Ecuadorians Agree to End Ontario Enforcement Action As Focus Turns To Chevron Assets In Other Jurisdictions

Statement from Patricio Salazar, lawyer for the FDA, regarding enforcement of the pollution case in Ontario courts:
 

“After much soul searching, the Ecuadorian communities poisoned by Chevron’s toxic dumping decided on July 5 to consent to a dismissal of their enforcement action that was pending in the province of Ontario. Of critical importance is that the action in Ontario was dismissed on consent for technical reasons without a ruling on the merits of the scientific and other competent evidence.  To this day, no enforcement court anywhere in the world has ruled on the historic Ecuador judgment on the merits of the actual evidence. We are determined to make sure that such a ruling happens as soon as possible – both because of the fundamental legitimacy of the Ecuador judgment, and to put under scrutiny the distasteful conduct by Chevron and its law firm Gibson Dunn to undermine the validity of that judgment which was affirmed by four levels of courts in Chevron’s preferred jurisdiction of Ecuador. The Ecuadorians are exploring further options and will make an announcement at the appropriate time.