United States Ninth Circuit

In an Alien Tort Claims Act suit brought by current or former residents of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea against an international mining company claiming numerous violations of international law, dismissal of the action is reversed in part where the district court erred in: 1) dismissing all of plaintiffs' claims as presenting nonjusticiable political questions; and 2) dismissing plaintiffs' racial discrimination claim under the act of state doctrine. Dismissal of a racial discrimination claim on comity grounds, and dismissal of UNCLOS claims on act of state and comity grounds, are vacated and remanded for reconsideration. Also, the court affirms a conclusion that the ATCA does not contain an exhaustion requirement. (Opinion on rehearing)

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/11/2007
• Decided 04/12/2007
• Published 04/12/2007

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.