Chevron doesn't have to pay a $9.5 billion judgment to the Cofan people of Ecuador because the award was obtained through fraud, a federal judge said today.

The Cofans won an $18 billion judgment in Ecuador over pollution attributed to Chevron's development activities in the Amazon. The company refused to pay even after the award was reduced to $9.5 billion so the tribe asked the U.S. courts to enforce it.

Judge Lewis Kaplan, however, said the decision was obtained by "corrupt means." The attorney for the plaintiffs engaged in coercion, bribery, money laundering and other criminal conduct, according to the 485-page ruling.

"The wrongful actions of Donziger and his Ecuadorian legal team would be offensive to the laws of any nation that aspires to the rule of law, including Ecuador – and they knew it,” Kaplan wrote, referring to attorney Steven Donziger.

NY judge rules for Chevron in Ecuador case (AP 3/4)
Chevron Wins U.S. Ruling Calling Ecuador Judgment Fraud (Bloomberg News 3/4)
Judge: $9.5B Environmental Judgment Against Chevron ‘Obtained by Corrupt Means’ (The Wall Street Journal 3/4)

District Court Decision:
Chevron v. Donziger | Appendices

Related Stories:
Chevron fights $9B judgment in case filed by tribe in Ecuador (11/19)
Chevron refuses to pay $18.7B judgement to tribe in Ecuador (11/2)