Chevron loses NY ruling on rainforest issue

The Associated Press reports that a federal appeals court in New York has rejected Chevron Corp.''s latest attempt to force Ecuador to help pay for any court-ordered cleanup of the Ecuadorian rainforest. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court''s June 2007 decision rejecting Chevron''s attempt to force arbitration. A group of indigenous Ecuadorian people sued 15 years ago in Manhattan to recover up to $16 billion for damage to the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. That case was removed to Ecuador, where it remains unresolved. In 2004, Chevron began trying to force Ecuador into arbitration to help pay for any cleanup. Chevron says the decision will require it to pursue other avenues to get Ecuador to share in the potential costs.