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standing to represent and assert legal claims for environmental damage. Ecuador, and only
Ecuador, could demand environmental remediation; individuals could assert only individual
property damage or personal injury claims. Accordingly, TexPet's settlement with Ecuador and
the affected municipalities and provinces fully discharged TexPet from any responsibility or
liability that may have existed for environmental impact as a result ofthe consortium's activities,
except individual personal injury claims.
2. U.S. Plaintiffs' Lawyers Devise Baseless Litigation Against Chevron in
Ecuador
58. Certain plaintiffs' attorneys in the United States sought to exploit any
environmental harm in the Oriente region by turning it into a financial windfall for themselves.
These U.S. plaintiffs' attorneys (including Defendant Donziger, and co-conspirators Kohn and
Bonifaz), devised a plan to use TexPet's former participation in the consortium as the basis for
extracting large sums of money from TexPet's parent, Texaco, Inc. ("Texaco"). As Kohn
described his motivation, "[A]t the end of the day ... , it [would] be a lucrative case for the
firm." As Donziger described it, "I sit back and dream .... Billions of dollars on the table. A
movie, a possible book." In other words, a financial windfall of unprecedented proportion, and
one that would make Donziger "quite wealthy." According to Donziger's estimates, he thought
his "own fee right now would be around 200m[illion]."
59. In 1993 and 1994, these U.S. plaintiffs' attorneys filed two lawsuits against
Texaco in federal district court in New York, purportedly on behalf of classes of"30,000
residents" of the Oriente and "25,000 residents" of Peru. See Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc., No. 93
Civ. 7527 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 3, 1993) ("Aguinda") and Jota v. Texaco, Inc., No. 94 Civ. 9266
(S.D.N.Y. Dec. 28, 1994) ("Jota"). Those actions were dismissed on grounds includingjorum
non conveniens, international comity, and failure to join indispensable parties Petroecuador and
the Republic of Ecuador.
60. Because Ecuador and Petroecuador had released TexPet from liability following
its remediation efforts and because Ecuadorian law does not allow class actions, the U.S.
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