9th Circuit Orders Mediation in Rio Tinto Alien Tort Case
Nearly a decade into a court battle involving a foreign company and its alleged role in spurring civil war in a South Pacific country, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is suggesting mediation…The mediation directive prompted a scorching dissent from Judge Andrew Kleinfeld, who argued the court probably doesn't have jurisdiction, that mediation may not serve justice, and that such talks could reignite violence in a region by upsetting a compromise between the Papua New Guinean government and the Region of Bougainville… The proposed class action in Sarei v. Rio Tinto, 02-56256, was filed on behalf of some 10,000 people who say they suffered from violence, threats of violence and pollution from Rio Tinto's copper mining in Bougainville.