On October 17, 2011, the Supreme Court granted a certiorari petition to review a decision issued by a divided panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Kiobel v. Shell Petroleum N.V.1 The majority in Kiobel held that corporations could not be held liable for alleged tort violations under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) and that, therefore, the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the suit. Thus, Kiobel presents the significant question of whether violations of the ATS apply to an entity other than a natural person.
Kiobel v. Shell Petroleum N.V.
In Kiobel, a proposed class of plaintiffs, residents of Nigeria, filed a tort action under the ATS against three oil companies. The plaintiffs alleged that the oil companies aided and abetted the Nigerian government in committing, among other things, various human rights violations against the plaintiffs in response to protests by the plaintiffs against the alleged environmental effects of oil exploration in the region.