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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ― A federal judge in San Francisco has denied a request by Chevron Corp. to recoup $485,000 in court costs from a group of Nigerian villagers who lost their lawsuit against the oil company.

The matter arose from a lawsuit filed on behalf of 19 Nigerian adults and children seeking to hold the San Ramon-based company responsible for alleged human rights abuses in a violent end to a protest on an offshore oil platform in Nigeria in May 1998.

A federal civil jury in San Francisco in 2008 exonerated Chevron of claims that it was responsible for alleged torture, cruel treatment, assault and wrongful death on the part of Nigerian security forces called to protect the rig from about 150 protestors seeking jobs and environmental reparations.

Lawyers for the villagers have appealed the jury's decision.

Under federal law, the winner of a civil lawsuit can recover certain trial costs from the loser. However, a judge has the discretion to deny such claims in cases where it "would be inappropriate or inequitable to award costs."

A hearing on the matter had been scheduled for Friday before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, but on Wednesday, Illston submitted a written brief denying Chevron's request.

"The economic disparity between plaintiffs, who are Nigerian villagers, and defendants, international oil companies, cannot be more stbetween plaintiffs and defendants," noting that Chevron Corp.'s net income in 2008 was $23.93 billion.

Most of the plaintiffs earned only hundreds of dollars per month, and 10 are minors with no income, according to attorney Cindy Cohn, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of three law firms who represented the villagers.

"We're really pleased that Chevron's, I think, rather mean-spirited attempt to punish these poor Nigerian villagers was rejected by the court," Cohn said Thursday.

After eight-and-a-half years of litigation and a four-week trial, Chevron was seeking $485,159.15 for witness per diem fees, service of subpoenas, court reporters, videotaping, transcription and photocopying costs.

"I think it was an outrageous request," Cohn said. "And I think it speaks for itself about the kind of people running that company."

"They tried to hang a half-million-dollar judgment around the necks of children," she said.

Chevron released a written statement Thursday, reading, "While Chevron never expected the plaintiffs to pay these costs themselves, there would have been true justice if the contingency fee lawyers and advocacy groups who we believe conceived, drove and funded the litigation, bore some of the costs."

"The lawyers certainly spared no expense in pursuing meritless claims against Chevron for 10 years, which a federal jury unanimously rejected," the statement said.

Cohn called the Chevron proposal "ridiculous."

"It's not appropriate or allowable to suggest that the lawyers pay costs," she said. "It's just not done."

Cohn said her firm, and two small law firms in Pasadena, a total of about 10 lawyers, represented the villagers on a contingency basis, and did not receive payment when their case lost.

"This was a labor of love by a lot of lawyers," she said.

In her judgment, Illston also addressed the possible "chilling effect" that allowing Chevron's costs request would have on future civil rights litigants.

"At root, this case was an attempt by impoverished citizens of Nigeria to increase accountability for the activities of American companies in their country," said Illston.

"Plaintiffs' ultimate failure at trial does not detract from the fact that this was a civil rights case," Illston wrote.

"The threat of deterring future litigants from prosecuting human rights claims ... is especially present in a case such as this, where plaintiffs have paltry resources and defendants are large and powerful economic actors," she wrote.

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