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Lawyer who sued Chevron in excess of Ecuador air pollution located guilty of contempt
Lawyer Steven Donziger, who won a multi-billion greenback judgment from Chevron on behalf of Ecuadorian villagers, speaks to supporters with Singer Roger Waters and actor Susan Sarandon, as he arrives for his prison contempt path at the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in the Manhattan borough of New York Town, New York, U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) – A disbarred American law firm, who used a lot more than two many years battling Chevron Corp (CVX.N) over air pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest, was observed guilty on Monday of legal contempt rates stemming from a lawsuit brought by the oil enterprise.
U.S. District Decide Loretta Preska in Manhattan dominated that Steven Donziger “frequently and willfully” defied court docket orders, which include by failing to change around his personal computer, telephones and other digital equipment.
Monday’s ruling followed a five-working day trial held in Could with no jury.
Martin Garbus, a lawyer for Donziger, explained he envisioned the selection to be reversed on attraction.
Legal professionals for the prosecution and Chevron associates did not promptly respond to requests for comment.
Donziger has formerly stated the prices violated his legal rights to owing approach less than the U.S. Constitution.
The contempt case is the most recent twist in a very long-functioning struggle stemming from Donziger’s illustration of villagers in Ecuador’s Lago Agrio region, who sought to maintain Chevron liable for h2o and soil contamination in the jungle in between 1964 and 1992.
Chevron has explained Texaco, which was obtained by Chevron, cleaned up the pollution and point out-owned Petroecuador was predominantly dependable for the contamination.
Donziger gained a $9.5 billion judgment versus Chevron in an Ecuadorian court in 2011. But the firm sued Donziger in Manhattan federal court docket afterwards that year, professing he and his associates pressured the presiding decide in Ecuador.
U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan in 2014 ruled in favor of Chevron, expressing the Ecuadorian judgment experienced been secured as a result of bribery, fraud and extortion.
Chevron sought to recoup cash Donziger reaped in the aftermath of the judgment, and Donziger was purchased to turn over particular digital equipment to the company’s forensic authorities.
When he refused, the decide in the civil scenario charged him in 2019 with prison contempt.
The Harvard-trained attorney was disbarred by a condition appeals court docket in New York very last yr.
Reporting by Sebastien Malo
Editing by Joe Bavier
