lawyer who won chevron reports prison

Can a disbarred lawyer win a $9 billion Chevron case?

NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - A divided U.S. appeals court on Wednesday upheld the criminal contempt conviction of a disbarred lawyer who won but was unable to collect a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron Corp for polluting the Ecuadorian rainforest.

What is the Donziger v Chevron settlement?

In 2011, Donziger won an $18 billion settlement against Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Indigenous people in Ecuador for dumping 16 billion gallons of oil into their ancestral land in the Amazon.

Did Chevron ‘capture’ judge?

Chevron has “captured” the judge, Donziger said, and now the oil company seems omnipresent in his fate.

Why did Steve Jobs Sue Chevron?

The case stems from Steve’s role in suing Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Amazonian Indigenous people for dumping 16 billion gallons of oil into their ancestral land in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ten years ago, Ecuador’s Supreme Court ordered Chevron to pay $18 billion.

What happened to Steven Donziger?

On July 26, 2021, Donziger was found guilty on all six contempt charges, and Preska sentenced him to the maximum of six months in prison. Chevron's win against Donziger was not just acquired through shady legal means—although executing their imprisonment of Donziger required hundreds of lawyers from 60 firms.

Who won the Chevron Ecuador case?

Steven Donziger, the environmental and human rights lawyer who won a $9.5 billion settlement against Chevron over oil dumped in Indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest, surrendered himself to the federal authorities on Wednesday to begin a six-month prison sentence.

Is Steven Donziger still in jail?

In September 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the pre-trial detention imposed on Donziger was illegal and called for his release. Having spent 45 days in prison and a combined total of 993 days under house arrest, Donziger was finally released on April 25, 2022.

What is Steven Donziger in jail for?

Donziger, who was disbarred in New York last year, was found guilty of criminal contempt in July including for failing to turn over his computer and other electronic devices in connection with his long-running legal battle with Chevron Corp over oil pollution in Ecuador.

Who sued Texaco?

Donziger sued Texaco in 1993 on behalf of Indigenous people from Ecuador's Amazon region over pollution and health impacts from oil production. Chevron became the defendant when it acquired Texaco in 2001.

Why was Donziger in jail?

Donziger was sentenced to six months in prison earlier this month after being found guilty of criminal contempt of court in July for withholding evidence in his long-running battle with the energy giant. He was disbarred over the conviction.

When is Steven Donziger's court appearance?

Steven Donziger arrives for a court appearance at Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan on May 10, 2021 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Why was Donziger disbarred?

Donziger was disbarred last year after being found guilty in July of criminal contempt of court for withholding the evidence in the legal fight with Chevron, which claims that he fabricated evidence in the 1990s to win a lawsuit he filed against the energy giant on behalf of Indigenous people in Ecuador.

Why was Chevron in jail?

NEW YORK -- An environment al lawyer who waged a decadeslong campaign to hold Chevron accountable for oil pollution in the rainforests of Ecuador was sentenced Friday to six months in jail for violating a federal judge’s orders related to his fight against the energy giant.

How much did Chevron pay in Ecuador?

A court in Ecuador ordered Chevron to pay $9.5 billion, but that judgment was later invalidated in New York by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who ruled in 2014 that it was obtained through fraud, bribery, witness tampering and other misconduct.

What did Kuby ask Preska to view the proceedings through?

In court, Kuby asked Preska to view the proceedings “through eyes of Ecuadorian villagers” harmed by oil drilling, but Preska said the contempt case was not about pollution in Ecuador but “only about Mr. Donziger's disobedience of Judge Kaplan’s orders.”

Who sued Texaco?

Donziger and other attorneys sued Texaco in 1993 on behalf of 30,000 farmers and Indigenous people from Ecuador's Amazon region over pollution and health impacts from oil production. Chevron became the defendant when it bought Texaco.

Who was the prosecutor for the Donziger case?

Rita Glavin , the special prosecutor for the case, said, “Mr. Donziger knew what he was doing every step of the way. His conduct was not appropriate, and it was certainly not ethical.”

Who was responsible for the pollution in Ecuador?

Chevron didn't dispute that the pollution happened, but says Ecuador's state oil company, Petroecuador, was primarily responsible for the damage and that Texaco was released from liability after a $40 million cleanup.

Who decided Steven Donziger's sentence?

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who decided the sentence after a criminal contempt trial earlier this year in New York, said Steven Donziger's commitment to his Ecuadorian clients and their cause did not justify his defiance of court orders.

