Chevron Condemns Illegitimate Decision by Ecuador Appellate Court
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) today announced there has been an adverse
ruling by the panel of three temporary judges presiding over appellate
proceedings in the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos in Lago
Agrio, Ecuador in an environmental lawsuit involving Texaco Petroleum
Company, upholding a lower court′s ruling from February 2011.
Chevron continues to seek recourse through legal proceedings outside of
Ecuador. In the arbitration proceedings Chevron instituted against
Ecuador in The Hague under the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty,
the Tribunal issued an order on February 9, 2011 requiring Ecuador to
take all measures at its disposal to prevent enforcement of the Lago
Agrio judgment until further order of the Tribunal. The Tribunal also
recorded that if it were established that any judgment made by an
Ecuadorian court in the Lago Agrio case was a breach of an obligation
Ecuador owed to Chevron as a matter of international law, any loss
arising from the enforcement of such judgment (within and without
Ecuador) may be losses for which Ecuador would be responsible to Chevron
under international law. Chevron also is pursuing an action in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Lago
Agrio plaintiffs′ representatives for violations of the federal
racketeering statute, common-law fraud, and other relief based upon the
overwhelming evidence of their fraud and corruption.
In response to the ruling, Chevron issued the following statement:
'Today′s decision is another glaring example of the politicization and
corruption of Ecuador′s judiciary that has plagued this fraudulent case
from the start. The Lago Agrio judgment was procured through a corrupt
and fraudulent scheme, much of which was captured on film and
memorialized in the plaintiffs′ representatives′ own emails and
correspondence. Their misconduct includes fabricating expert reports,
manufacturing evidence, bribing and colluding with court officials,
waging a campaign of intimidation against judges, and even ghostwriting
parts of the verdict itself.
'Evidence of these crimes has been provided to Ecuador′s courts and
prosecutors, but authorities there have taken no corrective actions. In
the United States, however, no less than eight federal judges have found
that the trial in Ecuador has been marred by the fraud and misconduct of
the plaintiffs′ representatives. And an international Tribunal presiding
in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ordered Ecuador
to take all measures at its disposal to suspend enforcement of the Lago
Agrio judgment within and without Ecuador.
'Chevron does not believe that the Ecuador ruling is enforceable in any
court that observes the rule of law. The company will continue to seek
to hold accountable the perpetrators of this fraud.?
Background:
Information on Chevron′s appeal can be found here.
Chevron is defending itself against false allegations that it is
responsible for environmental and social harms in the Amazon region of
Ecuador. Chevron has never conducted oil production operations in
Ecuador, and its subsidiary, Texaco Petroleum (TexPet), fully remediated
its share of environmental impacts arising from its participation in an
oil producing consortium with Petroecuador prior to 1992. After the
remediation work was certified by all agencies of the Ecuadorian
government responsible for oversight, TexPet received a complete release
from Ecuador's national, provincial and municipal governments prior to
being acquired by Chevron in 2001. Petroecuador was the majority owner
of the consortium in which TexPet participated until 1992 and has been
the sole owner of greatly expanded oil operations in the former
concession area over the past two decades. Last month, Petroecuador
announced it will complete its remediation of the sites it is
responsible for at a cost of $70 million. This figure stands in contrast
to the multi-billion dollar judgment affirmed today.
Chevron Corporation
Kent Robertson, +1 925-790-3819
