Lousiana district court denies Freeport motion

JAKARTA (JP): A motion by Freeport-McMoran Inc. to have a lawsuit filed by an Irianese tribal leader dismissed was denied by a district court of Louisiana, New Orleans, last week.

A transcript of the court's ruling, made available by the plaintiff's American lawyers, said the court had found that the plaintiff, Tom Beanal of the Amungme tribe, wished to continue his law suit.

"Accordingly, this court will not dismiss the instant suit," said the court's minutes signed on July 2.

The court however ordered that attorney Martin E. Regan pay Freeport $1,000 for misrepresenting Beanal.

"It does not serve...to punish the client because of the actions of his attorney. It would be unduly unfair to Beanal to dismiss the suit especially in light of his desire to continue the suit, both at the deposition and at the hearing," the court said.

Beanal's lawsuit, filed in April, lists Freeport-McMoran Inc. and its mining affiliate, Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. of New Orleans, as the defendants. They are the holding companies of PT Freeport Indonesia, which manages huge and highly profitable copper and gold mines in Irian Jaya.

The suit claims that Freeport engaged in "eco-terrorism", "cultural genocide", corporate policies that led to violations of the tribes' human rights and destruction of the resources necessary for their survival.

In early May, Beanal ordered Regan to withdraw the suit. Later, he insisted that it was always his intention to continue the legal action.

The suit was subsequently filed again in May, prompting Freeport's motion for a dismissal and sanctions against Beanal's lawyer for misrepresentation.

Beanal gave a deposition in Jakarta and then testified in the Louisiana court in May.

The court found that Regan had attempted to obstruct Beanal's deposition by misrepresenting certain facts.

One misrepresentation was when the attorney cited "illusory safety concerns" in an attempt to prevent or delay Beanal's deposition. "These same safety concerns do not seem to be shared by Beanal," the court said.

Freeport Indonesia is 82-percent owned by Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. The Indonesian government and a private company, PT Indocopper Investama, own 9 percent each. (emb)