Not sure why I am fascinated by Chevron’s trouble in Ecuador. When it bought Texaco it didn’t count on them being the polluters of the Amazon. Plaintiff attorneys have been fighting this case for fifteen years. If they win Chevron could face damages as high as $27 billion, or more than their $24 billion in last year’s earnings. Texaco (bought by Chevron for about $30 billion) is being charged with dumping for twenty years and sickening indigenous jungle tribes. The case is being held in a tiny town in front of a lone judge. Can you imagine the “suits” down in the heat of the Amazon in a tiny court room arguing their case? Someone will write a good story about this. And, should Chevron lose, they will attempt to delay until everyone dies. But Ecuador holds $1 billion of Chevron’s assets and I imagine recapture may be impossible.
