Chevron’s Ecuador Legal Battle Might Take Years More
James Craig, a Chevron spokesman, said that during the judicial inspections and expert analysis, chemicals such as BTEX or some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that could cause risks for human health were not found in pits remediated by Texaco.
A damages assessment from 2008 submitted by court-appointed investigator Richard Cabrera said that Chevron should pay $27 billion in compensation for environmental damages in Ecuador, including compensation for cancer deaths he said were caused by the pollution.
Craig said there aren’t any medical records documenting cancer as a result of the work in those areas.
“Years after the remedial work was performed, Ecuador has introduced new remediation standards. Attempting to hold Texaco liable for standards that did not even exist at the time violates Ecuador’s constitution and common logic,” Craig said.
“This case is likely to go on for years and years, through the end of this decade and very possibly through the end of the next decade because Chevron will not accept this extortion,” Chevron’s Craig said.
“U.S. trial lawyers are pursuing this baseless lawsuit and an aggressive media campaign of lies and distortions aimed at damaging the company’s reputation to pressure Chevron into writing them a huge check. That is called extortion,” he added.
