Friday, June 28, 2013

Karmic Justice: Chevron CEO Deposed

Reposted from Eye on the Amazon

Protesting at Chevron's AGM

Twelve years ago Amazon Watch founder and Executive Director Atossa Soltani urged Chevron's board, shareholders, and management to vote down a proposal to acquire Texaco, presenting them with 800 pages of evidence that Texaco was an enormous liability for what it did in Ecuador. Affected communities in Ecuador ran ads urging Chevron not to purchase Texaco. Lawyers and investment bankers anxious to close the merger deal for their exorbitant fees dismissed Texaco's operations in Ecuador as a minor nuisance and acquired the company.

Fast forward to 2013. That "minor nuisance" has since ballooned into a $19 billion judgment that rises every year with interest. Chevron is already spending an estimated $400 million per year just in legal fees, dwarfing the $40 million it claims it spent on its sham clean-up in Ecuador. Leading the charge to buy Texaco was John Watson, then head of mergers and acquisitions and now Chevron's CEO. Is it any wonder that since he took over as CEO their "scorched earth" tactics to avoid paying for an actual clean-up have intensified exponentially?

At Chevron's Annual Shareholder meeting, when Atossa challenged Watson about his role and the multi-billion dollar liability that he brought to Chevron, he had absolutely no response. Sitting upon his "throne" as CEO AND Chairman of the Board, Watson had that luxury at Chevron HQ. It doesn't work everywhere, however. Yesterday Watson was deposed for several hours under oath and questioned about his role in the oil company's efforts to evade the judgment in Ecuador.

It is highly unusual for the CEO of any company to sit for a deposition, but Watson has made himself relevant by continually attacking lawyers for the rainforest communities with incendiary comments. In a bit of karmic justice, Steven Donziger, the Ecuadorian plaintiffs' longtime lawyer, and the person Chevron has "gone after with a vengeance, making him the focus of the extortion suit and even obtaining his personal diary" deposed Watson. Chevron lackey and New York Justice Lewis Kaplan has bent over backwards for Chevron, allowing them to depose Donziger 42 times in one month in Peru, San Francisco, Denver, New York, Houston, and Washington, D.C. (It should be noted that Kaplan appointed two colleagues – including his former law partner Max Gitter – to serve as "special masters" for the depositions. They earned $20,000 per deposition.)

It's a long way from real justice for the affected communities in Ecuador (who have personally called on him to do the right thing for years), but if anyone deserved to spend a day squirming under oath trying to explain his many lies and indefensible actions, it's John Watson.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Appeals Court Asks Judge Kaplan to Defend Bizarre Rulings in Ecuador Pollution Case

Reposted from The Chevron Pit

Federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's actions in Chevron's efforts to evade a $19b adverse judgment for toxic dumping in Ecuador has caught the attention of a New York appellate court.

In a move that has raised eyebrows around the New York bar, the state's highest federal appellate court last week gave Judge Kaplan 30 days to file papers defending his unprecedented rulings in a "fraud" case Chevron has brought in New York.

The case is the baby of Randy Mastro, former deputy mayor to Rudolph Guliani and now a law partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. It is designed to help Chevron evade the judgment in Ecuador and retaliate against the communities and lawyers who have held the company accountable for what is thought to be the largest environmental catastrophe in history.

The Second Circuit invited Kaplan to defend himself in light of a petition filed by the Ecuadorians and one of their lawyers, New York attorney Steven Donziger, seeking his reassignment. While most such requests are quickly dismissed, there clearly is something about Judge Kaplan's behavior that is catching the Second Circuit's attention.

Kaplan's hostility toward Donziger and the Ecuadorians is puzzling because the judge is highly regarded in some quarters. But in the mandamus petition the facts speak for themselves. For whatever reason, Judge Kaplan seems to be putting his formidable intellect at the service of Chevron rather than using it to administer the case fairly. For more background, read this supplemental filing and an earlier mandamus petition that documents some of Kaplan's biased comments toward the Ecuadorians from the bench.

