Exxon settles Indonesia torture case that ousted SEC officer. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) resolved a long-running human rights complaint with Indonesian villagers who accused its soldiers guarding a natural gas site of murder and torture on Monday.
The parties settled the 2001 dispute in a Washington, D.C., federal court filing. Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll lawyer Agnieszka Fryszman, representing Indonesian villagers, said the terms remain private.
Exxon Mobil’s spokeswoman stated the settlement “brings closure for all parties.”
After a U.S. judge voiced concerns about Oh’s actions while defending Exxon at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Oh abruptly resigned as SEC enforcement director in 2021.
The Exxon case was scheduled for a Washington jury trial on May 24 to determine if the company was irresponsible in hiring Indonesian soldiers to defend its Aceh operations during violence and upheaval. Exxon was also sued for alleged army crimes. Fryszman stated the settlement made 11 unnamed people cry.
“They’ve fought this case for 20 years against one of the world’s most powerful corporations,” Fryszman said.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth dismissed Exxon’s claim that Indonesian soldiers’ wrongdoing was unrelated to the business.
Lamberth ordered Exxon to pay $289,000 in sanctions last year after Oh, a partner at Paul Weiss, improperly accused opposing counsel of being “unhinged” during a deposition.
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