Carijano
Carijano v. Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Opinion
Opinion
Gutierrez, J.
Proceedings: (In Chambers) Order DENYING Plaintiffs Motion to Conduct Limited Discovery and GRANTING Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss based on Forum Non Con-veniens
Before this Court is Defendants’ Motion Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), 12(e) and (f). The Court finds the matter appropriate for decision without oral argument. Fed.R.Civ.P. 78; Local R. 7-15. Accordingly, the hearing set for August 27, 2007 on the present motion is removed from the Court’s calendar. After considering the moving and opposing papers, the Court DENIES Defendants’ Motion.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs are 25 members of the Achuar indigenous group who live along the Rio Comentes River in the northern region of Peru, and Amazon Watch, Inc. (“Amazon”), an environmental rights group which works to defend the rights of the indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin. Defendants are Occidental Petroleum Corporation (“Occidental”) and Occidental’s indirect subsidiary, Occidental Peruana, Inc. (“OxyPeru”) (collectively “Defendants”), both American corporations headquartered in Los Angeles.
From the early 1970’s to 2000, OxyPeru operated a petroleum and oil exploration operation in Peru in an area…