The indefatigable Doug Cassel is back with a pro-Chevron look at Ecuador’s forensic evidence regarding the judgment ghostwriting allegation in the Lago Agrio case. It’s fair to say the evidence is equivocal—both sides have a case to make. Here is Ecuador’s new brief addressing Chevron’s arguments: I hope to have an Ecuador advocate give Letters Blogatory readers a post about Ecuador’s position soon. My basic perspective is this: perhaps the evidence that seems to suggest that Judge Zambrano actually wrote the judgment can be challenged; but the fact that there is such evidence gives me reason to think that he did write the judgment. Otherwise, we have to think that Judge Zambrano created false evidence at the time of the judgment to make it appear that he wrote the judgment. How can that be if, as Chevron suggests, Judge Zambrano is a chucklehead? I don’t believe he could have been that devious. I am also influenced by the presumption of regularity, which I do not think we can discard in this case without making the argument profoundly circular. And as long-time readers know, I found Judge Guerra’s testimony deeply unconvincing.
(more…)

I titled my last post on the dust-up between MCSquared and Sharon Stone “Lago Agrio: Someone’s Going To Have Egg On His Face.” The gist was that Stone gave notice that she intended to seek dismissal of MCSquared’s suit against her on the grounds that the relevant contract contained an agreement to arbitrate. MCSquared claimed that there was no contract with an arbitration agreement. This is one of those questions that has a right answer and a wrong answer, so the point was that someone—Stone’s lawyer or MCSquared’s lawyer—was going to have some egg on his face.
(more…)

The fracas between MCSquared and Sharon Stone has taken a decidedly odd turn.
(more…)