Doe

ORDER GRANTING MOTION OF DEFENDANT TOTAL S.A. TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION

I.

Introduction

Doe plaintiffs, farmers from the Tenasser-im region of Burma, bring this class action against defendants Unocal Corporation (“Unocal”), individuals John Imle and Roger C. Beach, who are, respectively, the President and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Unocal, and Total S.A. (“Total”), a French corporation. Plaintiffs allege that the State Law and Order Restoration Council (“SLORC”) is a military junta that seized control in Burma (now known also as Myanmar) in 1998, and that the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (“MOGE”) is a state-owned company controlled by SLORC that produces and sells energy products. Plaintiffs seek injunctive, declaratory and compensatory relief for alleged international human rights violations perpetrated by defendants in furtherance of defendants Unocal, Total and MOGE’s joint venture, the Yadana gas pipeline project.

Plaintiffs contend that defendants are building both offshore drilling stations to extract natural gas from the Andaman Sea and a port and pipeline to transport the gas through the Tenasserim region of Burma and into Thailand.…