruling this month sent a shudder through the human rights community. Legal counsel William H. Taft IV asked U.S. District Judge Louis Oberdorfer to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Exxon Mobil of terrorizing Indonesian villagers who somehow thwart the world's biggest oil company. The suit, brought by the International Labor Rights Fund, cited murder, torture and rape. (Mary McGrory, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2002)

Letter to Secretary Powell [U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell] Regarding Aceh Lawsuit [Indonesia] - We are writing to express our extreme concern with the July 29th opinion issued by the Office of the Legal Advisor of the US Department of State to the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in response to his request for the Department’s views in connection with the case Doe et.al. v. ExxonMobil...We view such a response from the State Department as an act that clearly subordinates human rights concerns to commercial interests. (letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell from 13 public interest groups, 26 Aug. 2002)

Amazon Indians lose appeal of Texaco case ruling - Rainforest Indians of Ecuador and Peru have lost an appeal aimed at reinstating nine-year-old litigation against Texaco, alleging that toxic dumping devastated their environment and exposed residents to cancer-causing pollutants. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a trial court's ruling dismissing two class-action lawsuits on grounds that the United States was not the proper place for the litigation, and that Ecuador would be a more convenient location. (Gail Appleson, Reuters, 21 Aug. 2002)

U.S. Government Tries to Kill Human-Rights Case against ExxonMobil - Government says case over Indonesian abuses could endanger U.S. business and anti-terrorism interests (Ethics Newsline, Institute for Global Ethics, 12 Aug. 2002)

{···français} Un pipe-line sème maladies et pollutions en Amazonie - En Équateur, l’oléoduc «El sote» est une catastrophe de 500 kilomètres de long. Gigantesque serpent de métal, le Système d’oléoduc transéquatorien (SOTE) a été construit dans les années septante sous l’impulsion de la Texaco. Depuis 1993, la compagnie américaine est poursuivie en justice par les communautés amérindiennes de l’Équateur, mais aussi du Pérou, pour pollution grave de la forêt amazonienne. Le verdict sera rendu cet automne. (Le Courrier [Genève], 9 août 2002)

Unocal wants government to quash labour lawsuit - Unocal, the US oil company, told a California court yesterday that American foreign policy interests could be harmed by a lawsuit that alleges the company used forced labour in Burma. The move comes just days after the US government warned a Washington DC court that a pending lawsuit against Exxon Mobil over alleged abuses in Indonesia would hinder the war on terrorism and jeopardise foreign investment in a key ally. (Edward Alden, Financial Times, 9 Aug. 2002)

Groups Shocked as Officials Urge Judge to Back ExxonMobil - News that the [U.S.] State Department urged a federal court judge to dismiss the case after he asked about claims by ExxonMobil's lawyers that the lawsuit could compromise U.S. interests, particularly the 'war on terrorism', has shocked the human rights community. (Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 8 Aug. 2002)

ExxonMobil welcomes US backing on Aceh human rights lawsuit - Exxon Mobil Corp rejected suggestions that the US government had acted inappropriately in urging the dismissal of a lawsuit against the oil company over its operations in Indonesia. (AFX News, 8 Aug. 2002)

Text of the Lawsuit Against ExxonMobil: I [part 1 of 2] [lawsuit in U.S. court concerning the company's alleged conduct in Aceh]: The complete text of the disputed lawsuit against ExxonMobil for its alleged complicity in human rights abuses in Aceh province (Laksamana.Net [Indonesia], 8 Aug. 2002)

U.S. Backs Oil Giant on Lawsuit in Indonesia - The State Department is urging a United States court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a human rights group against Exxon Mobil over its operations in a war-torn province of Indonesia. In response to a request by the corporation for an opinion, the department declared that pursuit of the case would harm Washington's campaign against terrorism. (Jane Perlez, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2002)

