U.S. court issues verdict on Enim oil field dispute

U.S. court issues verdict on Enim oil field dispute

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones): A California jury has handed down an $11.7 million verdict against Triton Energy Ltd. in connection with a nine-year-old dispute over the Enim oil field in Indonesia, according to a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

According to a Friday item from Federal Filings Business News, Triton failed to disclose the date of the verdict in the filing, but said it plans to appeal.

The verdict stems from a 1990 arbitration in which Triton was awarded Nordell International Resources Inc.'s interest in the Enim oil field in Indonesia (subject to a 5 percent net profits fee for Nordell), plus $1 million.

Over the next several years, both parties engaged in a series of legal wranglings that challenged the validity and enforceability of the arbitration and that culminated in an Aug. 22, 1997, lawsuit where Nordell sought damages of $13 million against Triton in California state court.

Nordell argued that after the 1990 arbitration proceeding Triton engaged in misrepresentations, improper accounting practices relating to the Enim field, and inflicted emotional distress. The suit sought interest, punitive damages and attorneys fees, in addition to actual damages.

The case was moved to the U.S. District Court for Central California, which subsequently dismissed all claims asserted by Nordell, except those involving malicious prosecution and abuse of the legal process.

Although the abuse of process claims were later withdrawn, the remaining issues were tried and the jury awarded Nordell punitive damages of $11 million and $700,000 in compensatory damages.