Ala. firm sought State Dept. aid in suit (slayings of three union leaders in Colombia)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8NTCGGO0.htm

Ala. firm sought State Dept. aid in suit

By JAY REEVES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Faced with a lawsuit over the slayings of three union leaders in Colombia, an Alabama coal company quietly lobbied the State Department in an apparent bid to have the suit thrown out, according to court records and an attorney in the case.

The effort by Drummond Co. Inc. included assistance from the law firm of former Secretary of State James Baker, but the department refused to get involved.

The civil case over the 2001 slayings is set for trial in federal court May 14.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals spelled out the failed lobbying attempt by Drummond in a decision Wednesday that unsealed key records that had been kept from public view.

In its opinion, the appeals court said Drummond contacted the State Department without the knowledge of the judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre, or the attorneys who filed the suit.

In a sworn statement, Drummond attorney Ignacio Sanchez detailed his contacts with four State Department executives over a four-month period. Sanchez said he was working in consultation with Baker Botts LLP, the law firm of the former secretary of state.

Drummond executive Mike Tracy declined comment on any attempt by the family owned company to sway the State Department. The company has denied any role in the killings.

United Steelworkers attorney Dan Kovalik said Thursday that the company wanted the government to intervene and end the suit by saying "this case would hurt U.S. foreign policy, which the department has done in other cases."

Documents filed in the case by Drummond also indicate the government could have intervened and asked the court to dismiss the case if it believed the lawsuit could damage U.S. foreign relations.

Once she learned of the lobbying, Bowdre "expressed concern" and ordered it to stop, the 11th Circuit said.

FULL story at link.