Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Chevron Ecuador Lawsuit News

DC Circ. Won’t Rehear $106M Chevron Award In Ecuador Row – Law360

The D.C. Circuit won’t reconsider its ruling that Ecuador owes Chevron and Texaco a $106 million arbitration award stemming from a decades-old dispute alleging the country misappropriated Chevron’s crude oil, as the court denied Ecuador’s requests for both a panel and an en banc rehearing. Read more>>

Chevron lawsuit Donziger

The D.C. Circuit won’t reconsider its ruling that Ecuador owes Chevron and Texaco a $106 million arbitration award stemming from a decades-old dispute alleging the country misappropriated Chevron’s crude oil, as the court denied Ecuador’s requests for both a panel and an en banc rehearing.

In brief, one-sentence orders, the court denied both petitions, which were filed on Sept. 3, almost a month after the court upheld the D.C. federal court’s decision in favor of the two energy companies, rejecting Ecuador’s claim that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction to decide the matter.

Representatives for Ecuador and Texaco Petroleum could not be reached for comment Monday. A representative of Chevron Corp. said the company was pleased with the decision.

Ecuador had claimed that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which generally provides immunity for foreign states from U.S. jurisdiction, and the New York Convention, one of the key instruments in international arbitration, prevented the U.S. from confirming the award. The country previously challenged the award in the Dutch court system, which upheld the award on every level.

The key to U.S. jurisdiction was a bilateral investment treaty that took effect in 1997. Under this treaty, Ecuador said American investors could arbitrate disputes involving investments that existed on or after the treaty’s effective date, the court said in its August decision.

Chevron followed proper procedures to request arbitration, the judges said at the time, adding that four courts have also considered and rejected Ecuador’s arguments, giving them no reason to conclude that so many others had ruled in error.

The disagreement dates back to 1973, when Chevron and Ecuador agreed that the company could use the country’s oil fields if it provided below market-rate oil to the government. As the deal’s 1992 expiration date approached, the parties were unable to agree to an extension and Chevron filed several breach of contract suits against Ecuador.

They agreed to end their relationship in 1995 but continue the lawsuits, and in 2006, Chevron began international arbitration, claiming Ecuador had violated the 1997 treaty by not resolving the suits in a timely fashion.

This kicked off the legal disputes leading up to the August decision.

The original award, handed down in 2011, was $96.4 million, but as of June 2014, including post-award interest, the total had increased to about $106 million.

Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland and Circuit Judges Sri Srinivasan and Robert L. Wilkins denied Ecuador’s petition for panel rehearing.

Garland, Srinivasan, Wilkins and Circuit Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Judith W. Rogers, David S. Tatel, Janice Rogers Brown, Thomas B. Griffith, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Patricia A. Millett and Cornelia T.L. Pillard denied Ecuador’s petition for en banc rehearing, though the court noted Henderson and Griffith didn’t participate in the matter.

Ecuador is represented by Mark N. Bravin, Eric M. Goldstein and Eric T. Werlinger of Winston & Strawn LLP.

Chevron and Texaco are represented by Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, Brian R. Callanan, James P. Sullivan, Brian A. White and Caline Mouawad of King & Spalding LLP.

The case is Chevron Corp., et al., v. The Republic of Ecuador, case number 13-7103, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

—————-

To view the original story on Law360, click here.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Archives

TRENDING

#Factsmatter: An international arbitration panel found ‘no cogent evidence’ supporting #Ecuador’s claim that #Texaco failed to comply with terms of remediation in #Amazon. https://t.co/7TqQ6sJhik
The @WSJ sums this case up nicely, “[Steven Donziger] and his team fabricated evidence, promised $500,000 to an #Ecuadorean judge to rule in their favor, ghostwrote much of the final verdict and took other actions that ‘perverted’ the course of #justice. Mr. Donziger disputes the… https://t.co/soQ1qreULA
Shameless. Disbarred and convicted of criminal contempt of court for bribing an Ecuadorian judge in an attempted extortion scheme, @SDonziger is nonetheless accepting invitations to speak at #climate rallies. Read more about this adjudicated racketeer: https://t.co/5eac0lRmN7
Sworn testimony: While Texaco met its environmental obligations in the Amazon, #Ecuador’s national oil company did “absolutely nothing” to address its own remediation in the area. #FactsMatter:
https://t.co/7TqQ6sJhik
DENIED: @SCOTUS rejects hearing case of Steven Donziger, who bribed Ecuadorian judge in failed effort to bilk Chevron for billions of dollars. https://t.co/zT0dlozk5R

You May Also Like

Chevron Ecuador Blog Posts

1. Steven Donziger Is an Adjudicated Racketeer. The U.S. District...

News & Updates

Steven Donziger is the best example of how a handful...

News & Updates

Disbarred lawyer Steven Donziger likes to present himself to the...

Chevron Ecuador Lawsuit News

A lawsuit against oil companies reflects progressive attempts to criminalize...