And it what can only be described as an act of chutzpah, Judge Kaplan petitioned the appellate court for more time to file his defense. The Second Circuit order inviting Kaplan to respond can be read here.

The irony of Judge Kaplan's request for an extension should not be lost. In 2011, the judge denied a similar request from Donziger, leaving the solo practitioner only three days to respond to Chevron's 150-page "fraud" complaint before Kaplan imposed an illegal injunction blocking worldwide enforcement of the Ecuador judgment. That move was later reversed by the Second Circuit in a unanimous order, but only after severe damage had been done to efforts by the Ecuadorians to clean up Chevron's toxic mess.

Kaplan also found Donziger "waived" attorney-client privilege because he did not turn in a privilege log quickly enough. In a penalty that only be described as draconian, Kaplan then forced Donziger to turn over to Chevron his entire 19-year case file.

In the meantime, Judge Kaplan continues to do all he can to protect Chevron from having to disclose information about its own corruption, witness tampering, and bribes in Ecuador. He also has ruled that the Ecuadorians and Donziger cannot defend themselves by showing the overwhelming scientific evidence that formed the basis of the Ecuador court judgment against Chevron.

(For background on how Chevron lies about and distorts basic facts in the case, read this response to allegations from a law professor paid by Chevron.)

Kaplan is also trying to block key evidence that Chevron and its outside lawyers have mounted an espionage ring to spy on adversary counsel. That's a flagrant violation of the ethical rules governing the legal profession, and is likely illegal. But to Kaplan, apparently that's just what big oil companies do to protect their asset base.

Chevron has admitted it has used at least 180 investigators on the case, mostly from Kroll. Kroll is a large investigations firm that functions in numerous countries like a private KGB for its corporate clients.

Kroll employee San Anson was caught trying to pay $20,000 to an American journalist to spy on consultants to the Ecuadorians. Another former Kroll spook, Yohi Ackerman, was caught in Ecuador offering $20,000 cash from a suitcase to an Ecuadorian judge in exchange for favorable testimony on behalf of Chevron.

Many of Kroll's investigators like Anson and Ackerman are bad boys who thrive in the underworld. But Judge Kaplan and his Special Masters on the case, including his former law partner Max Gitter, have essentially shut down the ability to question these individuals about their misconduct.

Kroll's CEO, Daniel Karsen, was deposed last week. Because of Kaplan's rulings, Karsen didn't have to answer most of the questions posed. Chevron's harassment of opposing counsel was considered off-limits under Kaplan's rules.

For a small part of the evidence this apparent spy operation, read this affidavit about how a team of unknown individuals followed Donziger around Manhattan. For evidence of how Chevron tries to intimidate and "flip" witnesses, read this affidavit from a consultant to the Ecuadorians.

Kaplan also is letting Chevron maintain as "confidential" a series of damning internal videos that prove the company committed a massive fraud in Ecuador by hiding evidence of contamination from the court. Chevron itself shot the videos of its own technicians laughing at the pollution the company left behind and discussing how they would hide it from the court. Under Kaplan's rules, this type of criminal activity cannot be used at trial and must remain hidden from the public.

And in a clearly abusive practice, Judge Kaplan has allowed Chevron to hide numerous internal company emails that clearly show corruption and bribe attempts in Ecuador ...

THE REST OF THIS SENTENCE HAS BEEN CENSORED BY CHEVRON
HERE IS CHEVRON'S LETTER demanding information be removed.

To Kaplan, this kind of payment apparently qualifies as “proprietary” business information.

Judge Kaplan also has allowed Chevron to hide embarrassing internal emails demonstrating that ... CENSORED BY CHEVRON. That email – CENSORED BY CHEVRON – is “confidential” under Kaplan’s rules.

It is now part of the public record that Chevron has used roughly 2,000 legal personnel and 60 different law firms to try to win by might what it cannot win on the merits. Read this blistering critique of Kaplan's biased rulings by famed San Francisco lawyer John Keker, who used to represent Donziger but left the case because of Kaplan's mismanagement of the litigation. Keker once famously said he felt "like a goat tethered to a stake" when litigating before the judge.

