Canadian Court Rejects Attempt to Enforce Fraudulent Ecuadorian Judgment Against Chevron Subsidiary
January 20 2017 - 4:31PM
Business Wire
A Canadian court has ruled that the fraudulent Ecuadorian
judgment against Chevron Corporation cannot be enforced against
Chevron Canada Limited, an indirect subsidiary. The court found
that Chevron Canada Limited is a separate entity from Chevron
Corporation, not a party to the Ecuadorian lawsuit and not a debtor
to the judgment. In its decision, the court stated, “Chevron
[Corporation] and Chevron Canada are separate legal entities with
separate rights and obligations.” As a result, the court found that
“plaintiffs’ claim cannot succeed against Chevron Canada” and
dismissed the claim against it.
In a related ruling, the court also rejected an attempt by the
plaintiffs to prohibit Chevron Corporation from using the extensive
evidence of fraud committed by the plaintiffs as part of the
company’s defense against the recognition and enforcement action in
Canada.
“Once again, the plaintiffs’ attempts to enforce their
fraudulent judgment have been rebuked,” said R. Hewitt Pate, vice
president and general counsel, Chevron Corporation. “We are
confident that any jurisdiction that examines the facts of this
case and the misconduct committed by the plaintiffs will find the
Ecuadorian judgment illegitimate and unenforceable.”
In its decision, the Canadian court referenced the 2014 U.S.
federal court decision, which found that a judgment issued against
Chevron Corporation by a court in Ecuador was the product of fraud
and racketeering activity, including extortion, money laundering,
wire fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. The U.S.
court also prohibited the Ecuadorian judgment from being enforced
in the United States. This decision was unanimously
affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit in 2016, which stated that Donziger and his team engaged in
a "parade of corrupt actions…including coercion, fraud and
bribery."
Because Chevron Corporation has no assets in Ecuador, the
plaintiffs, led by American attorney Steven Donziger, are
attempting to enforce the fraudulent judgment in other
jurisdictions, including Canada, Argentina and Brazil. In Canada,
Donziger and his team were seeking to enforce the judgment against
both Chevron Corporation, which has no assets in Canada, and
Chevron Canada Limited, which is not a party to the Ecuadorian
lawsuit. Today’s decision prevents them from pursuing Chevron
Canada Limited’s assets.
The Ecuadorian judgment is being questioned in other
jurisdictions as well. In 2015, Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s
Office issued a recommendation to the country’s Superior Court of
Justice that the judgment not be recognized for enforcement,
finding that it was “issued irregularly, especially under
uncontested acts of corruption” and that recognizing it would
violate Brazilian and “international public order.” Similarly, in
2016, Argentina's public prosecutor’s office recommended that
its National Court reject the effort to recognize the
Ecuadorian judgment in that country.
Chevron Corporation is one of the world's leading integrated
energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business
worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the
energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports
crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes
transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells
petrochemicals and additives; generates power; and develops and
deploys technologies that enhance business value in every aspect of
the company's operations. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif.
More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.
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Chevron CorporationMorgan Crinklaw, 925-842-4204
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