U.S. Court of Appeals Again Sides With Plaintiffs in Rio Tinto Alien Tort Claims Case
April 16 2007 - 6:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
SEATTLE, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the United States Court of
Appeals again rejected arguments brought by mining giant Rio Tinto
(NYSE:RTP) in a massive human rights claim brought by South Pacific
islanders claiming Rio conspired with the government of Papua New
Guinea (PNG) to savagely quell civil resistance over an
environmentally devastating mining operation, actions that led to
the deaths of thousands. The case, originally filed in 2000 in U.S.
District Court in San Francisco, seeks to represent Bougainville
island residents who were exposed to toxins resulting from mine
operations, lost property due to environmental contamination, as
well as those injured or killed during the conflict which began in
1989 and raged until 1999. Under the Alien Tort Claims Act, foreign
nationals can bring suit in the United States against companies
that violate international law. Rio Tinto is the parent company of
subsidiary U.S. Borax Inc., headquartered in Los Angeles. The case
also alleges that Rio Tinto violated international law, including
prohibitions against destruction of the right to life and health,
and prohibitions against racial discrimination and war crimes. The
same court issued a similar decision in 2006, but reheard the case
at the request of Rio Tinto. According to Steve W. Berman, managing
partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, the firm representing the
plaintiffs, this decision again affirms the court's belief that the
case should be heard in U.S. courts. "We thought the court's
original decision was clear, cogent and thoughtful, and had hoped
that it would help us give our clients their day in court,
something our clients have been fighting to reach for years," said
Berman. "Now that the court has rejected Rio's arguments for a
second time in a similarly unambiguous way, we hope this case can
move forward." The court also ruled that war crimes, crimes against
humanity and racial discrimination are such universally recognized
norms that they can be heard under the Alien Tort Claims Act. In
the most recent ruling, the court again dismissed concerns voiced
by the U.S. State Department that the case would hamper ongoing
peace negotiations in the region, and could hobble the State
Department's ability to conduct foreign policy. According to
Berman, he hopes the ruling will finally give his plaintiffs the
ability to seek redress for loss of life and injuries from the war,
and to pursue claims that will force Rio Tinto to clean up the
island from the massive environmental destruction caused by the
mining operations. "So far, Rio Tinto has exploited every possible
tactic to delay this case," Berman noted. "If its past actions are
any indication, we expect that its attorneys will file another set
of appeals." The court sided with the plaintiffs in a two-to-one
majority, as it did in its 2006 decision. Environmental Events
Leading to the Lawsuit The Panguna copper mine and the political
events that erupted since the mine was established are at the core
of the case. Bougainville Island, located northeast of Australia,
is part of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Between 1969
and 1972, the Australian Colonial Administration leased land on the
island to Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), a mining subsidiary of
Rio Tinto. The suit claims that landowners unsuccessfully resisted
intrusion onto their land, and many Bougainvilleans were forced to
relocate or flee the island. Three principal villages were
relocated. According to the suit, Rio Tinto then destroyed entire
villages, razed the rain forest, sluiced off a hillside and
established the world's largest open- cut mine, spanning two
kilometers wide and half a kilometer deep. The mine excavated
300,000 tons of ore and water every day during its operation
between 1972 and 1988. The Panguna mine, located on the Island of
Bougainville just off Papua New Guinea, was once the world's
largest copper mine during the 1980s. The suit alleges that Rio
Tinto improperly dumped waste rock and tailings, emitting chemical
and air pollutants without regard for the villagers. Those tailings
destroyed local fish stock, a major food source for the islanders.
The Bougainville people -- especially children -- began dying more
frequently from upper respiratory infections, asthma and
tuberculosis, the suit states. According to the complaint, in 1990,
villagers started an uprising which closed the mine, and in
response, Rio Tinto and the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government
brought troops in to reopen the mine. The complaint alleges that
Rio Tinto provided transport for these troops and played a role in
instituting a military blockade of the island that lasted for
almost 10 years, created to coerce the Bougainville people into
surrendering so that the mine could be reopened. The blockade
prevented medicine, clothing and other essential items from
reaching the people of Bougainville, closing hospitals and other
vital services. According to the Red Cross, the blockade killed
more than 2,000 children in its first two years of operation. By
the time the war ended in 1999, 10 percent of the population of
Bougainville, approximately 15,000 civilians, were killed. Copies
of the ruling and other court documents are available at
http://www.hbsslaw.com/. About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro The law
firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is based in Seattle with
offices in Chicago, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San
Francisco. Since the firm's founding in 1993, it has developed a
nationally recognized practice in class-action and complex
litigation. Among recent successes, HBSS has negotiated a pending
$300 million settlement as lead counsel in the DRAM memory
antitrust litigation; a $340 million recovery on behalf of Enron
employees which is awaiting distribution; a $150 million settlement
involving charges of illegally inflated charges for the drug
Lupron, and served as co- counsel on the Visa/Mastercard litigation
which resulted in a $3 billion settlement, the largest anti-trust
settlement to date. HBSS also served as counsel in a $850 million
settlement in the Washington Public Power Supply litigation and
represented Washington and 12 other states in lawsuits against the
tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in the
history of litigation. For a complete listing of HBSS cases, visit
http://www.hbsslaw.com/. Contact: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman
Sobol Shapiro, +1-206-623-7292, or ; or Mark Firmani of Firmani +
Associates Inc., +1-206-443-9357, or . DATASOURCE: Hagens Berman
Sobol Shapiro CONTACT: Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro,
+1-206-623-7292, or ; or Mark Firmani of Firmani + Associates Inc.,
+1-206-443-9357, or Web site: http://www.hbsslaw.com/
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