Despite Chevron's overwhelming advantage in resources, Keker pointed out that Judge Kaplan consistently bends over backwards to help the oil giant as if it was an orphan or a widow. Chevron grossed about $250 billion last year and paid its CEO John Watson close to $30 million, while the average annual income of the residents who suffer at the hands of the company's pollution is about $1,000.

We are looking forward to reading how Judge Kaplan tries to explain his rulings that are both helping Chevron evade a valid judgment and are raising questions worldwide about the fairness of the American judiciary.

(For a summary of the Ecuador court decision see here; for a video about the case see here or this 60 Minutes segment about Chevron's deliberate contamination of the Amazon rainforest.)

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Chevron Hides Behind Legal Fiction; Ecuador Fight Far from Over

Reposted from the Huffington Post

Supporters of the heroic 20-year effort to hold Chevron accountable for its indisputable toxic dumping and destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador should not despair over recent court rulings that have slowed the seizing of the oil giant's assets in Argentina and Canada.

The fight is far from over.

First and foremost, the evidence and the science are on the Ecuadorians' side. Texaco, now owned by Chevron, dumped 16 billion gallons of toxic water into streams from the early 1970s until 1992, harming the environment and the people who used them for drinking water, cooking and cleaning. Texaco never tried to prevent this from happening, never cleaned up the contamination or compensated victims. That is a fact even Chevron does not deny.

Secondly, court appeals are underway in both countries, and the chances of winning them are excellent.

In Toronto, in an unusual decision without any precedent in Canadian law, a court found that because Chevron operates only through subsidiaries, the case must be stayed. The vast majority of Chevron's assets lie with its subsidiaries, not in its corporate shell. Meanwhile, a recent Argentine court decision to lift a freeze on Chevron's assets will have little impact on a parallel judgment recognition action, which is proceeding. That action will allow the rainforest communities to seize up to $3.5 billion of assets if successful.

Chevron has roughly another $15 billion in assets in Canada and another $4 billion in Brazil that are being targeted in court actions based on the valid Ecuador judgment. That's real risk no matter how Chevron's management team -- including its conflicted CEO, John Watson -- try to spin it.

Under oath in court, where company officials are obligated to tell the truth, a Chevron comptroller recently claimed such asset seizure actions will cause the oil giant "irreparable harm" and will disrupt its global business operations. Chevron also operates via its subsidiaries in dozens of countries around the world that could be targeted.

There also is a deeper reality to the reasoning behind the recent Canada and Argentina decisions that should disturb concerned citizens everywhere. In effect, based on legal technicalities, these courts are flirting with a total grant of impunity to human rights violators like Chevron.

Let me explain.

In Canada, a trial judge ruled that Chevron is a separate company from its local subsidiary even though that subsidiary is 100 percent owned by Chevron. Yet Chevron itself operates only through its many subsidiaries around the world. The company does not even own its own building housing its headquarters near San Francisco.

It was also Chevron officials (operating under the Texaco brand) who made the decision to deliberately dump billions of gallons of toxic waste in Ecuador, decimating indigenous groups and farmer communities. Chevron itself stripped almost all of its assets from Ecuador in recent years in anticipation of losing the case. It then refused to pay the judgment.

The upshot is this: when Chevron wants to increase its profits by dumping toxic waste, it can deliver a high level of fake value to its shareholders by externalizing the costs of pollution to impoverished local residents. But when it comes time to pay the hefty tab for that dumping, it plays the corporate shell game and hides behind its subsidiaries.

That's Chevron's conception of impunity.

The cultural mindset that it produces in a large oil company leads to excessive risk-taking and arrogance. And that explains why Chevron always seems to be dealing with a massive number of environmental problems around the world, including in the U.S. where it is currently under criminal investigation for a recent refinery fire in Richmond, CA.

Courts in most countries would not allow Chevron to get away with this brazen mockery of the rule of the law. Many of Chevron's own shareholders are also disturbed enough to have sternly rebuked Watson for mishandling the fallout from the Ecuador judgment.

