Breaking News: Jury Acquits Chevron in Nigeria Human-Rights Case

[WSJ_law_blog]

This just in: A federal jury on Monday cleared Chevron Corp. of responsibility for any human rights abuses during a violent protest on a company oil platform in Nigeria a decade ago. Click here for the recent AP story; here for a longer takeout on the case from the WSJ’s Russell Gold.

Human rights groups had sued the company under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreigners to file lawsuits in U.S. courts alleging international law violations.

The case centered on a 1998 protest involving about 100 Ilaje villagers from coastal Nigeria, who occupied an offshore oil facility owned by Chevron. After the villagers stayed for three days, Chevron called in the Nigerian military to remove them. The response was bloody: two protesters were shot and killed. Others were taken into custody and allegedly tortured, according to court filings.

The lawsuit, Bowoto v. Chevron, drew broad attention in corporate executive suites in part because it is a major test of the Alien Tort Claims Act against a major corporation. It is also the first time the courts tested whether a corporation can be held responsible for the actions of local authorities it calls in for protection.

Jurors in San Francisco backed Chevron claims that the Nigerian government — not Chevron — was responsible for the violent response.

Chevron issued a statement which read, in part: “We are gratified by the decision of the jurors in this case who listened to weeks of testimony, weighed all the evidence presented, and arrived at a just and fair verdict.”