Federal Lawsuit Alleges U.S. Mining Company Drummond Paid Millions to Colombian Paramilitary...

Federal Lawsuit Alleges U.S. Mining Company Drummond Paid Millions to
Colombian Paramilitary Terrorists Who Killed 67; Including 'Execution' of
Union Leaders

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal lawsuit alleges the
Drummond Company paid millions of dollars to a Colombian paramilitary
terrorist group that while acting as paid "security" was responsible for the
deaths of 67 people in a plot to disrupt union activities at the company's
South American coal mining and railway operations.

The civil lawsuit accuses Drummond of paying the right-wing United Self
Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) to protect their business interests in the
Cesar and Magdalena provinces of Colombia, and to terrorize and murder
innocent residents in the region who they perceived as sympathetic to leftist
guerilla groups and supportive of local union organizations. The suit
describes in detail a meeting between Drummond and AUC representatives during
which the company allegedly ordered the execution of two union leaders.

The Florida-based law firm of Conrad & Scherer LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf
of 252 plaintiffs who are relatives of the 67 victims, including 63 men and
four women. Their names are withheld from publication to prevent reprisals
against them, said attorney Terry Collingsworth. The lawsuit was filed in
United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Western
Division by Collingsworth, Conrad & Scherer founding partner William R.
Scherer and Garve W. Ivey, Jr. of the Jasper, Alabama-based, Ivey Law Firm.

"The 60-page complaint outlines allegation after allegation of brutality,
describing how hundreds of men, women and children were terrorized in their
homes, on their way to and from work, and often murdered by AUC paramilitaries
acting on behalf of Drummond," said attorney Collingsworth. "These are
innocent people being killed in or near their homes or kidnapped to never to
return home, their spouses and children being beaten and tied up, and people
being pulled off buses and summarily executed on the spot."

While paying the AUC to protect its property and U.S. workers, the lawsuit
charges Drummond allowed the AUC terrorists to set up a military base of
operations on its property, and supplied electric, food and fuel. The suit
alleged that in a November, 2000 meeting, Drummond executives in Colombia
directly ordered the execution of two union leaders, "guys that were causing
problems," at the Drummond mines.

"This type of corporate behavior unfortunately was not unusual for foreign
companies doing business inside Colombia at that time, as paramilitary groups
pretty much acted with impunity from government intervention," said Conrad &
Scherer founding partner, Scherer.

In 2007, Chiquita Brands International plead guilty to making substantial
payments to the AUC terrorists from 1997-2004, when it was forced to stop
after a board member self-reported to the U.S. Justice Department that the
company was making illegal payments. As a result, Chiquita agreed to pay a
fine of $25 million and sever its ties to the Colombian entities that were
working directly with the AUC. Another civil lawsuit is currently pending
against Chiquita in U.S. District Court in Miami brought on behalf of
additional AUC victims, also represented by Conrad & Scherer.

Charges alleged in the lawsuit include wrongful death and violations of the
U.S. Alien Tort Act and Torture Victim Protection Act. Named defendants are
Drummond Company, Inc., Augusto Jimenez, President of Drummond Ltd. in
Colombia; Alfredo Araujo, Drummond's Director of Community Relations in
Colombia, and James Atkins, Drummond Chief of Security in Colombia. The suit
asks for a trial by jury and unspecified damages.

Conrad & Scherer LLP is a well-known, established Florida trial law firm
recognized for its aggressive, dedicated representations of both plaintiffs
and defendants in the areas of commercial litigation, labor and employment
law, personal injury, general liability, medical malpractice, health law,
international law, and other areas of complex litigation. The firm represents
clients at both the trial and appellate level in either state or federal
court.

For more information on Conrad & Scherer LLP, go to www.conradscherer.com. The
firm is located at 633 S. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33301,
Ph: 954.462.5500. The firm also has offices in Washington, D.C. and Quito,
Ecuador.

Media Contact: Kevin Boyd, 954.288.9509

SOURCE Conrad & Scherer LLP

Kevin Boyd, for Conrad & Scherer LLP, +1-954-288-9509