Article
BP faces damages claim over pipeline through Colombian farmland
Ninety-five Colombian farmers are suing...BP in the high court in London for allegedly causing serious damage...In the first case of its kind, the farmers are claiming that BP...which joined forces with Colombia's national oil company [Ecopetrol] and four foreign multinational corporations...caused landslides and damage to soil and groundwater, causing crops to fail, livestock to perish, contaminating water supplies and making fish ponds unsustainable...The farmers say BP has...failed to ensure an adequate water supply for farming and domestic use and failed to provide equitable compensation for the damage caused...Now [BP] has decided to...fight the farmers' claims in court...A BP spokesman said that as the legal action was ongoing, the company would not comment on the case beyond the defence lodged in the high court.