If environmental cases had their own Olympics, the dispute between Chevron and Ecuador would be a contender for multiple gold medals. It seems to have a shot not only at winning the award for the largest damages, but also for running the longest and appearing in the most courtrooms.
To recap: Residents of the Amazon have been trying for nearly 20 years to receive compensation for massive environmental damage Chevron’s predecessor, Texaco, allegedly caused in Ecuador in what’s been called the “Rainforest Chernobyl.” In February, their efforts culminated in an $8.6 billion judgment by an Ecuadorian court against Chevron. Chevron attacked the decision on several fronts, including by appealing to a higher Ecuadorian court and by suing the plaintiffs in U.S. federal court to stop them from enforcing the judgment.
Last week, Chevron suffered setbacks in both courts. On Tuesday, the Ecuadorian appellate court affirmed the judgment. If Chevron doesn’t publicly apologize to Ecuador, the award will be doubled, to nearly $18 billion. Chevron responded by saying that the decision “is another glaring example of the politicization and corruption of Ecuador's judiciary that has plagued this fraudulent case from the start.” As I’ve noted before, this is ironic. The plaintiffs originally sued in U.S. federal court, and it was Chevron (still Texaco at the time) that persuaded the court to dismiss the case in favor of the Ecuadorian judicial system. In response to the plaintiffs’ warnings that Ecuadorian courts were “subject to corrupt influences” and “incapable of acting impartially,” Chevron persuaded Judge Rakoff in the Southern District of New York and, on appeal, the Second Circuit, that Ecuadorian courts would be just fine. Chevron had argued (among other things) that “because these cases will be the subject of close public and political scrutiny, as confirmed by the Republic’s involvement in the litigation, there is little chance of undue influence being applied.” Oh well, Chevron might add today, we were mistaken about that. Oops.
Chevron isn’t just claiming that the Ecuadorian court system is corrupt – in its suit against the plaintiffs’ representatives (and their attorneys), it’s claiming that they are the corruptors, engaged in a criminal conspiracy to extort money from Chevron. In March, Chevron convinced Judge Kaplan, also in the Southern District of New York, to enjoin the plaintiffs from trying to enforce their judgment anywhere in the world – a remarkably far-reaching decision that the Second Circuit vacated in September. Chevron also tried to stymie the plaintiffs by asking Judge Kaplan to freeze the plaintiffs’ assets, but – perhaps chastened by the Second Circuit decision – last Friday he denied Chevron’s motion. (Not feeling chastened itself, Chevron filed another motion on Thursday with the Second Circuit, asking it to reverse its earlier decision on the ground that the Ecuadorian appellate judgment “decisively alters the posture of this case.”)
Neither of these decisions brings the end of this dispute within sight. On the contrary, years of litigation loom ahead, as the plaintiffs seek to enforce their judgment in courts around the world and Chevron continues to try to forestall them.
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| January 9, 2012
If environmental cases had their own Olympics, the dispute between Chevron and Ecuador would be a contender for multiple gold medals. It seems to have a shot not only at winning the award for the largest damages, but also for running the longest and appearing in the most courtrooms. To recap: Residents of the Amazon […]
Rena Steinzor | January 9, 2012
With a reverential nod to maverick economist Jeff Madrick, who wrote a popular book of the same name, I begin today a series of blog posts entitled “The Age of Greed” that is designed to shine a bright spotlight into the dark corners where Washington lobbyists are busy looting the protection of public health, worker […]
Nina Mendelson | January 4, 2012
On January 9th, the Supreme Court will hear Sackett v. EPA, which concerns whether an individual has a right to a judicial hearing before, rather than after, an agency finalizes a so-called administrative compliance order. The case has important potential to undermine the environmental protection, including the government’s ability to promptly respond to environmental threats […]
Rena Steinzor | January 3, 2012
It’s my great pleasure to announce that the Board of Directors of CPR has selected Jake Caldwell to serve as our new executive director. He succeeds Shana Jones, who earlier this year announced she would be leaving CPR to teach environmental policy at Old Dominion University. Jake comes to CPR after six years at the […]
Sidney A. Shapiro | December 29, 2011
Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced a bill earlier this month that proposes to change regulatory and tax policies with the goal of encouraging more entrepreneurial activity and creating more jobs. The legislation contains a grab-bag of proposals, such as allowing more aliens with professional expertise in stem cell research to become […]
Ben Somberg | December 22, 2011
On Tuesday, the American Chemistry Council sent EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson a letter about the provisions regarding IRIS toxic chemical assessments in the omnibus spending bill. The ACC said: H.R. 2055 also directs EPA to include documentation describing how the NAS Chapter 7 recommendations have been implemented or addressed in all IRIS assessments released in […]
Ben Somberg | December 22, 2011
Three years ago today, an earthen wall holding back a giant coal ash impoundment failed in Kingston, Tennessee, sending more than a billion gallons of coal ash slurry over nearby land and into the Emory River. The ash had chemicals including arsenic, lead, and mercury. Clean up costs could be as much as $1.2 billion. […]
Yee Huang | December 21, 2011
Whoever accused the EPA of running amok is surely chagrined by the news last week that the agency is behind (again) on another important rule, this one to regulate the stormwater that pollutes many waterbodies across the United States. Nancy Stoner, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, told a House Subcommittee last week that the […]
Catherine O'Neill | December 21, 2011
It was October 1990, George H.W. Bush was President, and the vote wasn’t close in either chamber: Congress overwhelmingly passed the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, including provisions requiring EPA to reduce mercury emissions from major sources such as power plants. Today the EPA at long last released its rule regulating mercury emissions from coal-fired […]