From 1998 until 2003, the Canadian oil company Talisman Energy was a major operator in the oilfields of southern Sudan, which was then in a long-running civil conflict. As part of that conflict, Sudanese government forces and their allies committed well-documented human rights abuses, bombing and strafing villages with gunships, and engaging in raids on civilian populations perceived to be sympathetic to rebel militias. According to this lawsuit, as part of an effort to secure the oilfields and continue its production, Talisman assisting the Sudanese government forces in their illegal operations, including providing airstrips for government bombers and other forms of support. Talisman is accused of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, among other things.

In 2006, the district court dismissed the case, partly because of its conclusion that Talisman was insulated from liability by its corporate structure. It rejected the plaintiffs' arguments that Talisman could be held liable on theories of parent-subsidiary liability, agency liability, and joint venture liability. One of the problems with the decision, however, is that it relied on a variety of different sources of law--including the law of New York, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Sudan, and even Mauritius, where one of the corporate subsidiaries was incorporated--to determine Talisman's liability. In this brief, EarthRights International argues that uniform standards should apply to determine liability for violations of international law under the Alien Tort Statute.

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