August 15, 2007, San Francisco, CA: In a series of rulings issued
late yesterday, United States District Court Judge Susan Illston
rejected Chevron Corporation's final attempts to avoid trial for
its involvement in brutal attacks on Nigerian villagers.
Nine Nigerian plaintiffs are suing Chevron in federal court in San
Francisco for deaths and other abuses in two incidents in 1998 and
1999, in which Nigerian military and police paid by Chevron and
using Chevron helicopters and boats shot and tortured protestors
and destroyed two villages allegedly associated with opposition to
Chevron's oil activities in the desperately poor Niger delta. The
plaintiffs assert claims ranging from torture to wrongful death.
Judge Illston found "evidence that CNL [Chevron Nigeria Limited]
personnel were directly involved in the attacks; CNL transported
the GSF [Nigerian government security forces], CNL paid the GSF;
and CNL knew that GSF were prone to use excessive force,"
concluding that the evidence would allow a jury to find not only
that Chevron knew the attacks would happen and assisted in them,
but also that Chevron actually agreed to the military's plan.
"We're pleased that our clients will finally get justice for
Chevron's crimes," said plaintiffs' counsel Theresa Traber, partner
at Traber & Voorhees. "Chevron conspired with and paid the
notorious Nigerian military to attack our clients and their loved
ones, murdering at least seven people, torturing others and burning
two villages to the ground. The court correctly refused to let
narrow legalistic excuses allow Chevron to escape responsibility
for these brutal attacks" Rick Herz, Litigation Coordinator at
EarthRights International, added, "The court's ruling reaffirms
that corporations who are complicit in human rights abuses can be
held accountable, regardless of where those abuses occur."
Trial in the case, Bowoto v. Chevron Corp., No. 99-2506, is
expected within the year. In addition to ERI and Traber &
Voorhees, the plaintiffs are represented by the private law firms
of Hadsell & Stormer and Siegel & Yee; the Center for
Constitutional Rights and the Electronic Frontier Foundation; and
Paul Hoffman, Michael Sorgen, Robert Newman, Anthony DiCaprio,
Elizabeth Guarnieri, and Richard Wiebe. More information on the
case may be found at www.earthrights.org.
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