23.03.2013 Views

jjR0b

jjR0b

jjR0b

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

would sample. Indeed, as Donziger has admitted, Fajardo was in "regular contact" with<br />

Cabrera-unbeknownst to Chevron-while Cabrera was supposedly serving as the<br />

"independent" court expert.<br />

145. Back in the United States, preparations were well underway for drafting<br />

Cabrera's Report. Just after the March meeting with Cabrera, David Chapman, a principal at<br />

Stratus, emailed Donziger, proposing that "the way this would work best is that if Stratus did<br />

much ofthe work, putting the pieces together and writing the report." Shortly thereafter, on<br />

April 27, 2007, the conspirators assembled at Stratus's offices in Boulder, Colorado to discuss<br />

how they were going to "jack this thing up to thirty billion," as Donziger had put it. Present at<br />

the meeting from Stratus were President Joshua Lipton, David Chapman, Preston Sowell, and<br />

Defendants Beltman and Maest. The conspirators ultimately went with Chapman's suggested<br />

approach, permitting Stratus to take the lead on the drafting of the report. As Donziger later<br />

admitted, Beltman, the Stratus project leader, had "a fair amount of discretion," including the<br />

authority to eliminate sections of the report if Stratus could not complete them on time.<br />

146. The participants in this meeting also discussed how they could leverage the<br />

Cabrera Report, once it was filed in the Lago Agrio court, as a supposedly independent<br />

endorsement oftheir position. Donziger talked up how important and far-reaching he thought<br />

the report should be: "We also see this case as having a larger meaning .. " [W]e think that,<br />

Uhm, this is the kind ofthing people will be interested in reading. You know, like this damages<br />

report[-]academics, people in your field, other lawyers." Lipton responded, "we loved the<br />

whole package." As a result, Stratus entered into a contract with Kohn Swift to provide technical<br />

assistance, including the production of reports and support in discussions with the media, in<br />

furtherance of the conspiracy. The initial contract for $125,000 was modified multiple times to<br />

accommodate Stratus's increasing involvement and fees. Indeed, by the fall of2009, Stratus<br />

received at least $1.1 million in payment for their role in the criminal scheme. Donziger also<br />

offered Stratus a piece of the action, suggesting that it could obtain contracts to oversee the<br />

58

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!