U.S./Indonesia: Bush Backtracks on Corporate Responsibility - The U.S. State Department has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the Exxon Mobil Corporation for its alleged complicity in human rights violations in Indonesia, raising questions about the Bush administration's commitment to corporate responsibility, Human Rights Watch said today..."It is the height of hypocrisy for the State Department to publicly promote human rights principles for the oil and gas industry and then tell a judge that scrutiny of an oil company's human rights record runs counter to foreign policy," said Roth [Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch] (Human Rights Watch, 7 Aug. 2002)

Shell denies supported SAfrica's apartheid regime - Shell Petroleum Co denied allegations it was supportive of the apartheid regime, responding to news that the oil company is now included in a multi-billion class action lawsuit brought by US lawyers on behalf of the victims of South Africa's former regime. (AFX News, 6 Aug. 2002)

State Department Adopts “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” Stance in Case that Pits Indonesian Villagers Against Exxon Mobil - The U.S. Department of State has warned a U.S. District Court that opening proceedings in the lawsuit Doe vs. Exxon Mobil Corporation could harm the Indonesian economy and U.S. interests...The Lawyers Committee deplores the position of the State Department...While concerns about Indonesia’s economy and U.S. investment there are understandable, LCHR rejects the implication that this investment can come at the cost of human rights protection. Companies should not be immune from prosecution for human rights violations in their operations at home or abroad (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 2 Aug. 2002)

Jury clears Exxon Mobil of additional Valdez costs [USA] (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 19 July 2002)  

US sues Shell, Saudi venture over tank explosion - The U.S. Justice Department said this week it had filed suit against a joint venture of Shell Oil Co. and Saudi Refining Inc., accusing the company of "gross negligence" that led to a deadly tank explosion last year...which killed one person and injured eight others. (Reuters, 17 July 2002)

Exxon Under Fire in Indonesia -...Exxon Mobil is also the object of a lawsuit filed on behalf of villagers who accuse the company of turning a blind eye to brutality by Indonesian soldiers, who have a long history of human rights abuses and have been paid to ensure the plant's security. The company denies the charges. But the suit and Exxon Mobil's travails in Indonesia encapsulate the problems faced by big companies that do business under the protection of ill-trained foreign armies, in places where the United States has strategic interests. (Jane Perlez, Moscow Times, 16 July 2002)

Corporate Human Rights -...For several years, a small group of lawyers and labor advocates has been trying to hold transnational companies responsible for their actions by suing them in the United States for abetting and/or benefiting from human rights abuses overseas. Finally, these corporation-chasers are beginning to see signs of possible success. [refers to lawsuits against Unocal, Shell, Texaco, Rio Tinto, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp, Drummond Company, ExxonMobil] (David Corn, The Nation, 15 July 2002)

Indonesia's Guerrilla War Puts Exxon Under Siege -...Exxon Mobil is also the object of a lawsuit filed on behalf of villagers who accuse the company of turning a blind eye to brutality by Indonesian soldiers, who have a long history of human rights abuses and have been paid to provide the plant's security. (Jane Perlez, New York Times, 14 July 2002)

A Long Way to Find Justice: What Are Burmese Villagers Doing in a California Court? -...American judges have embraced the opportunity to hold multinational corporations responsible for perceived abuses that result from international trade and investment [includes reference to cases against Unocal, Gap Inc., J.C. Penney, Levi Strauss, the Limited]...Companies need to scrutinize the practices of their business partners -- how they treat workers and the environment, how they interact with local military and political authorities -- to determine whether they violate international standards or offend the conscience of U.S. courts. (Elliot Schrage, former Senior Vice President of Global Affairs at Gap Inc., in Washington Post, 14 July 2002)

Cooper Cameron says sued over water contamination [USA] - Cooper Cameron Corp. said this week that it had been sued by a resident of Houston over contamination of underground water. The Houston-based maker of valves and other equipment for the oil and gas industry (Reuters, 11 July 2002)

