Unocal in Burma Lawsuit Talks

Unocal Corp. is in talks to settle lawsuits involving allegations of human rights abuses during a 1990s pipeline project in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar.

A spokesman for the oil company said late Sunday that discussions between Unocal and lawyers for a group of Myanmar refugees who lived near the pipeline project were far along. But he declined to detail the proposed settlement.

The lawsuits alleged that El Segundo-based Unocal should be held liable for the alleged enslavement of villagers during construction of a natural gas pipeline in the 1990s in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

The full panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had been scheduled to hear arguments on the case this afternoon in Pasadena. But the hearing was canceled at the request of both parties, Unocal spokesman Barry Lane said.

“There’s an agreement in principle,” he said.

The 9th Circuit has asked for an update in February, but Lane declined to say how far off a final deal might be. The two sides have talked on and off for the better part of a year.

Lawyers representing 15 anonymous villagers have alleged in the lawsuits that Myanmar soldiers murdered a baby, raped women and girls and forced people out of their homes to clear the pipeline’s route. The government of Myanmar was a partner with Unocal and a French oil company in the pipeline.

The lawsuits against Unocal are a key test for human rights activists seeking to hold multinational corporations responsible in U.S. courts for alleged atrocities committed abroad. Unocal has consistently denied that any human rights violations occurred during the construction of the $1.2-billion Yadana pipeline.

The case was first filed in Los Angeles federal court in 1996. A federal judge dismissed the case, prompting the plaintiffs to pursue their claims in state court.

The federal case, which relies on the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act, originally enacted to prosecute pirates, was reinstated in 2002 by the 9th Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that certain types of cases involving violations of international law could be pursued in federal courts under the obscure act.

A Superior Court judge presiding over the state case has set a June 2005 trial date.

Associated Press was used in compiling this report.