The Presbyterian Church of Sudan et al., v. Talisman Energy
Class Certification, Damages for Plaintiffs
U.S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York
Two Sudanese tribes filed suit in U.S. Federal court alleging that Talisman, an oil company, granted Sudanese government forces the use of its oil field infrastructure, including airstrips, roads, and communications equipment, which the government forces used in air and ground attacks on the tribes. The Nuer and Dinka tribes of the Southern Sudan suffered death, destruction of property, and forcible displacement. Their suit alleged crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes in violation of international law. Talisman was alleged to have received access to oil in exchange for the use of its infrastructure, and to have benefited from the de-population of the area in which it wished to drill. applEcon was engaged to quantify the property losses suffered by the tribes and the profits earned by Talisman from its access to Sudanese oil.
To quantify the tribes’ damages, the applEcon team traveled to Kenya, where class representatives described their barter economy to us; we learned that they often value their property in denominations of cattle. applEcon collected information about the tribes’ losses of dwellings, barns, tools, millet, land, and cattle, and used barter rates to develop a valuation for the tribes’ lost property in terms of cattle. We then used data from cattle auctions in Sudan to translate this valuation into dollar-denominated damages. We also calculated the tribes’ lost future income due to separation from their land and the subsequent inability to grow crops and maintain cattle. applEcon also calculated Talisman’s profits from Sudanese oil, based on its business records.
The court granted Talisman summary judgment before applEcon’s damages study was introduced, ruling that the plaintiffs did not have sufficient admissible evidence linking Talisman to the attacks alleged to have caused them harm.
To learn more about this case, see:
Full Case Name: The Presbyterian Church of Sudan et al., vs. Talisman Energy, No. 453 F. Supp. 2d 633 (U.S. Federal Dist. Southern Dist. of NY)
Year: Complaint dated 2003
Case Number: 453 F. Supp. 2d 633