I’m hearing this morning that Chevron filed court documents saying they were “injured” by this cartoon I did in conjunction with Amazon Watch. (I’ll post more info as soon as I get the court docs or other documentation.) Watch the cartoon for the more entertaining version, but the nutshell version is this: Chevron was sued by villagers in Ecuador for leaving toxic waste all over the jungle. Chevron lost the case and was hit with a multi-billion dollar judgment. Chevron appealed and lost that, too. Then, Chevron filed RICO charges against the villagers and the lead attorney on the case. You know, accusing them of racketeering and being involved in a huge conspiracy to clean up the jungle extort money from Chevron. No WONDER the Chevron lawyers make the big bucks! Very creative guys.
Oh, and for bonus points, guess who just hired the lead Chevron lawyer to help him out of a certain bridge-related jam? That’s right, this guy.
Unbelievable.
Don’t know if the case is being tried in the US, but if it were, the onus would be on Chevron to first off, prove they were “injured” in some way. Secondly, they would have to convince the court that any other reasonable person would see it their way.
My guess it they’re going to try and have the case heard in a foreign country other than the US or Ecuador where the mood isn’t so anti-oil spill. Question is, where would that be?
Remember the ancient curse: “May your life be filled with lawyers”.
Mr. Fiore gives a lopsided view of the Chevron case
here are couple of links that provide other information
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2013/04/12/plaintiffs-experts-say-no-evidence-for-billions-in-damages-against-chevron/
http://nypost.com/2013/10/14/chevrons-landmark-lawsuit-exposes-greenmail/
Hi Peter,
Actually, Mark’s presentation of the case is dead on. As someone who has lived with it (and Chevron’s pressure tactics) – the cartoon is eerily accurate. Chevron did every one of the things he mentions and would have done more if they could have gotten away with it.
Chevron was also unable to provide ANY evidence of fraud, as well. They trumped up lots, but all they actually offered was a triple here say statement from an admitted liar and corrupt judge.
It would have been laughed out of court anywhere but in front of Kaplan.
And the tactics used – the violations of free speech and the 1st amendment are a dangerous precedent.
See what EarthRights International had to say about it:
http://www.earthrights.org/blog/corporate-rights-or-human-rights
http://www.earthrights.org/blog/whose-first-amendment-rights-are-these-anyway
Chevron admitted to the crime in Ecuador – now they will try anything to get away with not paying to clean up – including labeling Fiore as part of a fake “conspiracy”.