For years, Chevron Corp. has insisted a sprawling environmental-pollution lawsuit in Ecuador initiated by a Philadelphia law firm that resulted in a $19 billion judgment was riddled with fraud.
Now, the company is trying to prove its case in a closely watched civil trial in federal district court in New York that could establish new limits on when and where U.S. companies can be sued over claims they caused environmental harm in foreign jurisdictions.
Chevron has sued some of the lawyers and others on the plaintiffs’ team, saying they doctored one expert-witness report, surreptitiously authored the findings of a court-appointed expert awarding their clients billions, and bribed a judge, among other improper and illegal acts. The company seeks a court order barring enforcement of the judgment.
