Judge Declines to Stay Arbitration in Chevron-Ecuador Case

Thursday, Mar. 11th 2010

On Thursday, a U.S. judge granted Chevron’s motion to dismiss the government of Ecuador’s attempt to block the company’s international arbitration claim from proceeding. In his decision, Judge Sand declined to stay international arbitration in a dispute between Ecuador’s government and Chevron. Stating in his ruling that, “a stay of arbitration is inappropriate.”

Chevron is pleased that the Bilateral Investment Treaty arbitration can proceed.  Chevron is seeking to hold Ecuador and its government owned oil company, Petroecuador, to the promise they made to complete the environmental cleanup of the Amazon.

Texaco Petroleum did its share of the cleanup as promised, and Petroecuador now needs to own up to its promises and address the environmental problems wrongly being blamed on Chevron.

Only the international arbitration panel can bring Ecuador to the table and compel Petroecuador to do the right thing and clean up its oil fields. With today’s decision, we are one step closer to making that a reality.

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Important First Steps – Chevron and Rainforest Action Network Meet, Share Common Ground

Thursday, Mar. 4th 2010

This past Tuesday, executives from Chevron hosted a meeting in San Ramon including Cofan representative Emergildo Criollo and advocates from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) as well as Amazon Watch.  Following the meeting, Chevron’s Manager of Global Issues and Policy, Silvia Garrigo posted the following comment to RAN’s blog:

“This is Silvia Garrigo from Chevron.  I want to thank RAN for the opportunity yesterday to meet with Emergildo, Maria, and Mitch.  Spending an hour together in our headquarters and hearing Emergildo’s story was a valuable experience.  We can all agree that his personal story is moving and heartfelt.  And we can all agree that there are unacceptable environmental conditions in Ecuador’s Amazon.  While there may be many areas where we do not agree, it is important for us to listen to each other.  We believe RAN and Chevron can share common ground on some important points.  Thank you again for meeting with us.  We look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue.”

Chevron views Tuesday’s meeting as an important first step towards building trust.  It is our hope that subsequent meetings can move future conversations past rhetoric and towards a constructive dialogue about solutions.

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Tapes Showing Judicial Misconduct and $3 Million Bribery Scheme Proven Authentic

Tuesday, Mar. 2nd 2010

An independent expert working for Ecuador’s Judiciary Council has filed a report stating that the videotapes Chevron provided to the government of Ecuador and the U.S. Department of Justice are authentic and unaltered.

In late August of last year, it was revealed on video that Judge Juan Núñez, who was then presiding over the lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador, had prejudged the case (even though evidence was still being submitted and final arguments had not been held) and may be involved in a $3 million bribery scheme.

The judge was willing to talk about his pending decision with businessmen (Hansen) seeking post-verdict remediation contracts. The following is a transcript of that conversation:

- Núñez: “Any other questions for me as a judge?”

- Hansen: “Oh no, I, I know clearly how it is, you say, Chevron is the guilty party?”

- Núñez: “Yes Sir.”

- Hansen: “And the, the, the act (decision) is October or November of this year?”

- Núñez: “Yes Sir.”

- Hansen: “And it’s …?”

- Núñez: “No later than January.”

- Hansen: “January 2010. And the money is twenty-seven (billion dollars)?”

- Núñez: “It might be less, and it might be more.”

After analyzing the videos from which this conversation was transcribed, the expert found that:

  1. The videos were authentic and showed no evidence whatsoever of any kind of manipulation.
  2. The videos were proven to a scientific certainty to contain the unaltered voices of purported government officials and others who participated in the meetings.

The expert report puts to rest the false claims that the plaintiffs’ lawyers and Judge Núñez himself have made in attempts to cover up this abuse of the judicial system. Judge Núñez insisted to the Wall Street Journal that he could “see things that have been erased” and that someone “cut and pasted certain things.”

In calling into question the authenticity of the video tapes, the plaintiffs’ representatives had also insisted that the tapes had been digitally altered.

The expert’s report further emphasizes the improper conduct on the part of Judge Núñez as well as individuals affiliated with Ecuador’s ruling political party. To date, Judge Núñez has not been sanctioned for his misconduct and his prior rulings in the Chevron lawsuit remain part of the record.

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