UPDATE 2-Argentine judge embargoes Chevron assets-lawyer
UPDATE 2-Argentine judge embargoes Chevron assets-lawyer
Wed Nov 7, 2012 3:43pm EST
Nov 7 (Reuters) - An Argentine judge has embargoed $19 billion in Chevron Corp assets in the South American country over an environmental damages lawsuit in Ecuador, a lawyer for the plaintiffs told reporters on Wednesday.
Indigenous tribespeople and farmers in the Ecuadorean Amazon have sued the U.S.-based oil major in Argentina and Colombia to collect a $19 billion award.
A 2011 decision by a court in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, ordered Chevron to pay the sum as a result of water contamination and inappropriately disposing of oil industry waste during crude production in the Amazon over a period of nearly 30 years.
Because Chevron has few assets in Ecuador that can be taken as compensation, the plaintiffs are trying to get the ruling enforced in other countries.
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/argentina-chevron-idUSL1E8M7IVV20121107?rpc=401