Doe v. Unocal

Doe v. Unocal, 248 F.3d 915 (9th Cir. 2001) was a lawsuit filed against Unocal for alleged human rights violations.

Events

In September 1997, 13 Burmese villagers filed suit against Unocal and their parent company, the Union Oil Company of California under the Alien Tort Claims Act.^[1] The suit was filed for alleged human rights violations, including forced labor, in the construction of the Yadana gas pipeline project in Myanmar, formerly Burma.^[2]

Case

EarthRights International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Paul Hoffman, Hadsell & Stormer, and Judith Brown Chomsky served as co-counsel to the plaintiffs.

In 1997, a U.S. federal district court in Los Angeles agreed to hear Doe v. Unocal. The Court ruled that corporations and their executive officers can be held legally responsible under the Alien Tort Claims Act for violations of international human rights norms in foreign countries, and that U.S. courts have the authority to adjudicate such claims. The Court dismissed the case on the grounds that Unocal could not be held liable unless Unocal wanted the military to commit abuses, and that plaintiffs had not made this showing.

Plaintiffs appealed this decision, and on September 18, 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court’s decision allowing the lawsuit against Unocal to go forward.

In February 2003, the Ninth Circuit Court decided to rehear the appeal before an eleven-judge en banc panel.^[3]

In December 2004, Unocal agreed to settle after a motion for summary judgment failed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.^[4] The settlement will compensate plaintiffs and provide funds enabling plaintiffs and their representatives to develop programs to improve living conditions, health care and education and protect the rights of people from the pipeline region.^[5]

Notes

1. ^ Doe I v. Unocal Corp. 395 F.3d 932 C.A.9 (Cal.),2002
2. ^ Kenderton Lynch (2000-09-29). "Plaintiff's Complaint for Damages" (PDF). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Doe_v_Unocal_Plaintiffs_Complaint_and_conformed_face_sheet.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
3. ^ http://www.earthrights.org/site_blurbs/doe_v._unocal_case_history.html Earthrights Doe v. Unocal Case History
4. ^ Mark D. Kielsgard, Unocal and the Demise of Corporate Neutrality, 36 Cal. W. Int'l L.J. 185, 189 (2009).
5. ^ http://www.earthrights.org/legalfeature/final_settlement_reached_in_doe_v._unocal.html Earthrights Doe v. Unocal Settlement