We may never know what really happened in Lago Agrio, Ecuador more than 20 years ago, but we do know that Chevron has moved heaven and earth to deny relief for environmental damage to a group of Amazon tribesman. In the litigation, which has spanned two decades, the tribesmen say that the oil company knowingly dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater and spilled 17 million gallons of crude oil into the rainforest during its operations in Lago Agrio. They say the affected area covers 1,700 square miles and the tribesmen believe the pollution has led to health problems such as cancer and birth defects.
In the latest round of legal wrangling, Chevron succeeded in getting a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to rule that the judgment against Chevron by an Ecuadoran Court is unenforceable. In this round, Chevron not only went after the tribesmen, it went after the tribesmen’s lawyers and then it went after the lawyers’ lawyers – all in the name of justice.
Chevron’s sense of justice has led it and its proxies at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to try to outlaw legal funding in all forms. It is true that the impoverished tribesmen were helped by a several million dollar investment from a commercial legal funding company in pursuing their claims against the world’s 13th largest company. But, why are Chevron, with assets of more than $230 billion, and its allies at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its Institute for Legal Reform trying to eliminate a smaller sister industry in this country, consumer legal funding, that provides consumers with financial lifelines that can be as small as $500 per transaction?
Consumer legal funding affords low and moderate-income accident victims the opportunity to access relatively small amounts of cash, often as little as $500, while they await the fair settlement of their claims. Contrast their financial concerns with making ends meet while recovering from injuries or paying legal bills with those that must haunt Chevron's top boss, John Watson, who was awarded total compensation of more than $32.2 million in 2012. Mr. Watson’s compensation alone is far greater than the profits of the entire consumer legal funding industry.
So why are Chevron and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce so intent on shutting down this small industry? What threat does it pose to the giants of the oil and insurance industries?
The answer is that the U.S. Chamber has made them part of its "Tort Reform" club called the Institute for Legal Reform that wants to discourage all potential claimants from seeking fair redress and deny actual claimants the financial wherewithal to pursue appropriate settlements. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has brought Chevron to the table with the big insurance interests, State Farm and Allstate, as well other big businesses such as Pfizer. Together, they have made a pact to share resources, such as political influence and in place lobbyists (such as Tennessee super-lobbyist and Bill Frist brother in law Lee Barfield, who has represented Chevron in the Ecuador case and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on bills to ban consumer legal funding), to eliminate a pesky industry.
Merely having the overwhelming advantages that deep pockets assure is not enough for Chevron, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the big insurance companies. They seek to eliminate any possibility that claimants might be able to contest their liability. Just as they’ve demonstrated in the Lago Agrio case, it is clear that these greedy behemoths of industry and their proxies like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will stop at nothing to preserve their advantages.
For further background, please see these links:
http://www.fixtheuschamber.org/...
http://www.theguardian.com/...
http://blogs.reuters.com/...