November 09, 12
Indians of Ecuador have increased their chances of getting a record fine for the long-term contamination of the rainforests and surface waters of Amazon River by U.S. oil company Chevron. In early November of 2012 Argentina court at the Ecuadorian suit made a decision to freeze the assets Chevron.
The legal proceedings have been lasting for 20 years. 30 thousand of Ecuadorians mostly from the Canton of Lago Argio, where the largest oil and gas province is located, claim that within the period from 1972 to 1990, the deposits’ developer the U.S. oil company Texaco (bought in 2001 by Chevron) dumped more than 80 million tons of toxic wastes into the waters of the Amazon River destroying the rainforests. The environmental damage was so great that it even got the name of "Amazon Chernobyl".
Despite the fact that Chevron's lawyers argued that the newly formed company was not the Texaco’s successor, Ecuador court in February of 2011 found Chevron responsible for environmental pollution and environmental damage caused to the Canton of Lago Argio, and ordered the company to publicly apologize and to pay a fine of 9.5 billion U.S. dollars (including the penalties). Chevron refused to apologize and to pay the fine, appealing the claim in the U.S. court.
Ecuador is about to seek for payment of the fine. In May of 2012, the Ecuadorian party filed a lawsuit against the Company Chevron in Canada, and later in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. On November 08, 2012 the court of Argentina froze the local assets of Chevron based on Ecuador lawsuit.
On November 28th there will be the adjudication of claim filed by Ecuador to Chevron in Canada. At the same date there will be the hearing on the suit of Chevron to Ecuadorian authorities, which are accused by the U.S. Company of racketeering and extortion.