Chevron Loses Bid to Prevent Asset Collection
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 10 January 2012 |
A United States judge has denied Chevron’s efforts to block the seizure of assets related to its environmental damage case in Ecuador. The oil company sought a judgement to stop authorities from collecting the $18bn fine levied by an Ecuadorian court and “dissipating” assets before allegations of corruption in the case are fully investigated.
“Chevron has made no effort to quantify the damages it alleged has been sustained to date, let alone to support any damage claim with evidence,” Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a judgement, saying that the request could be renewed at a later date. Chevron recently failed in an effort to overturn the fine in Ecuadorian court, but vowed to continue its fight against the “illegitimate” judgement.
In a statement, Chevron said it appreciated the prompt response from the court. “The court decided the motion on very narrow grounds and did not question the strength of Chevron’s fraud evidence. Clearly the court has left the door open to a future attachment filing. We look forward to the balance of our racketeering case proceeding and remain committed to holding the plaintiffs’ lawyers accountable for their misconduct,” added the statement.
PetrolWorld 10012012
|