Investment and Human Rights: The Era of Responsibility - As an American oil company [Unocal] heads to court [in USA] for alleged human-rights abuses in Burma, a new era of foreign investment begins in which firms must carefully consider the behaviour of their partners [also refers to lawsuits against Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil] (Murray Hiebert, Far Eastern Economic Review, 11 July 2002)

Bad business in Burma - In a boon for human rights and corporate responsibility, a Superior Court judge in California last week refused to dismiss a suit charging that the energy company Unocal is liable for human rights abuses perpetrated by the military junta in Burma while the regime was under contract to provide security for Unocal and its partners in a natural gas pipeline project. (editorial, Boston Globe, 16 June 2002)

ExxonMobil-Sponsored Terrorism? Why are villagers in the Aceh province of Indonesia--or their lawyers--worrying about contributions from Exxon Mobil to George W. Bush and the Republicans? - A year ago, the Washington-based International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit against the energy behemoth, claiming the Mobil half of the conglomerate in the 1990s paid and supported Indonesian military troops that committed human rights abuses in the war-torn province. (David Corn, The Nation, 14 June 2002)

Unocal Faces Trial For Rights Abuses -...Yesterday in California, a judge asserted international jurisdiction in a way that some U.S. companies may not be so happy about. A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles ordered Unocal to stand trial for human rights abuses allegedly committed in association with a pipeline project in Myanmar. Judge Victoria Chaney denied a Unocal motion for summary judgment (Dan Ackman, Forbes, 12 June 2002)

ExxonMobil Fights Indonesia Rights Suit - ExxonMobil Corp is trying to persuade a federal court to dismiss a year-old lawsuit against it that alleges complicity in atrocities in Indonesia, court documents showed. (Agence France Presse, 30 May 2002)

TotalFinaElf faces lawsuit by Myanmar refugees over govt human rights abuses - Four refugees from Myanmar are seeking to take legal action in Belgium against TotalFinaElf for alleged complicity with Myanmar's military regime, human rights advocates said (AFX News, 8 May 2002)

Warming makes oil the 'new tobacco' - Oil companies could find themselves facing multi-billion pound legal suits - similar to those facing tobacco firms - if they ignore the potential consequences of global warming, a report claimed yesterday. ExxonMobil, the biggest oil group in the world, compares badly with its peers Shell and BP for its hardline stance on global warming, argues the study by Claros Consulting. (Terry Macalister, Guardian [UK], 3 May 2002)

California jury finds companies liable for MTBE pollution: A San Francisco jury has found three energy companies [Shell Oil Co., Lyondell Chemical Co., Tosco Corp.] liable for polluting Lake Tahoe's drinking water with MTBE...The San Francisco Superior Court jury also found that Shell Oil Co. and Lyondell Chemical Co. hid information about the potential dangers (Reuters, 19 Apr. 2002)

Three oil firms lose MTBE suit [USA]: A jury holds them responsible for Lake Tahoe well pollution -...Jurors also found that Shell and Lyondell Chemical Co. of Houston, the largest domestic manufacturer of MTBE, acted with "malice" in failing to warn consumers that the chemical posed an extraordinary environmental hazard. (Chris Bowman, Sacramento Bee, 17 Apr. 2002)

Shell on Trial in the Niger Delta: This week multinational Shell Petroleum Development Corporation settled one of two major cases brought against them by local peoples suffering the consequences of their operations in the Niger Delta. [settlement of lawsuit for alleged damage to Ogbodo community caused by oil pipeline explosion; also refers to ongoing lawsuit on behalf of the relatives of Ogoni environmental activist Ken Saro Wiwa and eight others who were publicly executed in Nigeria after speaking out against environmental degradation caused by Shell operations in 1995] (Cultural Survival, 1 Apr. 2002)

