MOST REJECTED: The Hague Civil Court on Wednesday rejected most of a case brought by Nigerian farmers and the environmental group Friends of the Earth against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.

ONE FARMER: However, the judges ordered a subsidiary, Shell Nigeria, to compensate a farmer for making it too easy for saboteurs to open an oil well head that leaked on to his land.

FIRST TIME: It was believed to be the first time a Dutch court has held a multinational's foreign subsidiary liable for environmental damage and ordered it to pay damages. Environmental groups welcomed the judges' decision. Shell hailed the judgment as a victory.