The Lago Agrio plaintiffs issued the following statement on the ruling from the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbios in Lago Agrio, Ecuador that upholds the $18 billion lower court damage award issued in February against Chevron for the company's intentional contamination of the Ecuadorian rainforest: "The decision by an independent appellate court…is based on overwhelming scientific evidence presented at trial that proved Chevron deliberately dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste that poisoned the water supply of the Amazon rainforest, decimating indigenous groups and causing an outbreak of cancers and other diseases that continue to threaten thousands of innocent lives…”