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Why should the public do anything about this? A US court found that the $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in Ecuador was procured by fraud, bribery, and rac

Why should the public do anything about this? A US court found that the $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in Ecuador was procured by fraud, bribery, and racketeering. From Wikipedia: > In 2018, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that the $9.5 billion judgment in Ecuador was marked by fraud and corruption and "should not be recognised or enforced by the courts of other States."[18][19][20] The amount Ecuador must pay to Chevron to compensate for damages is yet to be determined. The award found that Ecuador violated its obligations under international treaties, investment agreements and international law. The Court of Arbitration's findings of fraudulent activities included that the evidence placed before the Court is "the most thorough documentary, video, and testimonial proof of fraud ever put before an arbitral tribunal", that the plaintiffs championed by the film actually were engaged in blackmail and bribery of Ecuadorian judges. Their efforts triggered an order to appoint an "expert" friendly to the plaintiffs, that Ecuadorian government prosecutors "actively cooperated" with the plaintiffs, that the plaintiffs bribed the "experts" and ghostwrote their report and that the plaintiffs paid a retired judge to draft the acting judge's orders—and that the same judge solicited bribes that Chevron refused to pay. Donzinger was disbarred for his actionns: > In 2014, Kaplan ruled that the judgment in Ecuador was invalid because Donziger had achieved it through offenses against legal ethics, including racketeering, extortion, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, judicial bribery, coercion, witness tampering, and arranging for expert's reports to be ghostwritten Chevron is certainly not the world's nicest company (to put it kindly) but why should anybody lose sleep over a lawyer who a US court found engaged in illegal behavior to shake Chevron down? If anything, Donzinger is lucky that he wasn't prosecuted by the Southern District of New York.

tgv 5y ago
> the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague That's not a real court. That's one of those joke courts with judges appointed by the opposing parties and one who's appointed through a completely obscure process without outside supervision. Their livelihood depends on being chosen frequently. Judge Judy, but with larger stakes.
- LurkingPenguin 5y ago
  > That's not a real court. That's one of those joke courts... Right. It's not like the courts in Ecuador, which are "real" courts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ecuador https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ecuador
- 6510 5y ago
  The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization with 122 member states.
dvogel 5y ago
This approach precludes any justice from being achieved in countries permeated by corruption.
- LurkingPenguin 5y ago
  I don't follow. Chevron might be a rotten company, but multiple courts in countries that aren't banana republics have found convincing the evidence that Donziger engaged in illegal behavior to procure a verdict against it in Ecuador. If there was a legitimate case against Chevron for its past actions in Ecuador, it seems to me that Donziger has basically poisoned the well (no pun intended) and ensured that there will never be justice in any meaningful sense.
  - thanatos519 5y ago
    Are you saying that the United States isn't a banana republic?
    - LurkingPenguin 5y ago
      I live abroad and have traveled extensively (I've spent time on every continent except Antarctica). The US has plenty of problems and IMO is experiencing significant decline but if you ever get a chance, spend some time in countries that have poor corruption rankings. You might have a different perspective on what a "banana republic" actually looks like.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
k4c9x 5y ago
He wasn't prosecuted by the Southern District of New York because the case was flimsy AF. So the Chevron paid-for judge "took the rare step of appointing a private law firm, Seward & Kissel, to prosecute Mr. Donziger in the name of the U.S. government". This shit is corrupt as it gets.
- jahewson 5y ago
  Correction: Donziger giving the Ecuadorean judge a $500,000 bribe is as corrupt as it gets. The court was really, really pissed off with Donziger for ignoring it for 7 years. DA doesn’t care about contempt of court for a measly 6mo sentence. Don’t piss off the court!
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - dvdkhlng 5y ago
    The wikipedia page on Donziger [1] says that the main witness to those bribe accusations retracted his statement and gives [2] as a source for that retraction. It seems, that the US courts did not consider that retraction, though [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Donziger#Kaplan's_2014_ruling_in_the_RICO_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Donziger#Kaplan's_2014_... [2] https://www.vice.com/en/article/neye7z/chevrons-star-witness-admits-to-lying-in-the-amazon-pollution-case https://www.vice.com/en/article/neye7z/chevrons-star-witness...
    - gzer0 5y ago
      And if you read the second source you provide, it states the following: * "Guerra on many occasions has acted deceitfully and broken the law […] but that does not necessarily mean that it should be disregarded wholesale."* The star witness was playing both sides. It’s hard to take his word on anything. This was a judgement call. The judge decided that the evidence brought-forth was substantial enough in nature.
  - thebradbain 5y ago
mrpopo 5y ago
Not to worry about Chevron, because they did not give a single cent of the 9.5B$ to the Ecuador government, or indigenous communities who got toxic waste dumped in their drinking water, or Ecuadorians who discovered oil pools on their property. 30'000 people are represented in that case, with 1000 separate complaints. The case was already active before Donzinger and Chevron had already successfully bribed its way out of it. Also note that the conviction, while ruled "fraudulent", was not overturned. The judge who convicted Donzinger has requested him to hand over his laptop and phone to Chevron, obviously in an attempt to further discredit him. This is a poor imitation of justice, which should taint your blind trust in US courts.
- LurkingPenguin 5y ago
  > Not to worry about Chevron, because they did not give a single cent of the 9.5B$ to the Ecuador government, or indigenous communities who got toxic waste dumped in their drinking water, or Ecuadorians who discovered oil pools on their property. 30'000 people are represented in that case, with 1000 separate complaints. Chevron was in Ecuador through a subsidiary that had a partnership with Ecuador's state-owned oil company, which owned the majority (62.5%) of the partnership. Chevron's subsidiary completed environmental remediation required by the Ecuadorian government and signed a settlement agreement with the government in 1995 releasing it from all environmental claims. Oil extraction is an ugly, dirty business, and it's not uncommon for countries like Ecuador to sacrifice the health of their citizens so that state-owned oil companies and their international partners can profit, but given the facts above, maybe the Ecuadorians should look to their government and state-owned oil company for recourse? > The case was already active before Donzinger and Chevron had already successfully bribed its way out of it. That's a big claim. Any evidence to back it up? > Also note that the conviction, while ruled "fraudulent", was not overturned. Why would you expect a court in a banana republic plagued by corruption to overturn a fraudulent judgment? > The judge who convicted Donzinger has requested him to hand over his laptop and phone to Chevron, obviously in an attempt to further discredit him. No, he was ordered to turn over his devices so that Chevron could locate his assets. This sort of thing happens when you lose in court and the opposing party wants to collect on a damages award.
  - 5y ago

