Alame & Ors v Shell PLC (formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell PLC) & Anor
| Judge | Mrs Justice May |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 510 (KB) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Court | King's Bench Division |
| Counsel | Richard Hermer Kc,Edward Craven,Alistair Mackenzie,Kate Boakes,George Molyneaux,Lord Peter Goldsmith Kc,Shaheed Fatima Kc,Dr Conway Blake,Tom Cornell |
| Date | 08 March 2024 |
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 510 (KB)
Case No: KB-2023-000252
Case No: KB-2022-005017
Case No: KB-2023-002200
Case No: KB-2023-002201
Case No: KB-2023-000437
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING’S BENCH DIVISION
THE “BILLE AND OGALE GROUP LITIGATION”
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 8 March 2024
Before :
MRS JUSTICE MAY DBE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Between :
(1) ALAME AND OTHERS
CLAIMANTS: KB-2023-000252 “BILLE
INDIVIDUALS”
(2) CHIEF MINAPAKAMA AND OTHERS
CLAIMANTS: KB-2022-005017 “BILLE
COMMUNITY”
(3) OKPABI AND OTHERS
CLAIMANTS: KB-2023-002200 “OGALE
COMMUNITY”
(4) EJIRE AWALA AND OTHERS
CLAIMANTS: KB-2023-002201 “OGALE
INDIVIDUALS”
(5) OKOCHI NWOKO ODODO AND OTHERS
CLAIMANTS: KB-2023-000437 “ADDITIONAL
OGALE INDIVIDUALS”Claimants
- and -
SHELL PLC (formerly known as ROYAL DUTCH
SHELL PLC)
First
Defendant
THE SHELL PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY OF NIGERIA LTD
Second Defendant
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Richard Hermer KC, Edward Craven, Alistair Mackenzie, Kate Boakes, George
Molyneaux (instructed by Leigh Day) for the Claimants
Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, Shaheed Fatima KC, Dr Conway Blakeand Tom Cornell
(instructed by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP) for the Defendants
Hearing dates: 12th– 14th December 2023
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
JUDGMENT
Mrs Justice May DBE:
Introduction
1.These are group actions against Shell involving claims arising from oil pollution in
the Niger Delta. There was a further CMC hearing over three days in December
2023,listedtodealspecificallywithmattersofcasemanagementanddisclosure
following on from my judgment on issues raised at a 5-day CMC in July 2023. This
judgment should be read with my judgmentfrom the July CMC at [2023] EWHC
2961 (“the November judgment”). The abbreviations adopted inthe November
judgment are continued here.
2.Three statements were filed for the purposes of the December hearing: for the
Claimantsthere was the sixth statement of Ms Modi, dated 29 November 2023
(“Modi 6”) and the eighth statement of Mr Renshaw dated 1 December 2023
(“Renshaw 8”); for the Defendants I received the eighth statement of Mr Boyne dated
8 December 2023 (“Boyne 8”).
Case management and “global claims”
3.It is obvious that this litigation must progress, in some form. The usual course in
group litigation such as this is to identify “lead” claimants and to progress from there.
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