Follows October ruling levying sanctions and fines against plaintiffs' Lawyers
SAN RAMON, Calif., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has dismissed the remaining two claims against Chevron alleging health impacts to Ecuadorian citizens resulting from Texaco Petroleum Company's Ecuadorian oil operations that ended in 1992. The ruling, based on California's two-year statute of limitations, effectively brings the matter to an end.
The lawsuit is the third in a series of suits that has been launched by Cristobal Bonifaz, a Massachusetts-based trial attorney claiming to represent Ecuadorian plaintiffs. The U.S. District Court proceeding has been notable for its many irregularities, culminating in the Oct. 16, 2007 sanctions and fines levied against plaintiffs' counsel for presenting fabricated cancer claims.
For additional information on the Ecuador litigation, please visit http://www.texaco.com/sitelets/ecuador/en/.
Background on Texaco and Ecuador
From 1964 to 1990, Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) served as the operator of a consortium with Petroecuador, the state oil company of Ecuador. Texpet's minority interest in the consortium ended in 1992 and Petroecuador has been the sole operator of the oil field since July 1990.
In 1998, Texpet completed a $40 million environmental remediation and public works program reflective of Texpet's 37.5% share of the consortium. The Government of Ecuador declared that the remediation was completed according to the terms and parameters agreed upon, and released Texpet and its affiliated companies from any future environmental liabilities.
Meanwhile, in 1993, Mr. Bonifaz filed the first of his three lawsuits alleging lingering health impacts as a result of Texpet's operation. The case was dismissed in 2002 and, in 2003, Mr. Bonifaz filed a new suit in Ecuador against ChevronTexaco (now Chevron). While that case is still proceeding in Ecuador, Mr. Bonifaz was dismissed by his clients in early 2006. In April 2006, Mr. Bonifaz resumed his litigation, this time in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
In each of the lawsuits filed, plaintiffs' counsel have alleged widespread health impacts resulting from oil operations. Yet in the 14 years of litigation, counsel have yet to produce any credible evidence of health impacts resulting from Texpet's operations.
SOURCE Chevron Corporation
CONTACT:
Kent Robertson, +1-925-842-1695, for Chevron Corporation
Web site:
http://www.chevron.com
http://www.texaco.com/sitelets/ecuador/en