Nigerian Times

~ By Marco Simon, Legal Director, Earth Rights International Since February, Chevron has been facing what is probably the largest environmental judgment in history-- an $8 billion award from an Ecuadorian court for contaminating the Ecuadorian Amazon. (That judgment is now available in English, below, courtesy of Chevron.) They've gone on the offensive against this judgment on two fronts. But they need to win not just these cases, but every other one that the plaintiffs might file. The plaintiffs' strategy has become known through the release of the so-called "Invictus" memo. That memo, drafted by law firm Patton Boggs for the Ecuadorian plaintiffs, outlines a global enforcement strategy. The Ecuadorians can go after Chevron in the US, but they can also try to enforce the judgment in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and dozens of other countries where Chevron operates or has assets. Not surprisingly, Chevron is working hard to prevent that. Chevron's first a...

Chevron Scrubs Lawsuit to Block Ecuador Award ~ By Adam Klasfeld MANHATTAN (CN) April 22 - With little fanfare, Chevron dropped a charge from their racketeering lawsuit against an attorney who helped engineer an environmental case that resulted in an $18 billion judgment against the company in Ecuador. As the parties are gearing up for a November trial in Manhattan to block the award, Chevron filed a proposed amended complaint on Thursday that removes attorney Steven Donziger as a party to one of the counts. Donziger, however, is not too happy about the change, as it could prevent him from participating in a trial to determine whether the judgment he secured is enforceable. Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson told Courthouse News that it made the change because Donziger does not "have a dog in that fight." He added that the Ecuadoreans can seek any lawyer they want to defend the judgment. After Chevron filed the amended complaint, a spokeswoman for Donziger...