tgv 5y ago

> the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague That's not a real court. That's one of those joke courts with judges appointed by the opposing parties and one who's appointed through a completely obscure process without outside supervision. Their livelihood depends on being chosen frequently. Judge Judy, but with larger stakes.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago
> That's not a real court. That's one of those joke courts... Right. It's not like the courts in Ecuador, which are "real" courts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ecuador https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ecuador
6510 5y ago
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization with 122 member states.

dvogel 5y ago

This approach precludes any justice from being achieved in countries permeated by corruption.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago
I don't follow. Chevron might be a rotten company, but multiple courts in countries that aren't banana republics have found convincing the evidence that Donziger engaged in illegal behavior to procure a verdict against it in Ecuador. If there was a legitimate case against Chevron for its past actions in Ecuador, it seems to me that Donziger has basically poisoned the well (no pun intended) and ensured that there will never be justice in any meaningful sense.
- thanatos519 5y ago
  Are you saying that the United States isn't a banana republic?
  - LurkingPenguin 5y ago
    I live abroad and have traveled extensively (I've spent time on every continent except Antarctica). The US has plenty of problems and IMO is experiencing significant decline but if you ever get a chance, spend some time in countries that have poor corruption rankings. You might have a different perspective on what a "banana republic" actually looks like.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

k4c9x 5y ago

He wasn't prosecuted by the Southern District of New York because the case was flimsy AF. So the Chevron paid-for judge "took the rare step of appointing a private law firm, Seward & Kissel, to prosecute Mr. Donziger in the name of the U.S. government". This shit is corrupt as it gets.

jahewson 5y ago
Correction: Donziger giving the Ecuadorean judge a $500,000 bribe is as corrupt as it gets. The court was really, really pissed off with Donziger for ignoring it for 7 years. DA doesn’t care about contempt of court for a measly 6mo sentence. Don’t piss off the court!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- dvdkhlng 5y ago
  The wikipedia page on Donziger [1] says that the main witness to those bribe accusations retracted his statement and gives [2] as a source for that retraction. It seems, that the US courts did not consider that retraction, though [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Donziger#Kaplan's_2014_ruling_in_the_RICO_case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Donziger#Kaplan's_2014_... [2] https://www.vice.com/en/article/neye7z/chevrons-star-witness-admits-to-lying-in-the-amazon-pollution-case https://www.vice.com/en/article/neye7z/chevrons-star-witness...
  - gzer0 5y ago
    And if you read the second source you provide, it states the following: * "Guerra on many occasions has acted deceitfully and broken the law […] but that does not necessarily mean that it should be disregarded wholesale."* The star witness was playing both sides. It’s hard to take his word on anything. This was a judgement call. The judge decided that the evidence brought-forth was substantial enough in nature.
- thebradbain 5y ago

mrpopo 5y ago

Not to worry about Chevron, because they did not give a single cent of the 9.5B$ to the Ecuador government, or indigenous communities who got toxic waste dumped in their drinking water, or Ecuadorians who discovered oil pools on their property. 30'000 people are represented in that case, with 1000 separate complaints. The case was already active before Donzinger and Chevron had already successfully bribed its way out of it. Also note that the conviction, while ruled "fraudulent", was not overturned. The judge who convicted Donzinger has requested him to hand over his laptop and phone to Chevron, obviously in an attempt to further discredit him. This is a poor imitation of justice, which should taint your blind trust in US courts.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago
> Not to worry about Chevron, because they did not give a single cent of the 9.5B$ to the Ecuador government, or indigenous communities who got toxic waste dumped in their drinking water, or Ecuadorians who discovered oil pools on their property. 30'000 people are represented in that case, with 1000 separate complaints. Chevron was in Ecuador through a subsidiary that had a partnership with Ecuador's state-owned oil company, which owned the majority (62.5%) of the partnership. Chevron's subsidiary completed environmental remediation required by the Ecuadorian government and signed a settlement agreement with the government in 1995 releasing it from all environmental claims. Oil extraction is an ugly, dirty business, and it's not uncommon for countries like Ecuador to sacrifice the health of their citizens so that state-owned oil companies and their international partners can profit, but given the facts above, maybe the Ecuadorians should look to their government and state-owned oil company for recourse? > The case was already active before Donzinger and Chevron had already successfully bribed its way out of it. That's a big claim. Any evidence to back it up? > Also note that the conviction, while ruled "fraudulent", was not overturned. Why would you expect a court in a banana republic plagued by corruption to overturn a fraudulent judgment? > The judge who convicted Donzinger has requested him to hand over his laptop and phone to Chevron, obviously in an attempt to further discredit him. No, he was ordered to turn over his devices so that Chevron could locate his assets. This sort of thing happens when you lose in court and the opposing party wants to collect on a damages award.
- 5y ago