Posted on 08/15/2007 2:34:28 PM PDT by SmithL
SAN FRANCISCO -- Nigerian villagers can go to trial in San Francisco in a lawsuit that seeks to hold Chevron Corp. responsible for military attacks that killed and wounded protesters at oil company facilities in 1998 and 1999, a federal judge has ruled.
In a series of decisions Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston narrowed the lawsuit against Chevron but said a jury could consider the gist of the villagers' claims -- that the oil giant summoned troops to the protests, directed their actions and should be held accountable for the injuries and deaths of peaceful demonstrators.
"This is a major victory,'' plaintiffs' lawyer Barbara Hadsell said today. "It's an affirmation of holding corporations accountable here for their conduct abroad. If they make the profit there, they have to pay the consequences if things go bad.''
Chevron said in a statement that it is confident a jury will "reject this ultimate Nigerian scam.''
The San Ramon company also said the evidence would show that the protesters had been violent, had taken hostages and attacked police who tried to rescue the captives.
"While we regret the loss of lives associated with the hostage-taking, the claim that any Chevron company intended for the Nigerian law enforcement personnel to harm anyone is beyond far-fetched,'' the statement said.
The suit was filed by nine Nigerians on behalf of themselves or their relatives who were shot during the protests.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
That says it all right there...
I’ve seen some of these biographical sketches that have “sexual orientation” on them. Whatever site this came from must be homophobic to ignore that info.
sarcasm off.
Not surprising she’s appointed by B.J. Clinton.
This looks like more insanity from some out of control “judge”.
I wasn’t aware that Chevron had a military. Do they denote military rank with chevrons?
This is a major victory,'' plaintiffs' lawyer Barbara Hadsell said today.
I wouldn't have guessed that 'Hadsell' was a Nigerian name.
/sarcasm
I guess Edwards was too busy to hop on this gravy train.
LOL!
I doubt it ever occurred to these “Nigerian villagers” injured by the Nigerian forces to sue Chevron Corp in the United States.
Without a doubt, leftwing American lawyers concocted the whole idea of the lawsuit and then went to Nigeria to locate some potential plaintiffs.
The idiot left always is on a jihad to strike a blow against the big American oil companies, but they have little idea how relatively marginalized the publicly-owned US oil companies have become over the years in the world hydrocarbon market now dominated by foreign government-controlled oil companies.
Neither party has much credibility in my opinion.
Man u are right down the middle. good thing all your bases are covered.
another lib/dem clinton appointee judge stinking up the courts with a shi-ite for brains lawsuit!!!
That's tellin' it.
Send treats to the troops...
Great because you did it!
www.AnySoldier.com
I’m not an attorney. Therefore I don’t see how a U.S. Court, or U.S law for that matter, has anything to do with something that occurred in a foreign sovereign country.
I simply can’t imagine why they chose to file in a federal court in the ninth circuit...
;-)
I don’t think people realize the irreparable harm the Clinton administration did to this country. His first offical act was to fire all of the US attorneys and put in their place his hand-picked minions. Then, his judicial appointments (not the least of which were the two far-left moonbats Ginsburg and Breyer to the Supreme Court), almost fatally damaged the federal judiciary. Then, his selling top-secret military technology to the ChiComs for campaign contributions so severely compromised our national security as to put us in a precarious position that will require untold blood and treasure to remedy the situation, if it can even be remedied before something drastic happens.
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