MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chevron/Ecuadorean villagers case in new chapter before a US Judge
Chevron Corp will try to convince a US judge that a group of Ecuadorean villagers and their US lawyer used bribery to win a 18 billion dollars judgment against Chevron from a court in Ecuador, in the latest chapter in a long-running fight over pollution in the Amazon jungle. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesChevron should just pay up like BP. Fraud seems to be par for the course.
Oct 16th, 2013 - 07:58 am - Link - Report abuse 0As long as companies pay up just to shut down the aggro, claims like this will continue and the parasite lawyers will get richer and richer. Note the extra $1 billion for “costs”.
Oct 16th, 2013 - 09:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0#1 agreed and rightly so. However, the Texaco exec's as the other polluters need to see jail time. This shit will never end until management starts perp walking.
Oct 16th, 2013 - 11:56 am - Link - Report abuse 01964/5: Texaco & Gulf Oil began exploring for oil in north east Ecuador. They struck oil in 1967 and began production of the Lago Agrio Field in 1972. In 1974 the Ecuador government and its national oil company PetroEcuador (then CEPE), took a 25% interest.In 1976 Gulf Oil sold out to CEPE; the consortium was now majority-owned by the Ecuadorian government. In 1990 Texaco (as TexPet) ceded management of the consortium to PetroEcuador. By 1993, PetroEcuador was the sole owner; 95% of the Lago Agrio profits went to the government of Ecuador. It continues drilling in the area.
Oct 16th, 2013 - 02:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0By then 18 billion gallons of PAH-contaminated water were in containment pits. ‘Environmental activists’ claim this contamination caused a 150% increase in cancer cases across the region. Chevron’s experts showed no causal link, and showed that most spills occurred after PetroEcuador took over. In 2006 Correa claimed this was ‘a crime against humanity’.
In 1995, Texaco spent $40 million cleaning up the lagoons – albeit inadequately, ‘proportionate to its interest in the consortium’. In exchange, the Ecuadorian government released Texaco from further liability. But, in 1993, lawyers for the locals sued Texaco in New York. The class-action cited contamination of water used for human activities. It was dismissed and re-filed in 2003 against Chevron in Ecuador.
Chevron disliked being ‘milked’: ‘responsibility rests with PetroEcuador’ (much of the damage comes from PetroEcuador's activities since 1990, including post-1990 pipeline-spills).
In 2008, Ecuador claimed $27 billion, accusing ‘Texaco’ of pollution, deforestation and cultural destruction. Cancer-claims were proved false, lawyers dismissed, and cases collapsed. Collusion, bribery, and corruption by Ecuadorian judges was evidenced by Chevron investigators. In 2011, Chevron filed against their own investigators.
The same year, the Ecuadorian court awarded $18 billion against Chevron. It is appealed – with some justification - as against the te
Keep going Geoff.
Oct 17th, 2013 - 07:24 am - Link - Report abuse 0Chevron disliked being ‘milked’
Oct 17th, 2013 - 09:20 am - Link - Report abuse 0So does BP.
The same year, the Ecuadorian court awarded $18 billion against Chevron. It is appealed – with some justification - as against the tenets of honest law. Counter-appeal is now at $113 billion!
Oct 17th, 2013 - 12:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Ecuadorian lawyers are sequestrating Chevron assets from around the world - though there are problems in Argentina because of new oil-agreements.
This one will run and run.
Again.....why no jail time for the Exec management of Texaco? So they are milking cows that never run out of milk........no one gets punished.
Oct 17th, 2013 - 02:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!