"They are trying to bring this cost bill as a warning to any other folks who might seek justice," the L.A. lawyer said. "My assumption is that it's punitive and it's designed as a shot across the bow of any would-be plaintiffs in the future."
The lawsuit was brought under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute, which was signed by President Washington. Rarely used, the law increasingly has become a vehicle for activists attempting to hold U.S. corporations accountable for their actions overseas.
Survivors of the 1998 incident at the Parabe rig argued that Chevron was responsible because it paid the police and soldiers and flew them by helicopter to the platform, where they shot and killed two unarmed protesters and wounded two others.
Chevron countered during the trial that the villagers were holding its workers hostage and that the company acted responsibly by calling in the authorities.
The Nigerians and their lawyers say that Chevron's oil operations caused extensive environmental harm in much of the delta, ruining farmland and the fishery. They argued in court that the villagers who went to the oil platform staged a peaceful protest in an attempt to win jobs and compensation for the damage.
"Chevron has already impoverished these people due to its lousy environmental practices in the area," Voorhees said. "Stealing their livelihood wasn't enough, stealing their lives wasn't enough. Now they are seeking half a million too."
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richard.paddock@latimes.com
