United States Ninth Circuit

Dismissal of an Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) action brought by plaintiffs, residents of Papua New Guinea, against defendant-mining corporation claiming numerous violations of international law is reversed in part where the district court erred in dismissing all of the plaintiffs- claims as presenting nonjusticiable political questions, and in dismissing the plaintiffs- racial discrimination claim under the act of state doctrine.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/11/2007
• Decided 08/07/2006
• Published 08/07/2006

Judges

• Before:  MARY M. SCHROEDER, HARRY PREGERSON, STEPHEN REINHARDT, ANDREW J. KLEINFELD, BARRY G. SILVERMAN, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, MARSHA S. BERZON, JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON, CONSUELO M. CALLAHAN, CARLOS T. BEA, and SANDRA S. IKUTA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert M. Loeb (argued), U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for amicus curiae the United States of America.


• For Appellees:
  
• Steve W. Berman (argued), R. Brent Walton, and Nick Styant-Browne, Hagens Berman LLP, Seattle, WA;  Paul Luvera and Joel D. Cunningham, Luvera, Barnett, Brindley, Beninger & Cunningham, Seattle, WA;  and Paul Stocker, Mill Creek, WA, for plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees., James J. Brosnahan, Jack W. Londen (argued), and Peter J. Stern, Morrison & Foerster LLP, San Francisco, CA, for defendants-appellees/cross-appellants.