EarthRights International Criticizes Chevron's "Gamesmanship" Before U.S. Federal Judge

[Judi Lynn]

Amazon Defense Coalition: Environmental Groups Line Up Against Chevron Over Company's Attempt to Block Ecuador Clean-up
EarthRights International Criticizes Chevron's "Gamesmanship" Before U.S. Federal Judge

NEW YORK, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In legal briefs, two prominent U.S. environmental law groups are criticizing Chevron's "unprecedented" attempt to use U.S. courts to try to block its legal obligation to pay clean-up costs in Ecuador for contaminating the Amazon rainforest.

Ecuadorian indigenous plaintiffs won an $18 billion judgment against Chevron in February after an eight-year trial where undisputed evidence demonstrated that the oil giant discharged billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest, decimating indigenous groups and causing an outbreak of cancer. Chevron's damage to Ecuador's rainforest dwarfs the impact of BP's Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs.

The law groups lining up against Chevron include the Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC) and EarthRights International. Both have asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to reverse an injunction issued by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan that purports to block the Ecuadorians from enforcing their judgment around the world, even in countries where U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction.

In anticipation of an adverse judgment in Ecuador, Chevron sold its assets in the country and forced the plaintiffs to seek to collect any final judgment in the many nations where the oil giant operates.

More:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-defense-coalition-environmental-groups-line-up-against-chevron-over-companys-attempt-to-block--ecuador-clean-up-125362298.html

Environment/Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x304061