This was a major victory for Chevron, which was falsely accused of violating the civil rights of Larry Bowoto and bis friends in the Niger Delta region. Here are my thoughts:
A federal judge on Wednesday upheld a San Francisco jury's verdict that cleared Chevron Corp. of wrongdoing in the shootings of Nigerian villagers who occupied an offshore oil barge in 1998 to protest the company's hiring and environmental practices.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who presided over the four-week trial in November, denied a request by the villagers' lawyers for a new trial and ruled that there was evidence to support the verdict.
About 150 tribesmen from the oil-rich Niger Delta occupied a barge tethered to Chevron's Parabe platform in May 1998, saying the company's Nigerian subsidiary had refused to meet with them and hear their complaints that drilling and dredging were polluting their wells and killing trees and fish.
The villagers said they were unarmed and peaceful, but Chevron's witnesses said the protesters threatened violence, held crew members hostage and demanded ransom. After three days of negotiations, Chevron summoned Nigerian security forces, who killed two men and wounded two others.
The suit was filed under a law passed by the first Congress in 1798 that allows foreigners to seek damages in U.S. courts for violations of international human rights.
On Dec. 1, a nine-member jury unanimously rejected the plaintiffs' claims that Chevron was responsible for assault, inhumane treatment, torture and wrongful death.
Chevron has asked Illston to order the villagers to reimburse the company for $485,000 the company spent defending against the suit. The judge did not address that request in Wednesday's ruling.
In seeking a new trial, plaintiffs' lawyers said Chevron never contradicted testimony that three villagers were shot, beaten or tortured without justification. But Illston said jurors could have had doubts because of contradictions in the testimony.
She also said the jury could have found that the company was not responsible for the actions of military forces, citing Chevron testimony that its Nigerian subsidiary did not control the security forces and that its main concern was the safety of its workers.
Chevron, based in San Ramon, said it was pleased with the ruling. Plaintiffs lawyer Theresa Traber said the villagers would appeal.
