NY court: Judge can't block $18B Ecuador judgment

Headline Legal News

A judge overstepped his authority when he tried to ban enforcement around the world of an $18 billion judgment against Chevron Inc. for environmental damage in Ecuador, a federal appeals court said Thursday as it explained why it lifted the ban last year.

The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the judge has authority to block collection if Ecuadorean plaintiffs move against Chevron in New York, but law does not give him authority "to dictate to the entire world which judgments are entitled to respect and which countries' courts are to be treated as international pariahs."

The judgment came last February after nearly two decades of litigation that stemmed from the poisoning of land in the Ecuadorean rainforest while the oil company Texaco was operating an oil consortium from 1972 to 1990 in the Amazon. Texaco became a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron in 2001.

Chevron obtained an order from U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan last March blocking Ecuadorean plaintiffs from trying to collect the $18 billion until he could stage a trial to determine if the judgment was obtained fairly.

Related listings

  • US high court: warrant needed for GPS tracking

    US high court: warrant needed for GPS tracking

    Headline Legal News 01/23/2012

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that police must get a search warrant before using GPS technology to track criminal suspects. The ruling represents a serious complication for law enforcement nationwide, which increasingly relies on hi...

  • Pacman Jones pleads guilty to disorderly conduct

    Pacman Jones pleads guilty to disorderly conduct

    Headline Legal News 01/18/2012

    Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. Jones entered the plea in Hamilton County Municipal Court just as his non-jury trial was scheduled to begin. A second misdemeano...

  • Court rejects appeals in student speech cases

    Court rejects appeals in student speech cases

    Headline Legal News 01/17/2012

    The U.S. Supreme Court has passed up a pair of cases for the online age — whether schools may censor students who are at home when they create online attacks against school officials and other students. The justices on Tuesday rejected appeals from P...

East Greenwich, RI Family Law Office

The Law Office of Erica S. Janton offers a wide range of legal services in all areas of family law, encompassing divorce, paternity, adoption, child support, child custody and placement, post judgment modifications, mediation and other related issues.

Erica S. Janton has extensive experience in complex high asset and high conflict family law matters. For the last decade, Erica S. Janton has devoted her career to the family law, first as a mediator and then in her legal career as a family law attorney and mediator. Attorney Janton represents a large variety of clients and has earned a well-regarded reputation for resolving complex custody and high asset, high conflict divorce cases. When providing clients with representation as an attorney, she is a compassionate and staunch advocate who ensures that her clients are well informed of their options and the related process, and prepared for every possible scenario a client may encounter.

Erica S. Janton has extensive experience in complex high asset and high conflict family law matters and uses her experience within the family court arena to individually tailor strategies with each of her clients and provide realistic solution focused results.

Business News

Surry County Criminal Defense Lawyers. At DiRusso & DiRusso, we have the legal knowledge and experience to protect you. >> read
Canton, MI Criminal Law Attorney Rita White is a metro Detroit area attorney with a focus on criminal defense. >> read