On Monday, Exxon Mobil Corp resolved a long-running human rights complaint with Indonesian villagers who accused an Indonesian soldier hired as a guard by the Houston-based oil and gas giant of murder and torture.
The Exxon lawsuit was scheduled for a jury trial in Washington beginning May 24, but that is no longer the case.
Exxon Mobil Corp vs. Indonesian Villagers: The Settlement
According to a federal court filing in Washington, DC, the two parties have reached an agreement on the controversial dispute that initially came to light in 2001. The terms of the deal are private, according to Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the Indonesian villagers at the law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.
According to an Exxon Mobil spokeswoman, the deal “brings closure for all parties.”
After a US judge voiced concerns about Oh’s actions while representing Exxon at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Oh abruptly resigned as the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement director in 2021.
What exactly was the case about?
The corporation was accused of incompetence in contracting with the Indonesian military to secure its operations in the country’s Aceh territory during a period of violence and upheaval, according to the complaint.
Exxon was also sued for alleged atrocities perpetrated by the soldiers, according to the case.
The alleged crimes occurred at a time when the Indonesian military had deployed thousands of troops in the province to quell a pro-independence movement. A peace treaty emerges only after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed at least 170,000 people in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
According to Fryszman, the plaintiffs, 11 villages who were not named in court records, burst into tears when they learned of the settlement.
“They have been fighting this case for 20 years against one of the world’s most powerful corporations,” Fryszman was quoted as saying by Reuters.
In court files, Exxon contended that there were insufficient linkages between the firm and misconduct perpetrated by the Indonesian military. US District Judge Royce Lamberth dismissed this argument.
Lamberth ordered Exxon to pay approximately $289,000 in sanctions last year after discovering that Oh, as a partner at Paul Weiss, improperly accused opposing counsel of being “unhinged” during a deposition.
