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ARTICLE · 11 OCTOBER 2014

Alien Tort Case Development: Litigation Against Exxon Mobil Corporation May Proceed

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In late September, the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that two closely related cases filed against Exxon Mobil Corporation could proceed.

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Foley Hoag LLP
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In late September, the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that two closely related cases filed against Exxon Mobil Corporation, and several of the company's subsidiaries, could proceed. Plaintiffs in both cases, Doe I v. Exxon Mobil  and Doe VIII v. Exxon Mobil,  allege that the company is liable for human rights abuses committed by members of the Indonesian military who had been engaged to provide security for the company's operations in Indonesia.

Plaintiffs in Doe I v. Exxon Mobil have raised claims under the Alien Tort Statute ("ATS"). At an earlier stage of the litigation, the Doe I plaintiffs' ATS claims were dismissed, but the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals revived the claims in a 2011 decision, allowing the plaintiffs to proceed under an aiding and abetting theory of liability.

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