Knowing it cannot win the Ecuador battle on the merits, Chevron also cleverly tries to exercise improper political influence over governments and courts. In Argentina, after the freeze order became a viable possibility, Chevron suddenly decided to "invest" $1.5 billion in a large gas field with the local state-owned oil company, YPF.

Chevron also took out full-page advertisements in Argentine newspapers claiming impending national doom if the Ecuador judgment were to be enforced. Its local representative publicly announced Chevron would only follow through on its investment if the freeze order was lifted.

Suddenly, after some furious behind the scenes lobbying, Argentina's Attorney General recommended the freeze order be lifted. Voila!

We think Canada's appellate court will see Chevron's rope-a-dope for what it is: a sneaky attempt to play the corporate shell game to escape justice. Ultimately, we feel Argentina's courts will see it the same way.

Chevron should not take too much comfort from these latest rulings.

The evidence against Chevron for committing a horrific level of environmental contamination in Ecuador is strong. It has been documented not only by the company's internal files and a 220,000-page trial record, but also by independent journalists the world over who have visited the disaster zone.

Only in an unjust world can a corporation get away with murder by hiding behind legal fictions created by bean counters. As this battle rages on, everybody concerned about accountability for corporate human rights abusers should take note and demand that judges stand up for the fundamental principle that polluter pays.

– Karen Hinton

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Recent Decisions on the $19b Ecuador Judgment Do Little to Decrease Chevron's Enormous Risk

For indigenous and farmer communities, the fight continues

Reposted from The Chevron Pit

Supporters of the heroic two-decade effort to hold Chevron accountable for its indisputable toxic dumping and destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador should not despair over recent court rulings that have slowed the seizing of the oil giant's assets in Argentina and Canada.

The fight is far from over and overall trend lines still favor the affected rainforest communities, who have suffered from Chevron's toxic dumping for decades. (For a summary of the evidence, see here; for a video about the case see here or this 60 Minutes segment.)

In Toronto, in an unusual decision without any precedent in Canadian law, a court found that because Chevron operates only through subsidiaries then the case must be stayed. That decision is now on appeal. The court decision this week in Argentina to lift a freeze on Chevron's assets will have little impact on a parallel judgment recognition action which is proceeding. That action will allow the rainforest communities to seize up to $3.5 billion of assets if successful.

Chevron has roughly $15 billion in assets in Canada and another $4 billion in Brazil that are being targeted in court actions based on the valid Ecuador judgment. That's real risk no matter how Chevron's management team – including its conflicted CEO, John Watson -- try to spin it.

Under oath in court, where company officials are obligated to tell the truth, a Chevron comptroller recently claimed such asset seizure actions will cause the oil giant "irreparable harm" and disrupt its global business operations. Chevron also operates via its subsidiaries in dozens of countries around the world that could be targeted.

There is also a deeper reality to the reasoning behind the recent Canada and Argentina decisions that should disturb concerned citizens everywhere. In effect, based on legal technicalities, these courts are flirting with a total grant of impunity to human rights violators like Chevron.

Let us explain.

In Canada, a trial judge ruled that Chevron is a separate company from its local subsidiary even though that subsidiary is 100% owned by Chevron. Yet Chevron itself operates only through its many subsidiaries around the world. The company does not even own its own building housing its headquarters near San Francisco.

It was also Chevron officials (operating under the Texaco brand) who made the decision to deliberately dump billions of gallons of toxic waste in Ecuador, decimating indigenous groups and farmer communities. Chevron itself stripped almost all of its assets from Ecuador in recent years in anticipation of losing the case. It then refused to pay the judgment.

The upshot is this: when Chevron wants to increase its profits by dumping toxic waste, it can deliver a high level of fake value to its shareholders by externalizing the costs of pollution to impoverished local residents. But when it comes time to pay the hefty tab for that dumping, it plays the corporate shell game and hides behind its subsidiaries.

That's Chevron's conception of impunity.

