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| Federal Judge Rules for Chevron in Ecuadorean Pollution Case | Federal Judge Rules for Chevron in Ecuadorean Pollution Case |
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| In a big victory for Chevron, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a two-decade legal effort to punish the company for polluting the Ecuadorean rain forest was marred by fraud and corruption of the Ecuadorean judicial system. | In a big victory for Chevron, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a two-decade legal effort to punish the company for polluting the Ecuadorean rain forest was marred by fraud and corruption of the Ecuadorean judicial system. |
| The decision in a Federal District Court in Manhattan was expected, but it was not immediately clear how it might influence courts in Canada, Brazil and Argentina where lawyers representing indigenous Amazonian farmers have sued Chevron to seize assets. It is also doubtful that the Ecuadorean courts will reverse a $9.5 billion judgment against the American company. | The decision in a Federal District Court in Manhattan was expected, but it was not immediately clear how it might influence courts in Canada, Brazil and Argentina where lawyers representing indigenous Amazonian farmers have sued Chevron to seize assets. It is also doubtful that the Ecuadorean courts will reverse a $9.5 billion judgment against the American company. |
| Central in the decision was Judge Lewis A. Kaplan’s view of Steven Donziger, a Manhattan lawyer who has led the legal effort but who was accused by Chevron of ghostwriting a crucial report submitted to the Ecuadorean court to decide the case and even participating in the bribing of the deciding judge. Chevron sued Mr. Donziger and several associates, accusing them of masterminding a conspiracy to extort from and defraud the corporation. | Central in the decision was Judge Lewis A. Kaplan’s view of Steven Donziger, a Manhattan lawyer who has led the legal effort but who was accused by Chevron of ghostwriting a crucial report submitted to the Ecuadorean court to decide the case and even participating in the bribing of the deciding judge. Chevron sued Mr. Donziger and several associates, accusing them of masterminding a conspiracy to extort from and defraud the corporation. |
| Judge Kaplan accepted Chevron’s arguments, ruling, “an innocent defendant is no more entitled to submit false evidence, to co-opt and pay off a court-appointed expert or to coerce or bribe a judge or jury than a guilty one.” | Judge Kaplan accepted Chevron’s arguments, ruling, “an innocent defendant is no more entitled to submit false evidence, to co-opt and pay off a court-appointed expert or to coerce or bribe a judge or jury than a guilty one.” |
| The decision does not dispute that pollution occurred nor does it bar enforcement of the Ecuadorean judgment, but it does bar Mr. Donziger and two other representatives “from profiting from the egregious fraud that occurred.” | The decision does not dispute that pollution occurred nor does it bar enforcement of the Ecuadorean judgment, but it does bar Mr. Donziger and two other representatives “from profiting from the egregious fraud that occurred.” |
| Mr. Donziger and the Ecuadorean farmers he represents insist that Texaco, before it was bought by Chevron, spilled millions of gallons of toxic wastewater into waters of the Ecuadorean Amazon in the 1970s and 1980s and left unlined waste pits filled with toxic sludge, ruining the lives and culture of several indigenous groups. Chevron says that Texaco cleaned up its mess, and that most of the pollution in the Ecuadorean jungle was caused by the Ecuadorean national oil company. | Mr. Donziger and the Ecuadorean farmers he represents insist that Texaco, before it was bought by Chevron, spilled millions of gallons of toxic wastewater into waters of the Ecuadorean Amazon in the 1970s and 1980s and left unlined waste pits filled with toxic sludge, ruining the lives and culture of several indigenous groups. Chevron says that Texaco cleaned up its mess, and that most of the pollution in the Ecuadorean jungle was caused by the Ecuadorean national oil company. |
