Corruption in Ecuador accused Ecuador of violating the due process of 27 Supreme Court justices dismissed by Congress in 2004. In 2015, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) stated that “judicial independence is seriously compromised” in Ecuador. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in 2014 that an $18 billion pollution judgment against Chevron by an Ecuadoran court in 2011 had been the product of corruption. Attorney Steven Donziger and his legal team, according to Kaplan, had “used bribery, fraud and extortion” to win the case for his clients, a group of Ecuadoran villagers. Evidence showed that the ruling issued by Ecuadoran judge Nicolas Zambrano
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