Talisman questions memo on Sudan ethnic cleansing: Talisman Energy Inc. said on Monday it does not know the origin of a memo that human rights groups say shows the Canadian oil producer asked Sudan's army in 1999 to remove villages near its oil facilities in the war-torn African country...Human rights groups have filed the document as evidence in U.S. federal court in a lawsuit alleging Talisman has conspired with the Sudanese government in ethnic cleansing that killed or removed non-Muslim civilians living in proximity to Sudan's oil production regions. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2002)

Toxic Trade? A Canadian chemical firm says California's pollution controls violate NAFTA rules...In Santa Monica...the groundwater is poisoned... a pollutant has leaked from the underground tanks of gasoline stations. The culprit: methyl tertiary butyl ether...As lawsuits against 18 oil companies drag on, California has ordered a phaseout of the chemical, and a dozen other states have followed suit...METHANEX, the Canadian company that makes a key ingredient of MTBE, is challenging California's ban under the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. (Margot Roosevelt, Time Magazine, 25 Mar. 2002)

Alabama coal giant is sued over 3 killings in Colombia:...Now the state's largest mining business, the Drummond Company, has been accused of encouraging the assassination of three union leaders at its giant coal mine in Colombia. (Steven Greenhouse, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2002)

EPA to ease coal plant rules, pollution suits - Post [USA]: The Bush administration has decided to shift from a Clinton-era clear air enforcement initiative that led to dozens of lawsuits against aging coal-fired power plants, The Washington Post reported yesterday. According to U.S. Environment Protection Agency officials, the administration plans to unveil new rules that would offer incentives for reductions in toxic emissions without threatening legal action against plant operators, the newspaper said. (Reuters, 19 Mar. 2002)

Colombia: Union sues U.S. coal company: On March 14, the Union of Workers of the Mining and Energy Industry of Colombia (Sintramienergetica) filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. federal court in Birmingham, Alabama, against the Alabama-based Drummond mining company and its owner, Garry Drummond...Sintramienergetica charges the mining company with having hired rightwing paramilitaries to abduct, torture and kill three of the union’s leaders in 2001 as part of a plan to stop other Drummond employees from joining the union. (Americas.org, 17 Mar. 2002)

{···español} Instancia decisiva en litigio con la Texaco [Ecuador]: La justicia de Estados Unidos deberá fallar esta semana sobre la procedencia de una demanda iniciada en 1993 por indígenas de Ecuador contra la compañía petrolera ChevronTexaco, a la que acusan de contaminar la selva amazónica. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in La Hora [Ecuador], 17 marzo 2002)  

Ecuador Amazon Indians appeal Texaco-case ruling: Rainforest Indians of Ecuador and Peru urged a U.S. appeals court to reinstate nine-year-old litigation against Texaco, alleging that toxic dumping devastated their environment and exposed residents to cancer-causing pollutants (Gail Appleson, Reuters, 13 Mar. 2002)

Rainforest Indians [from Ecuador] in New York for major showdown with Chevron-Texaco: Billions at stake as tribal leaders press groundbreaking lawsuit before Appeals Court - Assert Texaco ruined their rivers and land, destroying their centuries-old way of life...and dramatically increased the risk of cancer for tens of thousands of people. (Frente para la Defensa de la Amazonia, 11 Mar. 2002)

Shell to Stand Trial for 1990s Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria: A U.S. Federal Court rejected Shell's plea to dismiss a case charging the company with human rights abuses in Nigeria dating back to 1995. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 8 Mar. 2002)

{···español} TC define caso Texaco [Ecuador]: La suerte del juicio que los colonos e indígenas amazónicos plantearon en contra de la petrolera Texaco desde 1993 por perjuicios al medio ambiente en una corte de la ciudad de Nueva York, se definirá en los próximos días en el Tribunal Constitucional. (La Hora [Ecuador], 7 marzo 2002)

Lawsuit Against Shell for Human Rights Violations in Nigeria to Proceed: A U.S. Federal Court has ruled that a civil lawsuit [Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.] charging multinational oil giant Shell with complicity in human rights violations will go forward. (EarthRights International, 5 Mar. 2002)