The cultural mindset that it produces in a large oil company leads to excessive risk-taking and arrogance. And that explains why Chevron always seems to be dealing with a massive number of environmental problems around the world, including in the U.S. where it is currently under criminal investigation for a recent refinery fire in Richmond, CA.

Courts in most countries would not allow Chevron to get away with this brazen mockery of the rule of the law. Many of Chevron's own shareholders are also disturbed enough to have sternly rebuked Watson for mishandling the fallout from the Ecuador judgment.

Knowing it cannot win the Ecuador battle on the merits, Chevron also cleverly tries to exercise improper political influence over governments and courts. In Argentina, after the freeze order became a viable possibility, Chevron suddenly decided to "invest" $1.5 billion in a large gas field with the local state-owned oil company, YPF.

Chevron also took out full-page advertisements in Argentine newspapers claiming impending national doom if the Ecuador judgment were to be enforced. Its local representative publicly announced Chevron would only follow through on its investment if the freeze order was lifted. Suddenly, after some furious behind the scenes lobbying, Argentina's Attorney General recommended the freeze order be lifted. Voila!

We think Canada's appellate court will see Chevron's rope-a-dope for what it is: a sneaky attempt to play the corporate shell game to escape justice. Ultimately, we feel Argentina's courts will see it the same way.

Chevron should not take too much comfort from these latest rulings.

The evidence against Chevron for committing a horrific level of environmental contamination in Ecuador is strong. It has been documented not only by the company's internal files and a 220,000-page trial record, but by independent journalists the world over who have visited the disaster zone.

Only in an unjust world can a corporation get away with murder by hiding behind legal fictions created by bean counters. As this battle rages on, everybody concerned about accountability for corporate human rights abusers should take note and demand that judges stand up for the fundamental principle that polluter pays.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Federal Judge Asked To Stay Case Over $19 Billion Ecuador Judgment

Reposted from The Chevron Pit

A New York federal judge long accused of bias against Ecuadorian rainforest residents over a $19B pollution case is continuing to allow Chevron to "systematically harass" two victims of its toxic pollution and their long-time New York lawyer, according to new motions filed in recent days.

The lawyer, Steven R. Donziger, asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to grant a three-month stay to prevent the case from degenerating into a "mockery" where unrepresented defendants are fighting hundreds of Chevron lawyers and are barred by the court from mounting a basic defense using evidence of Chevron's pollution and corrupt acts in Ecuador. The motion is available here.

"This is an extraordinary situation where the evidence suggests that a federal judge is allowing a major oil company to crush its critics by denying them a defense and overwhelming them with abusive legal tactics to drive up their costs, making it virtually impossible for them to obtain counsel," said Donziger.

"Judge Kaplan is now allowing Chevron to pursue litigation over litigation over litigation," said Donziger. "It's unprecedented and offensive."

In the motion seeking the stay, Donziger outlined for Judge Kaplan how he is now litigating alone (pro se) against at least 114 lawyers from Chevron's lead outside firm in a case with millions of pages of discovery documents, a privilege log that is 15,000 pages long, and close to 1,200 docket entries. Chevron also disclosed that it has well over 100 private investigators working on the case, some of who have conducted secret surveillance of the plaintiffs and their lawyers to intimidate them, said Donziger.

Despite the request for a stay, Judge Kaplan is allowing 14 depositions in three weeks, with the first starting tomorrow and the last – of Chevron's CEO, John Watson – scheduled for June 27. Kaplan also is allowing Chevron to depose Donziger for another two days on top of the 16 days he already testified in 2010 and 2011.

"This compressed schedule is a per se violation of my due process rights," said Donziger. "There is simply not enough time to adequately prepare to take depositions, to defend myself in my own deposition, review millions of pages of discovery, and also search for substitute counsel," he said.

Chevron previously identified roughly 2,000 legal personnel and 60 law firms who have worked on the case. An affidavit from a former FBI agent describing some of the surveillance of Donziger can be found here. Kaplan is also allowing Chevron to hide the identities of three Ecuadorian witnesses against the Ecuadorians and Donziger, a blatant violation of their due process rights that a prior lawyer likened to tactics used by courts in the Spanish Inquisition.

