Labor Undeterred by Drummond Verdict

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/27/ap3961661.html

Labor Undeterred by Drummond Verdict
By JAY REEVES 07.27.07, 2:38 PM ET

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -

After more than a decade of trying to use an archaic law to punish U.S. corporations for alleged wrongdoing overseas, organized labor lost the first such case ever to go before a jury.

But union attorneys say they won't be deterred by the outcome of the case against Drummond Ltd., and lawyers for both labor and corporate interests say rulings on appeals stemming from the trial may be more important in the long run than the verdict itself.

A jury on Thursday rejected claims that Alabama-based Drummond coal was to blame for the killing of three union leaders in Colombia in 2001. Families of the dead men and their union alleged the company was behind the gunshot killings by paramilitary forces.

Jurors sided with Alabama-based Drummond, which denied any involvement with the killings or with militia forces.

The case was the first one against a U.S. corporation to make it to trial under the Alien Torts Claims Act, which lets foreigners file suit in U.S. courts for alleged wrongdoing overseas.

An attorney involved in another suit said the Drummond case showed the "serious problems" created by using U.S. courts to review conduct in foreign countries.

FULL story at link.