Posted by John Donovan: 15 July 2024
In a high-stakes legal drama, a High Court judge just told Leigh Day, the law firm accused of playing fast and loose with £6 million from a Shell pollution settlement, to suck it up and get on with the show. The Nigerian claimants, reeling from Shell’s eco-destruction in the Niger Delta, argued they hadn’t received a formal heads-up about the trial date. But the judge wasn’t buying it.
Leigh Day, the firm representing the Bodo community against the oil behemoth Shell, settled for a cool £55 million in 2014 after the delightful oil spills of 2008 and 2009. £25 million was for individual claims, while £20 million was set aside for the community. The firm is accused of sneaky disbursements, diverting £6 million to an NGO and four Nigerian legal practices without a green light.