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Article

11 Sep 2017

Author:
Rex Weyler, Deep Green for Intercontinental Cry

Univ. of Toronto Faculty of Law files “friends of the court” brief supporting plaintiffs in Chevron case before Canadian courts

“Chevron's amazon Chernobyl case moves to Canada” - September 9, 2017

After perpetrating what is probably the worst oil-related catastrophe on Earth -- a 20-thousand-hectare death zone in Ecuador, known as the “Amazon Chernobyl” -- Chevron Corporation has spent two decades and a billion dollars trying to avoid responsibility. In 2011, indigenous and peasant villagers won a $9.5-billion compensation judgment in Ecuador. Chevron, despite accepting jurisdiction in Ecuador to avoid a U.S. jury trial, refused to pay. The company sold its assets in Ecuador to avoid seizure, left the country, and threatened the victims with a "lifetime of litigation" if they pursued compensation. The 30,000 plaintiffs, however, have not given up. The case now moves to Canada, where Chevron holds assets, and where the victims hope, at last, to gain justice…The International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law has filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the villagers' rights to pursue Chevron’s assets in Canada. Lawyers for the indigenous and peasant villagers of Ecuador have not been intimidated by 24 years of attacks and dirty tricks by Chevron and its agents. They vow to endure until they collect compensation for the victims and the cost of restoring the Amazon rainforest…