Southern District of New York Court Upholds Chevron RICO Complaint
Company Remains Resolute in Efforts to Hold Perpetrators of Fraud
Accountable
The Southern District of New York today issued an order upholding
Chevron's (NYSE:CVX) complaint for racketeering, fraud, conspiracy and
New York Judiciary Law 487, which provides for civil damages against an
attorney who engages in deceit or collusion with intent to deceive a
court, against U.S. plaintiffs' lawyer and RICO defendant Steven
Donziger, related to the long-running environmental case against the
Company in Ecuador.
As the Court noted in its opinion, Chevron 'alleges that the RICO
defendants are executing a multi-faceted, extortionate scheme that
included not only bringing the Lago Agrio case, but also intimidating of
Ecuadorian judges, fabricating evidence, making false statements to U.S.
courts, Congress, the SEC, and the media, and bringing false criminal
charges, all for the purpose of coercing Chevron "into paying to stop
the campaign against it.′? Judge Kaplan, in his order, also ruled that
'Chevron′s extortion allegations are more than sufficient.? Furthermore,
the order rejected all of Donziger′s challenges to Chevron′s allegations
under the federal RICO statute, finding that Chevron had adequately
stated claims for mail and wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of
justice, and witness tampering. The Court also held that Chevron had
stated valid claims under common law fraud and the New York Judiciary
Act, which creates civil liability for lawyers who attempt to deceive
courts.
'Chevron is pleased with the Court′s order, which upholds the core of
Chevron′s RICO claim on every predicate criminal act asserted by the
company,? ?said Hewitt Pate, Vice president and General Counsel. 'We are
eager to move forward with our racketeering case to hold the
perpetrators of this unprecedented fraud and misconduct accountable.?
In a separate order also issued today, the court declined to grant
Chevron′s motion to attach the defendants′ assets. In response to this
order Pate continued, 'Chevron will continue to use all means at its
disposal to defend against the fraud being perpetrated by the
plaintiffs′ lawyers.?
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
Justin Higgs, 925-790-3327
