US judge dismisses Sudan suit Vs Talisman Energy
Sept 12, 2006 (NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) that alleged the Canadian energy company conspired or aided Sudan’s government in crimes against civilians in order to protect its oil interests.
In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote granted a summary judgment motion by Talisman to dismiss the case, saying the plaintiffs have failed to “locate admissible evidence that Talisman has violated international law.”
“The issue is whether the plaintiffs have supplied sufficient admissible evidence to proceed to trial on their claims,” the judge said in her 111-page order. “They have not.”
The lawsuit, brought by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan and others in 2001, had accused the Calgary company of helping Sudan’s government in committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against non-Muslim, African citizens living near the oil fields in southern Sudan, including the widespread and systematic forcible transfer of a civilian population and targeted attacks by the military on civilians.
A trial was scheduled to begin in January 2007, with the lawsuit seeking class-action status. The church has 30 days to appeal the judge’s ruling.
Carey R. D’Avino, a lawyer for the church, declined comment on Tuesday.
Talisman moved into Sudan in 1998 through its purchase of Arakis Energy, one of the largest players in the country’s oil industry. However, human-rights groups soon accused Talisman of providing the Sudanese government with oil revenue that was used partly to finance the country’s civil war.
The allegations forced Talisman to move out of Sudan, with the company selling its Sudanese holding to Indian company ONGC Videsh for $750 million in 2003. At the time, the company stated the amount of “perceived political risk” that it was facing as a result of its Sudanese holdings was “unacceptable.”
However, the issue continued to dog Talisman. Activists have regularly harangued the company’s board at its annual general meetings, demanding that it take responsibility for its alleged actions in Sudan.
Talisman has always denied it played any role in Sudan’s civil war. At the company’s 2006 annual general meeting, Chief Executive James Buckee said that while he commiserated with those who had suffered in the country, “Talisman behaved responsibly and in good faith in Sudan. Nobody in Sudan has benefitted from Talisman’s leaving.”
He also told a press conference following the meeting that the court case was “without merit”.
In a press release Tuesday, the company called the decision “a complete victory.”
“Obviously, we’re pleased,” said Barry Nelson, a Talisman spokesman. “(The judge) confirms what we have been saying all along. We have always said we are a force for good in Sudan and she found no evidence to support any of their accusations in a very, very exhaustive and detailed judgment.”
The Republic of Sudan, which also is a defendant in the case, has refused to make any appearance in the litigation and is in default, the judge said in her order.