In an attempted balancing act, Judge Oberdorfer dismissed the federal claims over concern about foreign relations but allowed the state tort law claims to go forward, which presumably would likewise raise issues that Indonesia would find unwelcome. However, the court did limit discovery to the U.S. conduct of Exxon. The case then went forward based on state law claims. After Plaintiffs amended their complaint in January 2006, Exxon again moved to dismiss, and this time, on March 2, 2006, the court denied the motion.

The parties then began limited discovery on whether Plaintiffs could show that Exxon, from the U.S., controlled the Indonesia military security forces to a degree sufficient to allow the case to go to trial. After discovery was completed, Exxon filed a motion for summary judgment. On August 27, 2008, Judge Oberdorfer denied the motion with respect to Exxon and its main operating subsidiary, Exxon Mobil Indonesia (EMOI). Shortly after issuing the summary judgment decision, Judge Oberdorfer, who was on senior status, retired. The case was reassigned to Chief Judge Royce Lamberth.

On September 9, 2009, the court then, on a new motion by Exxon directed at four more recently added plaintiffs, dismissed the entire case. The court reasoned that foreign plaintiffs had no standing to sue in a U.S. court. Plaintiffs appealed both Judge Oberdorfer’s dismissal of the federal claims and Judge Lamberth’s dismissal of the remaining state law claims. On July 8, 2011, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed both dismissals. By a vote of 3-0, the Court held that there is no standing bar to foreign plaintiffs in U.S. courts. By a 2-1 vote, the Court also reinstated Plaintiffs’ federal claims under the ATS and TVPA. 

Following reinstatement of Plaintiffs’ federal claims, the D.C. Court of Appeals stayed all proceedings pending the Supreme Court’s decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. on April 17, 2013. In Kiobel, the Supreme Court held the presumption against extraterritorial application of U.S. laws applies to the ATS, and ATS claims do not touch and concern the U.S. with sufficient force to displace the presumption and permit jurisdiction where all the relevant conduct takes place outside the United States. Kiobel, 133 S. Ct. 1659, 1669 (2013). On July 26, 2013, in light of Kiobel’s change in the jurisdictional reach of the ATS, the Court of Appeals vacated its July 2011 judgment and remanded the case back to the D.C. District Court for consideration.

Once remanded, on October 30, 2014, Exxon again moved to dismiss all of Plaintiffs’ claims. On September 24, 2014, the district court denied Exxon’s motion in large part, rejecting many of Exxon’s arguments, including that the case requires the court to pass judgment on official Indonesian acts; the case should be heard in Indonesia instead of the U.S.; effective remedies exist in Indonesia for the Plaintiffs; and that the case interferes with U.S. foreign policy. The court also granted Plaintiffs the opportunity to amend their complaint to accommodate the change in ATS law created by Kiobel; dismissed Exxon’s Indonesian subsidiary EMOI as an alternative to dismissing the case for lack of diversity jurisdiction; and held Exxon could be found vicariously liable under Indonesian law for the acts of its security personnel.

Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on November 25, 2015, which specifically addressed Exxon’s conduct in the United States. Exxon opposed this motion and sought to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to satisfy the Kiobel jurisdictional test. On June 3, 2019, the court dismissed the federal ATS claims, leaving Plaintiffs’ claims under Indonesian law for wrongful, death, assault, battery, arbitrary arrest and detention, false imprisonment, negligent hiring and supervision, and conversion. Since that decision, the parties have completed discovery and are awaiting a trial date, where, at long last, the Plaintiffs can obtain justice and hold Exxon accountable.