Chevron v. Donziger

768 F. Supp. 2d 581 (2011)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
C
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Chevron v. Donziger

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
768 F. Supp. 2d 581 (2011)

SC

Facts

Texaco, predecessor to Chevron Corporation (Chevron) (plaintiff) had a drilling operation in the Lago Agrio oil field in the Amazon rainforest region of Ecuador. People living near the oil field (the Lago Agrio inhabitants) (defendants) hired attorney Steven Donziger (defendant) and sued Chevron in the United States, alleging that Texaco’s operations in Ecuador destroyed and polluted the rainforest, causing harm to the inhabitants and their livelihoods. The district court dismissed the complaint, and the court of appeals affirmed the dismissal. The Lago Agrio inhabitants refiled their case in Ecuador. In 2002, a court in Ecuador awarded the Lago Agrio inhabitants over $18 billion in damages. The Lago Agrio inhabitants made it known that it was their intention to seek to collect on the judgment as soon as possible, prior to the resolution of the appellate process in Ecuador. Chevron filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking a declaratory judgment that the judgment in Ecuador was not enforceable. Chevron claimed that Donziger violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, in that Donziger and other attorneys had procured the Ecuadorian judgment through fraud. Chevron moved for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kaplan, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

International Law

Key Terms