Appeals Court Won't Block Ecuadoreans' $18B Chevron Win
Appeals Court Won't Block Ecuadoreans' $18B Chevron Win
MANHATTAN (CN) - The 2nd Circuit refused again to block indigenous Ecuadoreans from collecting on an $18.2 billion judgment against Chevron for a massive oil contamination in the Amazon.
The Delaware-based oil giant has been piling up defeats in its quest to discredit the lodestar award a Lago Agrio, Ecuador, court delivered on Feb. 14, 2011, after 18 years of bitter litigation.
Faced with the multibillion-dollar judgment last year, Chevron launched a three-pronged counterattack, including an appeal in Ecuador, arbitration at The Hague and an anti-racketeering suit in Manhattan federal court.
After some successes in New York's Southern District, the 2nd Circuit put a halt to a trial on whether to permanently block the Ecuadoreans from collecting the award. The federal appeals court also struck down an existing preliminary injunction.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/01/20/43218.htm