Members leave CBA over Chevron case – Law Times

Some members of the Canadian Bar Association are considering giving up their memberships after the organization decided to intervene in support of Chevron Corp.’s position in the oil company’s upcoming legal battle against the indigenous Mayan people of Ecuador at the Supreme Court of Canada.

E-mails obtained by Law Times show the CBA is moving ahead with the intervention despite a recommendation from the aboriginal law section that it refrain from doing so. The e-mails suggest some executive members of the section have resigned as a result of the organization’s decision.

The thrust of the case against Chevron is that the company caused extensive pollution in the Lago Agrio region of Ecuador. The indigenous villagers had obtained judgment for $9.51 billion in a local court against Chevron and they’re now seeking to enforce it against the company’s assets in Ontario.

A lower court had tossed out the case against Chevron on grounds that there was no jurisdiction in Ontario to enforce the judgment, but the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed that decision.

Read more: http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201410064242/headline-news/members-leave-cba-over-chevron-case