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Ecuador Update: One Door Shuts, Another Opens, and Chevron Lists Its Law Firms—All 39 of Them
Last week, after an intermediate Ecuadorian appellate court affirmed last year's $18 billion judgment against Chevron over oil pollution in the Amazon, we noted that Chevron had three near-term strategies to halt enforcement by the Ecuadorian plaintiffs. Well, two down, one to go.The first option failed on January 6, when Manhattan federal district court judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Chevron's attempt to get a preemptive order to attach any assets the plaintiffs might collect. Then, on January 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Chevron's bid for a second shot at restoring Judge Kaplan's previous decision to enjoin the plaintiffs from enforcing the Ecuadorian judgment.In a brief order, the Second Circuit denied a motion by Chevron to reargue the issue and to vacate the appellate court's September decision canceling Judge Kaplan's injunction...In the near term that leaves Chevron angling to ensure that its ongoing arbitration against Ecuador in The Hague will stop the $18 billion judgment from becoming final and enforceable.