Nigerian Times

Chevron is trying to wriggle out of paying for damages for decades of oil pollution in Ecuador. Photo Credit: The Minority Report Statement on Chevron's appeal today of the $18 billion judgment in Ecuador: Karen Hinton, U.S. spokesperson for the Ecuadorians, said: "For almost two decades, Chevron has stood in the way of a comprehensive cleanup of billions of gallons of crude oil and toxic waste water it deliberately dumped into the pristine rainforest. Thousands of people have died or have suffered from illnesses as the oil giant and its legions of lawyers fought to distract attention from the overwhelming evidence against the company. Chevron has always believed that Ecuador's many laws prohibiting environmental contamination should not apply to the company's misconduct. "In its latest notice of appeal, Chevron again seeks special treatment not afforded any other litigant under Ecuadorian law. Chevron's request that a bond requirement be waived would force ...

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan Judge Lewis A. Kaplan continues to slide in Chevron's farcical "declaratory judgment" trial currently scheduled for November 14, 2011. We have provided the copies of two important motions that were filed in the SDNY before Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. The motions demonstrate how Judge Kaplan is failing to provide a fair trial which comports with basic notions of due process or fairness. The first motion, filed by the Ecuadorian plaintiffs who recently won an $18.2 billion judgment against Chevron for systematically poisoning Ecuador's Amazon, systematically demonstrates how Judge Kaplan's expedited schedule for the trial is not only "unfair to the Ecuadorian plaintiffs but would also not be consistent with procedures compatible with due process." The motion asks Judge Kaplan to continue the trial so that the Ecuadorian plaintiffs will have a reasonable amount of time to prepare a proper defense to Chevron's baseless allegat...