| Chevron was originally ordered to pay $19 billion to the Amazonian farmers by an Ecuadorean court in 2011. But last year the Ecuadorean National Court of Justice, Ecuador’s highest court, reduced the fine to $9.5 billion, although it upheld the original decision despite Chevron’s cries of fraud. The Ecuadorean government has strongly supported the case against Chevron. | Chevron was originally ordered to pay $19 billion to the Amazonian farmers by an Ecuadorean court in 2011. But last year the Ecuadorean National Court of Justice, Ecuador’s highest court, reduced the fine to $9.5 billion, although it upheld the original decision despite Chevron’s cries of fraud. The Ecuadorean government has strongly supported the case against Chevron. |
| During the trial Mr. Donziger challenged the legitimacy of the proceeding and repeatedly accused Chevron of engaging in a “well-funded corporate retaliation campaign.” He has been consistently supported by influential environmental activists, including Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club. | During the trial Mr. Donziger challenged the legitimacy of the proceeding and repeatedly accused Chevron of engaging in a “well-funded corporate retaliation campaign.” He has been consistently supported by influential environmental activists, including Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club. |
| Mr. Donziger said in a statement that he would appeal. “This is an appalling decision from a deeply flawed proceeding that overturns a unanimous ruling by Ecuador’s Supreme Court,” he said. “The decision is full of vitriol, based on paid evidence from a corrupt former judge.” | |
| Chevron declared victory in a statement, saying that the decision “confirms that the Ecuadorean judgment against Chevron is a fraud and the product of a criminal enterprise.” It added, “Any court that respects the rule of law will find the Lago Agrio judgment to be illegitimate and unenforceable,” referring to the Ecuadorean ruling. | Chevron declared victory in a statement, saying that the decision “confirms that the Ecuadorean judgment against Chevron is a fraud and the product of a criminal enterprise.” It added, “Any court that respects the rule of law will find the Lago Agrio judgment to be illegitimate and unenforceable,” referring to the Ecuadorean ruling. |
| In his testimony to the court Mr. Donziger conceded that he had made mistakes, but he denied involvement in any bribery, witness tampering or fraud. A former reporter, Mr. Donziger is a Harvard Law School graduate with a knack for public relations. He gained prominence in the film “Crude,” which portrayed him in a favorable light crusading for the Ecuadorean downtrodden. | In his testimony to the court Mr. Donziger conceded that he had made mistakes, but he denied involvement in any bribery, witness tampering or fraud. A former reporter, Mr. Donziger is a Harvard Law School graduate with a knack for public relations. He gained prominence in the film “Crude,” which portrayed him in a favorable light crusading for the Ecuadorean downtrodden. |
| But Chevron turned the tables on him by gaining access in Judge Kaplan’s court to outtakes of the film that highlighted his unorthodox style. One outtake filmed in an Ecuadorean restaurant showed a consultant telling Mr. Donziger that there was no evidence that contamination had spread from the oil pits. But Mr. Donziger was unpersuaded. “This is Ecuador, O.K.,” he said. “At the end of the day, there are a thousand people around the courthouse; you will get whatever you want. Sorry, but it’s true.” | But Chevron turned the tables on him by gaining access in Judge Kaplan’s court to outtakes of the film that highlighted his unorthodox style. One outtake filmed in an Ecuadorean restaurant showed a consultant telling Mr. Donziger that there was no evidence that contamination had spread from the oil pits. But Mr. Donziger was unpersuaded. “This is Ecuador, O.K.,” he said. “At the end of the day, there are a thousand people around the courthouse; you will get whatever you want. Sorry, but it’s true.” |
| Chevron’s star witness was Alberto Guerra, a former Ecuadorean judge who testified that plaintiffs paid him $1,000 a month to ghostwrite favorable opinions for the presiding judge, Nicolas Zambrano. He also testified that Judge Zambrano told him that Mr. Donziger and his allies promised to pay Judge Zambrano $500,000 out of the eventual damages as long as he agreed to a favorable verdict. | Chevron’s star witness was Alberto Guerra, a former Ecuadorean judge who testified that plaintiffs paid him $1,000 a month to ghostwrite favorable opinions for the presiding judge, Nicolas Zambrano. He also testified that Judge Zambrano told him that Mr. Donziger and his allies promised to pay Judge Zambrano $500,000 out of the eventual damages as long as he agreed to a favorable verdict. |