Article
Chevron to fight Ecuador ruling
Chevron vowed to continue to fight an $18bn damages ruling for pollution in Ecuador after an appeals court this week upheld a 2011 ruling against the oil major. “After 18 years of battle and 40 years of suffering, finally there will be justice and hopefully repair to the Amazon,” said Pablo Fajardo, lawyer for the plaintiffs.However, Mr Fajardo acknowledged there was “still a long way to go” in enforcing the ruling...Chevron still has the right to appeal to Ecuador’s supreme court, which has the option of suspending the ruling for the duration of its deliberations and imposing a bond on the company...The company, which assumed responsibility for the case when it bought out Texaco in 2001, said the ruling was not enforceable in “any court that observes the rule of law”. This is “another glaring example of the politicisation and corruption of Ecuador’s judiciary that has plagued this fraudulent case from the start,” it said. Mr Fajardo said his team would seek enforcement orders in countries where Chevron has assets, but refused to reveal which country may be first.“It’s not going to be easy to enforce this judgment, but even if hell freezes over we’re going to do it,” Mr Fajardo said.[also refers to Texaco]