"ABUJA -- A Nigerian community from the oil-rich Niger Delta has filed a lawsuit in the United States seeking $1 billion in compensation from Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell for decades of pollution caused by oil spills."

"Last week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide if companies can be held liable in the United States for international human rights law violations.

The decision was related to a case involving allegations that Shell helped Nigeria violently suppress oil exploration protests in the 1990s.

The $1 billion compensation case was filed at a court in Detroit last week, citing the U.S. Alien Tort Statue law, which dates back from 1789. It has been used in the past to charge companies in the United States for breaches of international law."

Reuters had the story October 24, 2011. [2]