Corporate Complicity From Nuremberg to Rangoon: An Examination of Forced Labor Cases and Their Impact on the Liability of Multinational Corporations - Abstract: The article looks at nature and degree of complicity that gives rise to liability on the part of multinational corporations (MNCs) that operate in countries with repressive regimes. Specifically, it examines lawsuits in United States against these MNCs for violations of public international law under the federal Alien Torts Claim Act (ATCA). It also views the historical origins of corporate complicity, and examines the outcomes of British and American war crimes tribunal set up after the Second World War. Further, the article compares and contrasts these historical cases with the recent case brought in the federal district court against Unocal Corporation for alleged use of force labor in its pipeline project in Burma. (Professor Anita Ramasastry, University of Washington School of Law, in Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol. 20 no. 1, 2002)

Ecuador hopes for settlement in ChevronTexaco case: Ecuador's attorney general said this week he is fighting to help indigenous groups settle a nine-year-old lawsuit charging that water contamination by oil giant Texaco Inc. caused more than $120 million in damages and injuries. (Manuela Badawy, Reuters, 28 Feb. 2002)

Petrobras to appeal $180 mln oil spill ruling: Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras said last week it would appeal a $180 million court award to fishermen following a major oil spill in Rio de Janeiro's scenic bay in January 2000. (Reuters, 25 Feb. 2002)

Ecuador, Defending the Amazon (Peter Lippman, The Advocacy Project, Feb. 2002)

chapters include:

US utility pollution lawsuits detailed: The U.S. Justice Department said this week it would continue to prosecute seven lawsuits filed by the Clinton administration against coal-fired utilities which allegedly expanded old plants without installing new air pollution controls [companies sued were FirstEnergy Corp, Duke Energy Corp, Vectren Corp's Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co, Dynegy Inc's Illinois Power, Cinergy Corp, American Electric Power Co and Southern Co] (Reuters, 17 Jan. 2002)

United States Announces $11.2 Million Settlement of Hazardous Waste Case Against Exxon Mobil (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Dec. 2001)

North Carolina oil refinery, three individuals indicted [for alleged conspiracy to discharge oil into the Cape Fear River in violation of the Clean Water Act] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Dec. 2001)

Litigation Update: A Summary of Recent Developments in U.S. Cases Brought Under the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Protection Act [includes updates on human rights-related lawsuits against Unocal, Chevron, Royal Dutch/Shell, Talisman Energy, Texaco, ExxonMobil] (Jennifer Green [staff attorney at Center for Constitutional Rights] and Paul Hoffman [civil rights attorney and editor of ACLU International Civil Liberties Report], in ACLU International Civil Liberties Report 2001 [American Civil Liberties Union], Dec. 2001)

Recent ILRF [International Labor Rights Fund] Cases to Enforce Human Rights Under the ATCA [includes reference to human rights-related cases against Unocal, ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola, Del Monte, DynCorp] (Terry Collingsworth, Executive Director of International Labor Rights Fund, in ACLU International Civil Liberties Report 2001 [American Civil Liberties Union], Dec. 2001)

Exxon Valdez ruling frustrates Alaska plaintiffs: Plaintiffs in the 12-year court battle over the nation's worst oil spill say they are frustrated that the case will continue to drag on now that an appeals court has struck down the landmark $5 billion punitive fine assessed for the Exxon Valdez oil disaster. (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 12 Nov. 2001)

SUDAN: Special Rapporteur queries use of oil revenues - Gerhart Baum, the [United Nations] Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan, called for documentation to verify how the Sudanese government uses its oil revenues in a report discussed yesterday at the UN General Assembly. "Oil exploitation has continued to have a negative impact on the human rights situation," Baum told delegates in New York yesterday. "There is no concrete evidence of oil revenues being spent for the development of the south, in spite of the fact that 40% of the national budget comes from oil." (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network, 9 Nov. 2001)

