On Feb. 14 the Ecuadorian court hearing the epic Amazon pollution litigation against Chevron Corporation rendered a judgment of $18 billion, counting penalties. It was a huge win for the indigenous plaintiffs, but Chevron had already laid the groundwork for a series of defense moves designed to make the victory Pyrrhic.
In the two weeks before the judgment, Chevron raised claims of civil racketeering against the plaintiffs and their lawyers and convinced Manhattan federal district court judge Lewis Kaplan to restrain them from enforcing an Ecuador judgment. While it was making these tactical maneuvers in federal court, Chevron at the same time prevailed on international arbitrators to order Ecuador not to advance enforcement.