In his papers, Donziger said that he has never tried a federal case and that he needed time to procure a new lawyer in the face of a "concerted effort" by Chevron to interfere with his right to counsel.

He disclosed evidence that Chevron has now filed civil suits against four different law firms and one funder who have supported the Ecuadorians, falsely claiming they are part of a "conspiracy" to extort money. Donziger also took aim at Randy Mastro, Chevron's lead lawyer from Gibson Dunn, for making false public statements to the media about the case to "scare off" supporters. (For background on how Mastro and Gibson Dunn have committed ethical violations behalf of Chevron, see here .)

Donziger's former counsel, famed San Francisco-based trial lawyer John Keker, withdrew from the case two weeks ago because Donziger could not pay his fees. On his way out, Keker took the unusual step of publicly criticizing Judge Kaplan for letting the case degenerate into a "Dickensian farce" due to Chevron's abusive litigation tactics.

"Through scorched earth litigation, executed by its army of hundreds of lawyers, Chevron is using its limitless resources to crush defendants and win this case though might rather than merit," Keker said in his motion to withdraw. "Encouraged by this court's implacable hostility toward Donziger, Chevron will file any motion, however meritless, in the hope that the Court will use it to hurt Donziger."

Keker also said his firm "would be proud" to represent Donziger at trial if it could get the resources. "We are confident that were we to do so, we would prevail," Keker said.

Donziger also called on Judge Kaplan to allow him and the Ecuadorians sufficient latitude to develop a defense via questioning of key Chevron witnesses, including CEO Watson, Deputy General Counsel Edward Scott, and Rhonda Zyglocki, who used to head Chevron's lobbying and governmental affairs division. All are scheduled to be deposed this month.

Judge Kaplan also appointed – over the objection of Donziger – his former law partner, Max Gitter, as a Special Master to make rulings during depositions. Gitter, who has a history of bias against the Ecuadorians and Donziger, works at a large corporate law firm in New York City and bills at his standard hourly rates, which include $630 per hour for an associate to assist him.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Accompanying Servio to Chevron's "Alternate Reality"

Reposted from Eye on the Amazon

Servio Curipoma protesting at Chevron's AGM

I can't think of a better term to describe the world that the Chevron board and CEO John Watson are living in than "alternate reality." It certainly must seem that way to Servio Curipoma, the peasant farmer I had the honor of accompanying on a journey from the Ecuadorian Amazon to the San Francisco Bay Area to confront Watson at Chevron's Annual Shareholders' meeting over his failure to accept an Ecuadorian court ruling that found the company liable for $19 billion in reparations for its reckless dumping of toxic wastewater into local water sources in the Amazon for over 20 years, resulting in an ongoing public health crisis and wide scale damage to the environment.

Servio sent a heartfelt message to the CEO of Chevron Corporation when he directly asked the board why they have not fired Watson for his decisions – both in Ecuador and in many other countries around the globe – that have cost the company billions of dollars and seriously harmed its reputation. As Watson dodged Servio and other concerned shareholders' questions – or responded defensively with false statements and condescending remarks – what became clear to all critical minds present is that this man, and this company, are either so heartless that they can overlook the true human cost of their profit-seeking operations, or that they are simply living in an alternate reality that the affected communities could never hope to understand.

Servio has lived in the Amazon for 32 years, in San Carlos, one of the communities most affected by Chevron's contamination. Servio's family originally moved to the Amazon from the area of Loja seeking a better life in the newly developing region. Their new life turned to tragedy when Texaco installed oil wells next to their family's home. Servio's parents became sick and died from cancer, as did an aunt and sister-in-law. Servio, who supports his wife and children by growing cacao, has dedicated his life to seeking justice for his parents' death and the health problems that continue to affect his family to this day along with the tens of thousands of affected people in the region.