RIGHTS: Canadian Oil Firm Sued In U.S. Court Over Sudan Dealings - An anti-slavery group has filed suit in U.S. court against the largest foreign investor in Sudan's oil sector. The move follows years of campaigning to force Western oil companies out of the country. The target of the litigation is Canada-based Talisman Energy Co., Inc. The company strongly denied all charges. (InterPress Service, 9 Nov. 2001)

Talisman disputes charges of 'ethnic cleansing' in Sudan U.S. lawsuit launched: Talisman Energy Inc. said it "strongly disputes" allegations made in a class-action lawsuit filed yesterday in the United States that seeks substantial compensation for victims of the Sudan civil war. (Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post [Canada], 9 Nov. 2001)

Talisman faces suit over Sudan: A US anti-slavery group yesterday filed a Dollars 1bn (Pounds 600m) lawsuit against Talisman, the Canadian oil company, alleging its operations in Sudan have contributed to an ethnic cleansing campaign against civilians in the country's south. The class action suit, led by a southern Sudanese church leader, also seeks an injunction to prevent Talisman from continuing to co-operate with the Sudanese government, which has been involved in a 20-year war with southern rebels. (Edward Alden & Ken Warn, Financial Times, 9 Nov. 2001)

Suit filed in U.S. against Talisman - Sudan class action disappoints firm - Talisman Energy Inc. is "disappointed" about a class-action lawsuit filed in the United States against the company yesterday alleging complicity in human rights abuses in Sudan, a spokesman for the company said. "Obviously, Talisman believes in and respects human rights of all individuals around the world, so we're disappointed to learn of this action," said David Mann, the company's manager of investor relations. "We believe we have actively promoted transparency, respect for human rights and an end to the civil war in Sudan." (Lily Nguyen, Globe & Mail [Canada], 9 Nov. 2001) 

Exxon Valdez appeals ruling stuns Alaskans: Exxon Mobil Corp.'s reprieve this week from a $5 billion punitive fine stunned and angered Alaskans who had sued the energy giant for punitive damages from the 1989 Valdez oil spill disaster (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, 9 Nov. 2001)

US court rules $5 bln Exxon Valdez award excessive: A federal appeals court yesterday overturned a $5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil Corp. in the worst oil spill in U.S. history - the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster - and ordered a district court to set a new, lower amount (Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 8 Nov. 2001)

Statement of Carl Pope [Sierra Club Executive Director] Regarding Court Ruling $5 Billion Exxon Valdez Award Excessive [USA]:..."A high punitive fine is necessary for one of the world's largest corporations that acted in an irresponsible fashion. Exxon harmed the environment and threatened the livelihood of Alaskans" (Sierra Club, 7 Nov. 2001)

Antislavery group to sue Talisman oil for $1 bln: A director of a U.S. antislavery group plans to file a $1-billion class action lawsuit against Talisman Energy Inc., alleging the Canadian oil company participated in human rights abuses in Sudan...The American Anti-Slavery Group said in a statement the suit, scheduled to be filed on Thursday, charges Talisman "with violations of international law for participating in the ethnic cleansing of black and non-Muslim minorities in southern Sudan."...The suit charges that: "Talisman, in an effort to protect its oil fields in Sudan, aided and abetted the fundamentalist Islamic government in its ongoing and self-proclaimed 'jihad' -- a campaign that has resulted in massive civilian displacement; the burning of villages, churches and crops; and the murder and enslavement of innocent civilians" (Reuters, 7 Nov. 2001)

{···français} Elf est poursuivie pour son soutien au président congolais Sassou Nguesso [Republic of Congo]: Une plainte a été déposée à Bruxelles pour complicité de crimes - La société TotalFinaElf est citée au côté de l'ancien président du Congo-Brazzaville Denis Sassou Nguesso dans une plainte pour "crimes contre l'humanité" commis pendant la guerre civile de 1997 [download under heading Total Fina Elf (II)] (Le Monde, 18 Oct. 2001)

