Chevron Defends Its RICO Victory in the Epic Ecuadorian Oil Pollution Case

In March, Chevron won an unusual racketeering verdict in federal court in New York that thrilled many members of the corporate defense bar. The company obtained a ruling that discredited an earlier multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against Chevron in Ecuador. Corporate advocates praised the New York ruling as a model of how to combat allegedly fraudulent class actions. Late on Oct. 1, Chevron made a lengthy appellate filing seeking to preserve its victory.

The most surprising thing about Chevron’s 185-page brief is that the San Ramon (Calif.)-based oil company concedes (on page 65) that its antagonists raise at least one “legitimate” issue on appeal. Not that the company surrenders on the point—it most certainly does not—but in a legal war of uncommon bitterness that has persisted for 21 years, an admission that the other side has raised even a single question worth consideration seems shocking.