Courts mixed on foreign claims - Suits under the Alien Tort Claims Act could threaten international operations

摘要

Despite the US Supreme Court's effort to clarify the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), the divergence between lower courts interpreting the law continues to expand. While some courts have construed the ATCA narrowly, limiting the cases that can be brought, others have interpreted the Act broadly, recognizing novel claims and theories of liability. Emblematic of that schism are two cases decided this summer, one filed in New York involving an energy company's role in oil development in Sudan, and one in California involving Papua New Guinea mining operations. These ATCA cases, and others like them, continue to necessitate especially careful forethought for oil and gas companies in their overseas operations.