If prior trials are a guide, the plaintiffs face an uphill battle. A Birmingham, Alabama, jury ruled in July that Drummond Ltd., a U.S. coal producer, wasn’t liable for the deaths of union leaders at a company mine in Colombia. In December a San Francisco jury cleared Chevron Corp. of responsibility for the 1998 deaths, shootings and torture of Nigerian protesters.

Jennifer Green, a lawyer for the plaintiffs against Shell, said her clients are chiefly concerned about the company’s accountability. She declined to speculate on possible damages. “It’s holding Shell responsible for what Shell did,” said Green, of the not-for-profit Center for Constitutional Rights in New York.

Shell Comments The Hague-based company, Europe’s largest oil producer, denies any wrongdoing. The company didn’t encourage or advocate “any act of violence,” according to a statement. A verdict against Shell might prompt some investors to sell shares because they don’t want to be affiliated with a company found responsible for rights violations, said Gudmund Halle Isfeldt, an Oslo-based analyst at DnB NOR ASA.