Two Nigerian communities have filed cases in a London court alleging that Royal Dutch Shell Plc is responsible for oil spills that have contaminated the Niger River Delta, according to the legal team representing them both. The first hearing for both claims against Shell and its local unit, Shell Petroleum Development Co., was scheduled to begin March 2 in a London court, according to the statement. The action is being led by Leigh Day, the law firm that handled a similar case that Shell settled last year by agreeing to pay 55 million pounds ($77 million) to compensate more than 15,000 residents of the Nigerian Bodo community for oil spills in 2008. Shell Petroleum Development is "at an early stage" of reviewing the claims, the company said.
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