Chevron Hit With Record Judgment-$8.6 Billion (and possibly doubled)

[babylonsister]

Chevron Hit With Record Judgment

By BEN CASSELMAN, ISABEL ORDONEZ and ANGEL GONZALEZ


An Ecuadorian judge on Monday ordered Chevron Corp. to pay $8.6 billion to clean up oil pollution in the country's rain forest in what is believed to be the largest-ever judgment in an environmental case.

And if the U.S. oil giant doesn't publicly apologize in the next 15 days, the judge ordered the company to pay twice that amount.

Chevron shares rose today despite a court ruling in Ecuador ordering that oil giant to pay more than $8.6 billion in pollution damages. Jonathan Cheng has details and a brief wrap of the rest of today's market action.

The ruling brings to an end one chapter of a legal drama that has played out in courtrooms in Ecuador and the U.S. for nearly two decades.

more...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703584804576144464044068664.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0