Indonesians' Suit Against Exxon Cleared for Trial

WASHINGTON -- In a legal setback for Exxon Mobil Corp., a federal judge here cleared for trial a seven-year-old lawsuit by Indonesian villagers over alleged killings and torture by Indonesian soldiers guarding a natural-gas plant in the Aceh province.

U.S. District Court Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer ruled Wednesday against a motion to throw out the villagers' suit, finding evidence that the soldiers committed the alleged atrocities and that Exxon Mobil's Indonesia subsidiary had paid for the military security forces to guard the plant.

The villagers filed the lawsuit in ...