Ecuadorians win their fight against Chevron, but now face the problem of making them pay

[the_future_modernes]

Still a Ways to Go, After Historic Ruling Against Chevron

QUITO, Feb 16, 2011 (IPS) - The plaintiffs in the case against Chevron tried in Ecuador, who won a historic 9.5 billion dollar verdict after a nearly 18-year struggle over environmental and health damages caused in a quarter-century of oil operations in the Amazon jungle, are not disheartened by the road still ahead.

Chevron announced that it would appeal the sentence handed down Monday by Judge Nicolás Zambrano in Nueva Loja, the capital of the northeastern Ecuadorian province of Sucumbíos, which found the U.S. oil company guilty of an environmental disaster in the Amazon jungle, as locals have been arguing in legal action that began in 1993.

"This was a trial on behalf of the people, and the beneficiaries are not just the (30,000) plaintiffs but all of the inhabitants of the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana," some 223,000 people, Juan Pablo Sáenz, one of the members of the plaintiffs' legal team, told IPS.MORE

Q&A 'The Verdict Against Chevron Is Enforceable, Because It Is Just'
Gonzalo Ortiz interviews JUAN PABLO SÁENZ, prosecuting attorney in Chevron case *

QUITO, Feb 23, 2011 (Tierramérica) - On Feb. 14, a provincial Ecuadorean court issued the harshest environmental verdict in history against a major oil company, the U.S.-based Chevron. But is there any chance it will be carried out?

"We wouldn't keep working on this if we didn't think success was possible. On a scale of one to 10, it's a 10," the youngest of the litigant attorneys, Juan Pablo Sáenz, told Tierramérica in an interview.

It is the environmental trial of the century. The ruling of the court of first instance orders Chevron to pay 9.5 billion dollars to pay for the damage to human health and the environment in an Amazon forest area of northeast Ecuador, in the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana. That is where oil exploration and drilling operations took place for 26 years under Chevron or Texaco, which Chevron acquire in 2001.MORe

Guess what Chevron's position on this is...


Q&A'The Trial Against Chevron Is Totally Corrupt'
Gonzalo Ortiz interviews JAMES CRAIG, Chevron spokesperson for Latin America*

QUITO, Mar 8, 2011 (Tierramérica) - Chevron, the second largest U.S. oil company, believes that to overturn the verdict ordering it to pay 9.5 billion dollars in reparations for environmental and public health damages in Ecuador's Amazon jungle, the best defence is a good offence.

The ruling, issued on Feb. 14 by a provincial court in Ecuador, is "corrupt, illegitimate, unenforceable, and the product of a fraud," the company's Latin America spokesman, James Craig, says in this interview with Tierramérica. MORE

Federal judge blocks damages in Chevron Ecuador pollution case

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] on Monday issued a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of a recent Ecuadorian court judgment against US oil company Chevron [corporate website; JURIST news archive]. The injunction blocks [Reuters report] plaintiffs from attempting to secure $8.6 billion in damages from the company, which were awarded [JURIST report] last month by the Provincial Court of Sucumbios after finding that Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron in 2001, polluted large areas of Ecuador's rain forest. As Chevron does not hold assets in Ecuador, the ruling eliminates the possibility that the plaintiffs will seek enforcement in other countries where the company operates and reserves the final decision on enforcement for the US judicial system. The ruling effectively extends a temporary restraining order [text, PDF] issued last month.

Following last month's verdict, Chevron vowed to appeal [press release] and called the ruling "illegitimate and unenforceable" and "the product of fraud," while the plaintiffs' lawyer also announced his intention to appeal [NYT report] after the court awarded far less than the $113 billion originally sought.MORE

Chevron-Ecuador case spawns complex legal issues

Jurisdiction issues arise as oil giant tries to block huge Ecuadoran verdict

The $9.5 billion environmental lawsuit against Chevron Corp. in Ecuador has touched off an international legal scrum, with courts on three continents trying to assert control over the outcome.

And it could get messier.

The long-running case, watched worldwide for the precedent it could set, will probably move to other countries unless the two sides settle, which Chevron has vowed not to do.

...

But Chevron, based in San Ramon, has no assets in Ecuador. In order to enforce the judgment, the plaintiffs have to go elsewhere. And knowing this, Chevron beat them to the punch.

Even before the judgment was handed down, Chevron asked a U.S. District Court judge in New York to issue a temporary restraining order, blocking enforcement in the United States. The judge agreed, issuing an order that expires on Tuesday but could be extended.

The company also approached an international arbitration court in The Hague, Netherlands. Arguing that Chevron had been denied due process by courthouse corruption and fraud, the company persuaded the tribunal to issue a temporary order that instructs the Ecuadoran government to suspend enforcement.

Chevron is also pursuing an appeal in Ecuador.

The multiple rulings have raised sticky questions of jurisdiction.MORE

I find it amusing that the multimillion dollar oil international oil company is complaining about possible corruption in the Ecuadorian courts. Are you going to tell me that the victimsck can square off against a freaking oil company in corruption incentive?