One of the things I love most about being an international litigator is the opportunity to challenge the status quo and have a positive impact at the global level. Whether it’s representing victims against human rights abuse in the Middle East, bringing justice to swindled French investors, or helping to track down North African warlords, the work can be extremely … [Read more...]
Asset Seizure Wars: The Ecuador Plaintiffs Strike Back at Chevron in Brazil Over $18 Billion Judgment.
One of the things I love about being an international attorney is the potential to effect change at the global level. Whether it’s representing victims of oppressive government regimes, exposing corrupt ministerial officers or hunting down secret Swiss bank accounts for defrauded pensioners, the work can be extremely gratifying. I mention this because of recent developments … [Read more...]
Ecuador Class Action Plaintiffs Strike Back at Chevron's Cynical Game of Musical Jurisdictions
The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice — Martin Luther King, Jr. The seventeen-year war between Ecuador’s 30,000 class plaintiffs against oil giant Chevron continues its global odyssey, as the oil giant pulls out every trick in the book to avoid an impending $27 Billion judgment against it in Ecuador for contaminating an immense … [Read more...]
Florida Court Refuses to Enforce $97M Foreign Judgment Against Dole
In an earlier post, I wrote about the Enforcement of Chinese Judgments in the United States and cited a recent California decision enforcing a Chinese judgment in the United States. The case is unique because it is generally believed that United States courts will not enforce Chinese judgments given the lack of a treaty between the two countries on the issue and given … [Read more...]
Chevron Files International Arbitration Claim Against Ecuador: Forum Shopping in the Hague?
**Update January 15, 2010**: The Republic of Ecuador and the class Plaintiffs have both challenged Chevron's arbitration claim in New York federal court. You can read about it here and here. First, the United States. Then Ecuador. Now Holland. Chevron's wanderlust knows no bounds, as it recently filed a parallel international arbitration proceeding in the Hague (Holland). The … [Read more...]