What was the verdict against Chevron?

A federal judge on Monday found a former lawyer who secured a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron guilty on six misdemeanor criminal contempt charges, the culmination of a legal case that has drawn accusations of retaliation by the energy giant.

Who blasted the Chevron decision?

Donziger blasted the decision in a statement of his own Monday, calling it “the latest attempt by Chevron and its judicial allies to criminalize me and to send a message of intimidation to legitimate human rights lawyers who successfully challenge the major polluters of the fossil fuel industry.”

What did Chevron accuse Donziger of?

The same year, Chevron countersued Donziger, accusing him of doctoring evidence in the case and bribing a judge. After Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in favor of the company, Donziger appealed, and incurred the contempt charges during the appeals process. He has been under house arrest in relation to the contempt charges for nearly two years.

What would have happened if Texaco had not broken the rights of the Equadorians?

Had Texaco not broken the rights of the Equadorians there would not have been a problem at all.

Why did the King want to kill the lawyers?

Right wingers always leave off the context. The king wanted to kill the lawyers so nobody would be able to stop his crime spree.

Who retained Seward and Kissel?

In his statement, Donziger noted the law firm Kaplan assigned to the case, Seward & Kissel, has previously been retained by Chevron. Preska has ruled the $30,000 Chevron paid the firm was not a large enough amount to constitute a conflict of interest.

Who sued Texaco?

Steven Donziger in 1993 sued Texaco on behalf of a coalition of Ecuadorean farmers and Indigenous people who alleged its activities in the country led to environmental disaster. After Chevron bought Texaco in 2001, the litigation was moved to Ecuador, where a court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2011.

Who took on the Chevron case?

While the US attorney for the Southern District of New York refused to prosecute for the case, Chevron hired private law firm Seward & Kissel to take it on.

Who is Steven Donziger?

Environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger surrendered himself to federal authorities on Wednesday this week, following a lengthy legal battle with oil major Chevron. Donziger, who won a $9.5bn settlement against the company in 1993 for oil waste dumped on Indigenous land in Ecuador, was found guilty of contempt of court in July this year.

Who was responsible for the Ecuador oil spill?

According to Chevron, Donziger fabricated and withheld evidence to strengthen his case, with the oil major maintaining that Ecuador’s domestic oil company Petroecuador was responsible for the oil spill.

Did Chevron pay the cleanup?

While the ruling at the time was a landmark decision as the largest sum won against an oil major, Chevron has not yet paid the money or enacted a cleanup , and a Manhattan judge ruled against the $9.5bn judging in 2014, saying it had been won through illicit means such as bribery and fraud.

Who did Chevron pay for his health insurance?

In one of the stranger episodes in this saga, Chevron relocated Alberto Guerra, an Ecuadorian judge, and his family to the US, paid for his health insurance and a car while meeting with him more than 50 times before he provided testimony that Donziger discussed the bribe with him at a Quito restaurant.

When was Donziger touched by Chevron?

A well in Amazonian Peru. Donziger was first touched by his case with Chevron in 1993. Photograph: Rodrigo Buendía/AFP/Getty Images

Why is Steven Donziger detained?

Steven Donziger has been detained at home since August 2019, the result of a Kafkaesque legal battle stemming from his crusade on behalf of Indigenous Amazonians.

What company carved out drilling outposts in this tract of the Amazon?

The oil company Texaco had carved out drilling outposts in this tract of the Amazon since the 1960s, leaving what Donziger calls “grotesque” Olympic swimming pool-sized waste pits of oil. Pollution flowed freely into rivers and streams used by the Indigenous population for drinking water.

What is Kaplan's conduct?

Kaplan’s conduct, Donziger said, has been an “abomination, unethical and abusive. I never thought this could happen in the US.”. Other lawyers have voiced more measured concerns over Kaplan. Chevron has “captured” the judge, Donziger said, and now the oil company seems omnipresent in his fate.

Has Chevron ever paid up?

Chevron has never paid up, claiming “shocking levels of misconduct” and fraud by Donziger and the Ecuadorian judiciary. But the subsequent web of events that has led to Donziger being detained and stripped of his law license is befuddling even to legal scholars.

Is Chevron involved in the Ecuador case?

Chevron is not involved in that case.”. In Donziger’s eyes, the only real corruption has occurred in the US system, not Ecuador’s, a symptom of what he views as a “colonial” mindset that has airily dismissed judgements made outside the US and obscured the ultimate protagonists of this saga, the people of Lago Agrio.