Argentine Appeals Court Rejects Fraudulent Ecuadorian Judgment Against Chevron
05 Julio 2018 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
An appeals court in Argentina has rejected an attempt to enforce
a fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron Corporation,
making Argentina the latest country where courts have dismissed the
judgment found by U.S. courts to have been obtained through
racketeering and corruption.
The three-judge panel from the Chamber of Appeals in Buenos
Aires unanimously dismissed the action against Chevron Corporation
for lack of jurisdiction. The Chamber of Appeals concluded that
Chevron Corporation has no legal presence or assets in Argentina
and that the Ecuadorian judgment cannot be enforced against Chevron
Argentina SRL and other indirect local subsidiaries because they
are separate legal entities with no connection to the Ecuadorian
case. In so ruling, the Chamber of Appeals agreed with the
reasoning of the lower court judge’s decision and the
recommendation from the Argentinean prosecutor’s office.
“The local courts lack international jurisdiction to hear the
main claim because there is no reasonable point of connection
between the case and the forum,” the Chamber of Appeals said in its
decision on July 3. The court added that the absence of this point
of connection prevents Argentinean courts from recognizing or
enforcing the Ecuadorian judgment.
“Just weeks after favorable court decisions in Brazil, Canada,
and Gibraltar, the extortion scheme against Chevron continues to
collapse,” said R. Hewitt Pate, vice president and general counsel,
Chevron Corporation. “Argentina’s court of appeals has tossed out
this case, and any court that respects the rule of law should do
the same.”
In 2014, a U.S. federal court found that the judgment issued
against Chevron Corporation by a court in Ecuador was the product
of bribery, extortion, money laundering, wire fraud, witness
tampering and obstruction of justice. The U.S. court also
prohibited enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment in the United
States and prohibited the wrongdoers from profiting from the
judgment anywhere in the world. The U.S. federal court judgment is
now final after having been unanimously affirmed by the U.S. court
of appeals and denied review by the Supreme Court.
Since Chevron Corporation has never had any assets in Ecuador,
the plaintiffs, led by American lawyer Steven Donziger, are
attempting to enforce the Ecuadorian judgment in other
jurisdictions.
The Chamber of Appeals found the appellants liable for the cost
of the appeal.
“Chevron will continue to hold those attempting to profit from
this fraudulent scheme accountable,” Pate said.
Since the extent of the fraud was revealed, more than a dozen
former insiders and allies have abandoned Donziger and his scheme,
including his former co-counsel, environmental consultants,
funders, investors, employees and Ecuadorian collaborators.
Any current environmental conditions in the former concession
area in Ecuador are the exclusive responsibility of the Republic of
Ecuador and its national oil company. Chevron Corporation has never
operated in Ecuador. An indirect subsidiary of Texaco Inc. properly
carried out a government-approved and supervised environmental
remediation program in Ecuador after the government took over its
minority interest in 1990. Ecuador’s national oil company has been
the exclusive owner and operator for the past 26 years,
significantly expanding operations during that period.
Last month, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice ended the
Ecuadorian plaintiffs’ attempt to extend their fraud to Brazil,
declaring final its decision last November to dismiss the
enforcement action in that country. In May, the Ontario Court of
Appeal affirmed a lower court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiffs’
enforcement action against Chevron Canada Ltd., an indirect
subsidiary. Also in May, the Supreme Court of Gibraltar issued a
judgment against plaintiffs’ lead Ecuadorian lawyer and
representatives for their role in procuring and attempting to
enforce the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment, ordering them to pay
Chevron $38 million in damages.
See a translation of the Chamber of Appeals decision here.
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading integrated
energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business
worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the
energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports
crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes
transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells
petrochemicals and additives; generates power; and develops and
deploys technologies that enhance business value in every aspect of
the company's operations. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif.
More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.
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