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Motion for a New Trial denied by California District Court. Appeal Planned.
A U.S. federal court today denied a request by Nigerian victims of human rights abuses for a new trial against Chevron, which was found not liable for aiding and abetting those abuses after a jury trial last December. The plaintiffs in Bowoto v. Chevron had argued that a new trial was warranted due to insufficient evidence for the defense verdict, erroneous legal rulings, and prejudicial misconduct by Chevron’s lawyers. Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California disagreed, letting the verdict stand.
Plaintiffs’ counsel Theresa Traber, of Traber & Voorhees, stated, “We are disappointed in the ruling and we will appeal. We continue to believe that there were errors in this trial, and these victims, who waited so long to have their day in court, will continue to pursue justice against Chevron.”
The court ruled that, even though much of the plaintiffs’ evidence was undisputed by any Chevron witnesses, the jury still could have disbelieved the plaintiffs’ witness, and found that no legal errors had been made during the trial. The court did acknowledge that defense counsel used evidence improperly in his closing argument, but found that this misconduct was not so prejudicial as to warrant a new trial.
Bowoto v. Chevron Corp., No. 99-2506, charged the multinational oil company with complicity in gross human rights abuses arising from its use of the notorious Nigerian military and “kill and go” mobile police against those who protested environmental and economic harms caused by oil production in the Niger Delta. The lawsuit is based on a 1998 incident in which Nigerian soldiers shot nonviolent protesters at Chevron's Parabe offshore platform. The soldiers were admittedly paid by Chevron, ferried to the platform in Chevron helicopters and supervised by Chevron personnel. Two demonstrators were killed, others were shot and wounded, and several others were detained and tortured after the attack.
In addition to Traber & Voorhees, the plaintiffs are represented by EarthRights International, the private law firms of Hadsell Stormer Keeny Richardson & Renick and Siegel & Yee; and Cindy Cohn and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Robert Newman, Paul Hoffman, Richard Wiebe, Anthony DiCaprio, Michael Sorgen, and Judith Chomsky and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Media Contacts:
Theresa Traber/Bert Voorhees, Traber & Voorhees, 626-585-9611
Marco Simons, EarthRights International, 202-466-5188 x103
