A Friends of the Earth activists holds a banner outside the court ahead of the court case of Nigerian farmers against Shell, in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. Dutch judges are ruling in a landmark civil action by Nigerian farmers who want to hold oil giant Shell liable for poisoning their fish ponds and farmlands with leaking pipelines. The decision being announced Wednesday could set a legal precedent for holding multinationals responsible for their actions overseas. Lawyers for the four Nigerians from the oil-rich Niger delta argue Shell makes key policy decisions at its Hague headquarters, so the Dutch court has jurisdiction. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
News Summary: Most of Shell spill case rejected
Published: 07:18:51 PM, Wed 30 January 2013 UTC
MOST REJECTED: The Hague Civil Court on Wednesday rejected most of a case brought by Nigerian farmers and the environmental group Friends of the Earth against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.
ONE FARMER: However, the judges ordered a subsidiary, Shell Nigeria, to compensate a farmer for making it too easy for saboteurs to open an oil well head that leaked on to his land.
FIRST TIME: It was believed to be the first time a Dutch court has held a multinational's foreign subsidiary liable for environmental damage and ordered it to pay damages. Environmental groups welcomed the judges' decision. Shell hailed the judgment as a victory.
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