A pollution suit filed by Peruvian Achuar people against Occidental Petroleum took a step forward this month when the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled that the case could be heard in the United States. Marco Simons, legal director for Washington, D.C-based EarthRights International, who argued the case for more than 20 Achuar plaintiffs, said the decision means Occidental “will have to defend its operations in Peru in its own home town, in Los Angeles.” The circuit court ruled that the district court had “overlooked strong evidence ... calling into question the ability of the Peruvian courts to satisfactorily handle this case.” The case, filed in 2007, stems from pollution in oil fields in the Corrientes River basin in northern Peru, where... [Log in to read more]