French judge probes TotalFinaElf on Erika oil spill: French oil company TotalFinaElf is to be placed under judicial investigation over the sinking of its oil tanker Erika, which caused huge marine and coastal pollution in 1999, the company said this week. TotalFinaElf said French judge Dominique de Talance had told the company she intended to investigate accusations that it failed to take the necessary action to avoid the accident and for complicity in deliberate violation of safety rules...TotalFinaElf rejected the accusations, saying it was not warned the ship was unsafe and therefore the security lapse was not its fault. It also said maritime authorities, not the company, should have worked to limit pollution. (Reuters, 18 Oct. 2001)

Outrage as Premier wins court case in Pakistan: Premier Oil have survived round one in their contest with environmentalists to explore for gas in Kirthar National Park, Pakistan. The Sindh High Court has dismissed the legal challenge brought by local campaigners and Friends of the Earth International because the relevant wildlife laws were dramatically weakened while the case was being considered. But Pakistani environmentalists have questioned whether Premier Oil were behind the sudden legal amendment made by the Pakistani authorities, and they are now planning to take the case to the Supreme Court in Islamabad - the highest court in the land. (Friends of the Earth, 5 Oct. 2001)

Pakistan court rejects petition vs Premier Oil: A Pakistani court yesterday rejected a petition against a decision to award Britain's Premier Oil Plc a gas exploration licence in the country's largest national park, a court official said...It [the national park] has protected areas of great scenic beauty and ecological importance, as well as being home to the rare urial sheep, ibex and chinkara gazelle and around 20,000 tribal people...Premier has vowed to work within strict environmental guidelines, including using camels for transport where there are no existing tracks, and says its project will generate income and employment in an arid, poverty-stricken area. (Reuters, 5 Oct. 2001)

Heating Up the Globe? See You in Court: Taking a cue from broad-based, class-action lawsuits like those filed on behalf of Holocaust survivors or against tobacco companies, a group of environmental lawyers is exploring novel legal strategies to adopt against global warming...The lawyers, representing groups like Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, envision winning damages for people or whole countries that have suffered adverse effects of global warming. (Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 7 Sep. 2001) 

4 major oil firms settle MTBE cleanup suit: S.F. judge presses 4 others to reach similar agreements - Four of the nation's largest oil companies agreed in court yesterday to clean up MTBE contamination in California caused by leaking gasoline storage tanks or face contempt of court penalties. The settlement, which will cover approximately 700 contaminated sites owned by Chevron, Shell, Texaco and Unocal since 1994, was signed in San Francisco Superior Court and could result in an outlay of millions of dollars in company cleanup costs...Superior Court Judge Stuart Pollak, who approved the settlement yesterday, praised it as a "sensible, very imaginative solution to the problem." But four oil companies -- ARCO, Exxon, Mobil and Tosco -- declined to settle the suit, and Pollak strongly urged them to meet with the court mediator to reach a similar agreement. (William Carlsen, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Aug. 2001)

Pollution victims agree to take payout: Plaintiffs in a 12-year court battle over air pollution from factory smoke [including from factories of electric power company, steel companies, chemical companies, gas company] in Nagoya have agreed to a settlement totaling 1.52 billion yen, sources close to the case said Friday (Japan Times, 16 June 2001)

BP: case in U.S. court regarding the company's conduct in U.S. state of Alaska: 

Chevron: case in U.S. court regarding the company's conduct in Nigeria: 

ExxonMobil: case in U.S. court regarding the company's conduct in Aceh, Indonesia:

Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission [Nigeria]:

Shell: case in U.S. court regarding the company's conduct in Nigeria:

Texaco (now ChevronTexaco): case in U.S. court regarding the company's conduct in Ecuador:

Texaco: Case in U.S. court regarding the company's alleged racial discrimination against employees in USA:

Unocal: case in U.S. court regarding the company's conduct in Burma: