Therefore, the case could go forward to trial to determine if plaintiffs may pierce the corporate veil. The court held that the plaintiffs had supplied sufficient evidence that ChevronTexaco could be found responsible for the actions of its subsidiary. The first major ruling in the case came in 2004 when the district court denied Chevron’s motion for summary judgment.
They also alleged California state law claims of wrongful death, assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence per se, among others. The complaint alleged that “he military, at the request of, and with the participation and complicity of Chevron, killed and injured people, destroyed churches, religious shrines and water wells burned down homes, killed livestock and destroyed canoes and fishing equipment belonging to villagers.” The plaintiffs raised several federal claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act, the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). With the assistance of several nonprofit organizations including the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Public Interest Lawyers Group, and EarthRights International, a group of victims and the relatives of some of those killed in the attacks filed suit against ChevronTexaco Corporation in 1999. (On March 12, 2008, the Botowo plaintiffs' attorneys voluntarily dismissed claims connected to Opia and Ikenyan due to fraud or conflict of interest.) Legal claims Other accounts suggest Chevron hired the security forces and helped plan the attack on the villages in retaliation for the protesters’ activities. Chevron was alleged to have provided assistance to the Nigerian military forces in the form of helicopters and sea trucks piloted by Chevron Nigeria employees. On January 4, 1999, Nigerian government security forces launched an assault on the villages of Opia and Ikenyan, military personnel shooting civilians and setting fire to buildings. Chevron claimed the protesters were “kidnappers and extortionists who held 175 people hostage for three days while (Chevron Nigeria) vainly tried to negotiate with them.” The security forces allegedly shot four protesters, killing two, and captured and tortured a fifth.
Chevron Nigeria was believed to have hired Nigerian government security agents to forcibly remove the protesters and to have provided the agents with Chevron-leased helicopters to transport their troops to and from the barge. īetween May 25 and 28, 1998, approximately 100 community protesters occupied the Parabe platform, a Chevron Nigeria-owned offshore drilling rig and construction barge located in the Niger delta. At dispute in the case was Chevron's role in these incidents and whether this role could be tied to liability for resultant damages. The Bowoto case stems from two incidents in which Chevron was alleged to have hired or provided assistance to Nigerian security forces confronting local citizens. These organizers sought cessation of Chevron’s conduct, reparations, and cleanup. During the late '90s, Nigerian community organizers were protesting Chevron's regional business activities, alleging negative environmental and social impact.