A unanimous panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered the maker of a documentary about a $27 billion environmental damage suit in Ecuador against Chevron Corp. to turn over outtakes from his film. The 2nd Circuit’s order, however, narrowed the scope of subpoenas issued by Southern District of New York Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. Kaplan had directed filmmaker Joseph A. Berlinger to turn over to Chevron 600 pieces of footage that were not included in his film “Crude.”
As foreshadowed in oral argument Wednesday, the appellate panel limited the outtakes to be produced to those depicting the attorney for the plaintiffs in the Ecuadorian environmental suit, Steven Donziger; private or court-appointed experts in the suit or former or present Ecuadorian government officials. The panel, consisting of Judges Pierre N. Leval, Peter W. Hall and Barrington D. Parker, ordered Berlinger to turn over the required outtakes “forthwith,” and said an opinion would follow.
