The claimants in this action are the Ogale and Bille communities in Rivers State, Nigeria, representing approximately 50,000 individuals. The claimants allege widespread environmental damage, including groundwater contamination, as the result of oil spills by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC). The two defendants are Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS), the UK parent company, and SPDC, a Nigerian-registered subsidiary of RDS.