Cases & Deals

Chevron defends Ecuadorean cancer claims

Client(s) Chevron Corporation

Jones Day successfully defended Chevron Corporation in a toxic tort case originally brought by seven Ecuadorians alleging they contracted cancer from Texaco's (Chevron's predecessor's) former operations in Ecuador. After taking depositions of plaintiffs in Ecuador, we moved to dismiss the claims of three plaintiffs as sanctions for fabricating their claims. The court granted the motion and awarded sanctions under Rule 11 against their lawyers for bringing false claims. Other plaintiffs were dismissed voluntarily and the remaining claims were dismissed on statute of limitations grounds.

Luisa Gonzales v. Texaco, Inc., Texaco Petroleum Company, Inc. and Chevron Corporation, Case No. C 06-02820 WHA (N.D. Cal.)