By Karen Gullo
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- On May 25, 1998, about 100 Nigerian villagers boarded an offshore platform operated by Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil company.
Larry Bowoto, who led the group, said in a lawsuit it was a peaceful protest against the company's environmental practices. Chevron said the villagers took 150 workers hostage, demanding money and jobs. Three days later, Nigerian military helicopters descended onto the platform near the coast of southern Nigeria. Shots were fired, killing two and wounding Bowoto and others.
A jury trial begins today in San Francisco over claims by Bowoto and families of two dead men that Chevron aided and abetted the attack by the soldiers and condoned assault, battery, torture and murder.
U.S. companies can be sued for alleged human-rights abuses committed abroad under a 219-year-old federal law called the Alien Tort Claims Act.
``A case like this can have serious ramifications for companies that are trying to protect their workers,'' said Robert Mittelstaedt, an attorney representing Chevron. ``If the plaintiffs have their way, a company couldn't report hostage- taking without facing threat of litigation in the U.S. Holding workers for ransom shouldn't be rewarded through lawsuits.''
Attorneys on Bowoto's side say the case is about holding U.S. corporations accountable for the conduct of law enforcement acting at their behest.
`Message to Corporations'
``A win for the plaintiffs would send a message to corporations operating around the world that, no matter how big you are, and no matter how powerless you think the communities where you are operate are, you need to operate in Nigeria the same way you operate here,'' said Marco Simons, legal director at Earthrights International, a Washington-based human-rights group representing the plaintiffs.
The trial is the second of a U.S. company under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a 1789 law that allows foreigners to sue in federal court for violations of international laws or treaties. The statute is cited in as many as 30 lawsuits filed against companies including Chiquita Brands International Inc., Rio Tinto Group, Citigroup Inc. and IBM Corp.
Drummond Company Inc., a Birmingham, Alabama-based coal producer, won the first Alien Tort Claims Act trial last year when a hometown jury found it not liable for the deaths of union leaders at a company mine in Colombia. Drummond was accused of aiding paramilitary groups that killed three union men. The plaintiffs appealed the jury verdict.
Unspecified Damages
In the Chevron case, the plaintiffs are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages under federal, California and Nigerian laws. In addition to Bowoto, plaintiffs include the three wives and 12 children of Arolika Irowarinun, a villager killed on the platform, and the wife and three children of Bola Oyinbo, who was detained by the military after the violence on the platform and was allegedly hung by his wrists and tortured, according to the lawsuit. Oyindo later died.
The trial is expected to last as long as six weeks and include testimony from as many as 50 witnesses. Jury selection begins today with U.S. District Judge Susan Illston presiding.
Simons said the unarmed protesters took no hostages and were ready to leave the platform and a nearby barge on the morning of May 28 because villagers on shore had reached an agreement with Chevron over negotiations about jobs and other assistance. The company sent the military anyway ``to punish the protestors and send a message,'' Simons said.
Chevron says the protestors threatened to set the barge on fire. The company called the military to rescue its workers, and the protesters attacked the soldiers, who fired back, Chevron said in court documents. The company said it didn't know about or intend for the soldiers to use excessive force.
The case is Bowoto v. Chevron Corp., 99-2506, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
To contact the reporters on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net.
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