Jeppesen Int'l (San Jose) sued for torture trip planning

Jeppesen, which operates an office downtown, was first publicly linked last year to allegations that the federal government uses some of its flights to transport terrorism suspects to countries that allow torture. Civil rights groups recently urged San Jose city officials to pass a resolution condemning the company's alleged role in the practice.

Tim Neale, a spokesman for Boeing, Jeppesen's parent company, declined to discuss any prospective lawsuit. He also declined to discuss the torture flight allegations, saying the company's services are provided to all of its clients "on a confidential basis."

The ACLU filed one previous lawsuit over the CIA flights, which are known as "extraordinary rendition."That case, filed on behalf of a German citizen, was dismissed by the federal courts in Virginia after the federal government intervened and asserted legal privileges under state secrets provisions.