Scholars Ask Appellate Court to Dissolve Order of Judge Lewis A. Kaplan
International Law Scholars Say Attempt by U.S. Judge to Block $18 Billion Court Judgment Against Chevron “Unlawful” and “Futile” Scholars Ask Appellate Court to Dissolve Order of Judge Lewis A. Kaplan New York, New York (June 13, 2011) – A group of 16 international law scholars have asked a federal appeals court in New York to overturn what they say is a U.S. trial court’s “futile” and unlawful injunction that purports to prohibit foreign citizens from Ecuador from collecting an $18 billion judgment against Chevron in courts around the world. The scholars described the injunction, issued by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, as a “futile act” that “is much more likely to antagonize the courts of other states” than be treated as persuasive authority, as Kaplan has claimed. They also described the injunction as “breathtaking in its attempts to arrogate a world-wide and exclusive jurisdiction in this case” to a U.S. court without any legal authority to back it up. The scholars filed an amicus brie...