Amazon Watch an earlier court's dismissal on the basis of "forum non conveniens." Thus, legal proceedings were started in Ecuador in 2003. Amazon Watch supports the Ecuadorian plaintiffs by publishing a press kit alleging that Chevron (corporate successor to Texaco) should be held accountable for the dumping of of toxic waste water into a region of Ecuador's Amazon rainforest inhabited by more than 30,000 people – purported to be one of the largest oil related contaminations ever, far exceeding that of the Exxon Valdez disaster. A 2011 decision in Ecuador ordered Chevron to pay $9.5 billion. Ecuador's Supreme Court in 2013 affirmed
Amoco Cadiz oil spill United States courts (using the 1978 exchange rate and with interest added this came to at least US$1.6 billion). In 1984, U.S. District Court Judge Frank J. McGarr held that Amoco was liable for damages when he issued his trial verdict, after 3 1/2 years of legal proceedings. Further, the judge ruled that Amoco had put off needed maintenance on the vessel in order to keep it at sea. In 1992, US oil giant Amoco has decided not to appeal against the US court order that it must pay US$200 million to the French government. Amoco Cadiz oil spill The