The justices, without comment, on Monday rejected the energy company's appeal of a ruling on a 2001 lawsuit filed by International Rights Advocates on behalf of 11 villagers in Indonesia's Aceh province.
The suit, which did not seek a specific amount of damages, alleged that members of the Indonesian military committed rampant human rights abuses against the villagers while under Exxon's employ to guard a natural gas facility. The Indonesian government has been accused of brutally repressing separatist efforts in Aceh in the 1990s.
Lawyers for Exxon argued in a federal district court that the case should be dismissed because it involves issues of international relations that should be left to the executive branch.
The district court dismissed parts of the suit that relied on federal law, but allowed state-law claims to proceed. The lower court also dismissed claims against a natural gas firm owned by the Indonesian government.
Exxon sought to immediately appeal the district court's ruling, in order to have the entire suit dismissed, but a federal appeals court turned the company down in January 2007. The company then turned to the high court.
The Bush administration urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal. Solicitor General Paul Clement wrote in a May brief that the lower court had sufficiently narrowed the case to avoid harm to the nation's foreign policy interests. Clement has since stepped down from his post.
Due to fears for their safety, the Acehnese plaintiffs in the suit against Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil are all named as John or Jane Does.
Justice Samuel Alito, who owns Exxon Mobil stock, did not take part in the decision. The case is Exxon Mobil v. John Doe, 07-81.
~ From Yahoo! Financial News ~
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