Kenneth McCallion, plaintiffs lawyer for the victims and
family members, said a key issue in the suit filed on Monday is
the 1986 ruling that granted Union Carbide's request to have the
government's case tried in India.However, to have the case moved to India, where damage
awards are much lower, Union Carbide had to agree to submit to
the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
The suit alleges that Union Carbide and Anderson have
violated that ruling by failing to appear in Indian court on
criminal matters over the past seven years.
The suit alleges that they violated international law and
fundamental human rights for their ``depraved indifference to
human life'' in the design and operation of the Indian plant.
The suit also seeks to have the defendants held liable for civil
contempt and fraud for failing to comply with orders from courts
both in India and the United States.
Carbide said in a statement that it had not reviewed the
suit but ``all personal injury and related claims ... were
settled in 1989 when Union Carbide and Union Carbide India Ltd.
agreed to and paid $470 million to the government of India on
behalf of all the victims.''
The litigation stems from the December 2, 1984, disaster
that occurred at Union Carbide of India's pesticide plant when a
tank leaked five tons of poisonous methyl isocyanate gas into
the air. Authorities said at the time it was the worst
industrial accident in history, killing more than 3,000 people
and permanently injuring tens of thousands. Victims groups now
put the fatality toll as high as 6,000.
Although the Indian government accepted the $470 million
payment from Carbide, victims groups challenged the settlement
as too low. There was also a dispute over claims by Union
Carbide that the terms of the settlement protected it from
criminal proceedings.
In 1991, the Supreme Court of India affirmed the settlement
figure but ruled that the accord did not stop any criminal case
against Carbide. Criminal proceedings against Carbide and
Anderson have been pending since 1992 in India, McCallion said,
but the lawsuit filed on Monday alleges that Carbide has failed
to appear in court to respond to the charges.
The suit alleged that Carbide had been served with summons
through the U.S. Justice Department and Interpol and a
notification for the company to appear for trial was even
published in the Washington Post.
A Bhopal court ruled that the company and Anderson were
''proclaimed absconders,'' or fugitives under Indian law, and
ordered forfeiture of their property, the suit said.
