Judge Who Issued $18.2 Billion Ruling against Chevron Removed from Bench
Ecuador′s Judicial Council determines Judge Zambrano complicit in
drug trafficking scandal
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) today renewed its request
of authorities in Ecuador to investigate the overwhelming evidence of
fraud tainting the Lago Agrio lawsuit after the Associated
Press and Ecuador′s El
Universo newspaper revealed that Nicolás Zambrano, the judge who
issued the $18.2 billion judgment against Chevron, has been dismissed
from the bench due to his complicity in an emerging story of court
corruption and drug trafficking in Ecuador.
The media outlets reported that the Judicial Council, the body that
governs the Ecuadorian judiciary, has determined that Judge Zambrano,
and Judge Leonardo Ordóñez, who previously presided over the Lago Agrio
lawsuit, should be dismissed from their positions on the Court of
Justice of Sucumbíos in Lago Agrio following an investigation into
allegations of lenient treatment of drug dealers in cases before them.
The investigation and subsequent dismissals followed a complaint filed
by Ecuador′s Organized Crime Prevention Unit.
'Chevron has already shown through the plaintiffs′ lawyers′ own
documents and film outtakes that Judge Zambrano′s ruling against Chevron
was ghostwritten by the plaintiffs′ lawyers. Evidence also shows that
the plaintiffs′ representatives paid bribes to at least one court
official through a secret bank account. Now it appears the Sucumbíos
court was plagued by even broader corruption,? said Hewitt Pate, Chevron
vice president and general counsel. 'Hopefully now that these judges
have been removed from their positions of power, others will come
forward with evidence of the wrongdoing that has occurred in the
courtrooms.?
Through court-ordered discovery, Chevron has obtained evidence that the
Lago Agrio plaintiffs′ lawyers and consultants, at a minimum, provided clandestine
assistance to the Lago Agrio court in drafting the judgment against
Chevron. Much of the judgment
tracks the plaintiffs′ lawyers′ own internal, unfiled documents
word-for-word, citing figures from the plaintiffs′ lawyers′ internal
database that did not form part of the record, as well as copying errors
and idiosyncratic reference citations.
The ghostwriting of judgments in Ecuador is not unique to the Lago Agrio
case. As has been widely reported, the El Universo newspaper
suffered similar treatment in an equally-politicized trial featuring
evidence that the ultimate judgment was written by lawyers working for
the plaintiff, in this instance President Rafael Correa. The handling of
the El Universo case was, in the words
of the Washington Post, 'alas, worthy of a banana republic. After
four changes of judge, a "temporary′ magistrate took over the case, held
one hearing, and?33 hours after his appointment?issued the 156-page
ruling. A subsequent independent investigation determined that he did
not write it, and that the author was probably Mr. Correa′s attorney.?
Other independent organizations have noted the steep decline in the
capability of the Ecuadorian judiciary to administer impartial justice.
Since Correa′s election, the U.S. State Department has reported
on 'the susceptibility of the judiciary to bribes for favorable
decisions and resolution of legal cases and on judges parceling out
cases to outside lawyers, who wrote the judicial sentences and sent them
back to the presiding judge for signature.? Other organizations have
reached similar conclusions, finding that Ecuador ranks near the bottom
of all nations for 'rule of law? and similar measures.
Chevron is one of the world′s leading integrated energy companies, with
subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in
virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for,
produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and
distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells
petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy;
provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources
of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif.
More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.
Chevron Corporation
Kent Robertson, +1-925-790-3819