This was Servio's second trip to the United States and it came at a very difficult time. Only a few days before he was scheduled to fly, Servio's wife got in a near fatal car crash that sent her to the hospital with serious injuries. His 17-year old daughter told him that she would take care of her mother and that he must travel to represent them and their community in the fight for justice they have been waging for almost two decades. Despite nearly losing yet another close family member, Servio maintained a resolve, strength, and sense of humor that brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. I found myself looking in the mirror and asking how I could learn to be as humble and kind as Servio despite everything that has happened to him in his lifetime.

On Wednesday, after several days of press conferences and speaking events, we entered Chevron's headquarters in San Ramon along with representatives of affected communities in Richmond, Nigeria, and elsewhere, escorted by police and private security. The false smiles of Chevron employees failed to cover up what they really must have been thinking as they searched us and led us to our seats in the main auditorium. A sickening video presented shareholders with fabricated information about Chevron's safe and responsible practices around the world, calling 2012 it's "safest year yet", despite fires at a refinery in Richmond and explosions at a drilling platform in Nigeria that caused unquantifiable damage to local communities. Another video responded to the Ecuador case, avoiding any mention of the harm caused to local peoples like Servio and focusing solely on unproven charges of fraud by the plaintiffs' legal team.

When it was finally time for the question and answer session, Servio, despite being figuratively in the lion's den, bravely stood his ground and forcefully addressed Watson and the board of directors.

"My name is Servio Curipoma. I am here on behalf of the 30,000 people affected by Chevron's contamination in the Ecuadorian Amazon," he announced. "My question to you all is ‘Why hasn't John Watson been ousted as CEO of Chevron for lying and hiding the truth from the shareholders about Chevron's crimes in Ecuador?'" He continued, "We have won verdicts in both the original case and appeal held in the court that Chevron chose. I lost both of my parents to cancer, and we continue to suffer from the effects of the company's operations. We are seizing Chevron's assets in Argentina, Canada, and Brazil. We will pursue the company to all corners of the world, until they have paid every cent they owe for the harm they have caused in the Ecuadorian Amazon."

Watson, in an offensively condescending manner, responded through a translator that he was sorry for the situation in which the indigenous peoples of Ecuador lived, and that they were being used by American trial lawyers; as if Servio and the thousands of others sick and dying from pollution in the Amazon don't have the mental capacity to think for themselves. He also said that there was "no proof that any of the water in the region is contaminated." Throughout the Q&A session, Watson responded to the barrage of criticism of his management and company operations saying that the affected peoples who confronted him were confused about the facts and should consult Chevron's team of experts. This is Watson and Chevron's alternate reality: in which Chevron's "experts" earning enormous salaries know better about the situation in which these affected peoples live than the people themselves.

Outside the meeting, Servio was greeted by a cheering crowd of over one hundred people and members of the press. He addressed those present, thanking them for their support. He proudly held up a photograph of his mother in the final throws of the cancer that caused her death.
"In Ecuador in the month of May," he shouted, "We celebrate our mothers. My gift to my mother and to all mothers suffering in the Amazon will be to fight until the day that I die or until justice is achieved for her murder caused by this corporation that thinks it is God!" He then held up a plastic bottle of brackish water with crude oil visibly floating on the surface; bottled at the source next to a Chevron-operated well. "Watson claims that the water in the Amazon is not contaminated – then I invite him to come over here and I will drink half of this bottle and he can drink the other half!" The ecstatic crowd applauded.

Later that day Servio said to me, "I didn't think anyone was going to show up in support. I thought that the American public had abandoned us in our fight. I am so happy to see that is not the case!"

As I bid my friend goodbye before his flight I thought: this is why I and others at Amazon Watch are here – to support people like Servio, one of the kindest and most honest people I have ever had the fortune to meet; to fight to ensure that corporations like Chevron cannot continue to get their way and violate human rights and destroy the planet all for the sake of their precious portfolio; to wake them up from their false reality. I feel honored to know Servio. I will see him soon, either in Ecuador or at the next Chevron shareholders' meeting.

– Alex Goff