Chevron Corpsuccessfully beat back an attempt by Nigerian villagers to holdit liable for a deadly clash on an oil platform in Nigeria, afederal appeals court ruled Friday.
In 2008 a Northern California jury decided Chevron did nothave to pay compensation to a group of plaintiffs for a clash adecade earlier between Nigerian state forces and protesters onChevron’s Parabe oil platform, 9 miles (14 km) off Nigeria’scoast. The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals refused Fridayto disturb that verdict, according to its ruling.
While the villagers claimed they launched a peacefulprotest on the platform that turned bloody, at trial Chevroncharacterized the action as a hostage-taking.
One of the plaintiff attorneys, Bert Voorhees, saidFriday that they were disappointed in the appellate ruling, andthat they had not yet decided whether to seek further judicialreview.
“It’s very, very rare any court of appeal is going tosecond-guess evidentiary rulings by an experienced judge,”Voorhees said.
A Chevron spokesman said the appellate court ruling”further exonerates” the company.
“Chevron Nigeria Limited remains committed to itsoperations, the communities where Chevron Nigeria operates, andbeing a force for positive development in the region,” companyspokesman Kent Robertson said.
The appeals court also found that the Torture VictimProtection Act, passed by Congress in 1992, does not apply tocorporations.
The case in the 9th Circuit is Bowoto v. Chevron Corp,09-15641.