An Ecuadorean court dealt the plaintiffs a setback Tuesday in a $27 billion environmental contamination lawsuit against Chevron Corp., accepting the presiding judge's request to be removed from the case. Judge Juan Evangelista Nunez asked to be recused earlier this month so the government could investigate Chevron's allegations that he was involved in a bribery scheme. A regional court in the northern state of Sucumbios accepted Nunez's request Tuesday…A verdict had been expected this year, but [plaintiffs’ lead attorney Pablo] Fajardo told The Associated Press it will take Nunez's replacement "four to five months to get to know a case that has some 17,000 documents." [also refers to Texaco, Petroecuador]