New Court Order Clarifies Concerning Abusive Questioning by Chevron Lawyer

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Amazon Defense Coalition, which represents Ecuadorian indigenous groups suing Chevron for oil contamination in the Amazonian rainforest, previously reported that a Colorado federal court sanctioned Chevron and its attorneys for asking what the plaintiffs described as "abusive" questioning by Gibson Dunn attorney Andrea Neuman in a deposition of an expert in the Ecuadorians' lawsuit. Gibson Dunn represents Chevron in the case that carries a potential liability of $113 billion.

The court recently clarified its ruling, stating that Neuman had been ordered to refrain from asking the questions of other witnesses, but had not been sanctioned.

The original court order read:

"Stratus' and Ecuadorian Plaintiffs' Motion for Sanctions Against Petitioner Chevron Corporation (Doc. #272, filed 10/14/10) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as stated on the record. Petitioner's questions in dispute asked during Respondent Beltman's deposition shall not be repeated in depositions of other witnesses."

The clarifying court order read:

"Although the Stratus Respondents and the Ecuadorian Plaintiffs termed their request for relief as a sanction, the Court views its ruling simply as a ruling on an objection to the line of Petitioner's questioning challenged by the Respondents and Plaintiffs. The Court granted the motion for sanctions to the extent the Court sustained the objection to the line of questioning, but the Court denied the motion to the extent it sought sanctions."

CONTACT: Karen Hinton at 703-798-3109, [email protected]

SOURCE Amazon Defense Coalition

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