Chevron appeals ruling in Ecuador Amazon case

WASHINGTON, Mar 12 (AFP): US oil giant Chevron announced Friday it had lodged an appeal of an order by an Ecuadoran court requiring it to pay US$9.50 billion for environmental damage in the Amazon. Chevron said in a statement the appeal of last month's decision "details the pattern of fraud by the plaintiffs' lawyers, supporters and others that has corrupted the trial, as well as the numerous legal and factual defects in the judgment." The firm said it would also pursue efforts at an international tribunal and in the US courts to prevent enforcement of the ruling. The court in Ecuador last month released a landmark penalty against Chevron of $8.60 billion with an addition 10 per cent for environment management costs in the suit that dates back to 1993 against Texaco, a firm later acquired by Chevron. Plaintiffs in the case, which include indigenous communities in Ecuador, also plan to appeal, saying the ruling fails to adequately compensate for certain damages and illness. They were seeking more than $27 billion for pollution damage caused by Texaco's oil extraction between 1964 and 1990. Chevron said its appeal includes "thousands of documents that memorialize the plaintiffs' lawyers' efforts to pressure judges to rule in their favor, corrupt expert reports, and manufacture evidence."