Nigerians Can Sue Shell in U.K. Over Spills, Top Court Says
(Bloomberg) — Thousands of Nigerians can sue Royal Dutch Shell Plc in London over environmental damage in the West African nation, the U.K.’s top court said.
The Supreme Court on Friday reversed two earlier rulings that blocked the case from being heard in England. The decision could pave the way for similar claims from the developing world against British companies.
Force Rethink?
The decision may force other U.K. multinationals to rethink how they operate abroad, says lawyer Rick Munro.
“Before this ruling they will have worked on the assumption that the U.K. parent is not liable for the acts and omissions of overseas subsidiaries where it does not exercise control over local management,” said BDB Pitmans’ Munro. “The ruling is likely to cause concern within the boardrooms.”
Shell says most oil spills are caused by theft or sabotage and argued the case should be litigated in Nigeria where judges have a better understanding of the local environment.
“This is a disappointing decision,” a spokesman for Shell’s Nigerian unit said in an emailed statement. The company cleans up the damage “regardless of the cause,” he said.
But activists hailed the ruling.
“This decision is a crucial first step for communities who have experienced decades of pollution to get access to remedy,” Arianne Griffith, a senior campaigner at London-based Global Witness, said in an emailed statement.
The Supreme Court found Shell’s parent company, incorporated in the U.K., could owe the impacted communities a duty of care for the activities of its subsidiary, said Leigh Day, the law firm representing the Nigerians. The judges concluded there is “a good arguable case” that Royal Dutch Shell is legally responsible for the pollution at the heart of the case, the firm said in a statement.
Shell’s local unit is the operator of pipelines and oil licenses in a joint venture with Nigeria’s national energy company, Total SE and Eni SpA. The group needs to take a “hard look” at its onshore activities in Africa’s largest crude producer due to continuing challenges with theft and sabotage, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said earlier this month. Shell has divested about half of its business in the West African country in the last decade.
The judgment follows a landmark ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court two years ago that allowed more than 2,500 Zambians to proceed to trial against Vedanta Resources Plc for pollution caused by a copper-mining unit. The parties settled that dispute out of court in January.
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
