Talisman must face lawsuit

By The Financial Post

OTTAWA, June 14, 2005 — Talisman Energy Inc., Canada’s largest independent oil producer, must defend a case accusing it and the Sudanese government of genocide, a judge said as she turned aside a second bid to dismiss the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York said there wasn’t a legal basis to dismiss the four-year-old suit, which accuses Talisman of helping Sudanese officials bomb churches, kill church leaders, and attack villages to clear the way for oil exploration.

Calgary-based Talisman must now respond to requests from lawyers for the plaintiffs, including The Presbyterian Church of Sudan, to turn over company documents. The judge has yet to schedule a date for a trial in the civil case.

Talisman, which began operating in Sudan in 1998, is accused of working with the government to devise a security plan for the oil fields.

Talisman is alleged to have aided the government’s effort to “dispose of civilians” in areas where the company intended to look for oil.

Talisman denies the allegations. The suit was brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which permits U.S. courts to hear suits by non-citizens claiming violations of international law.