Ceglia v. Zuckerberg et al

Filing 577

MEMORANDUM in Opposition re 553 MOTION for Discovery CORRECTED/AMENDED filed by Paul D. Ceglia. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit, # 6 Exhibit, # 7 Exhibit, # 8 Exhibit, # 9 Exhibit, # 10 Exhibit, # 11 Exhibit, # 12 Exhibit, # 13 Exhibit, # 14 Exhibit)(Boland, Dean)

10/18/12

The Chevron Pit: Gibson Dunn Associates Begin to Flee as Firm’s Ethical Problems In Chevron’s Ecu…

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THE CHEVRON PIT
A B LO G MA I NT A I NED B Y T H E T EA M S UI NG C H EV R O N FO R T H E O I L G I A NT ' S H UMA N R I G H T S
P R O B LEMS I N EC UA DO R A ND A C R O S S T H E W O R LD

CH EV R O N' S LEG ACY

T H E CH EVR O N P I T

Chevron’s Ecuador $19 billion
Pollution Problem Now An Issue in
Florida Senate Race
Court Grants Ecuador Villagers First
Big Victory Against Chevron Assets
Chevron Facing Wall Street Criticism
Over $19 Billion Ecuador Liability

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FO LLO W ER S

The Pollution Chevron Left Behind...Shushufindi pit 38. Chevron's
scientists found no contamination at this pit.

MO NDA Y , J ULY 23, 2012

Gibson Dunn Associates Begin to Flee as Firm’s
Ethical Problems In Chevron’s Ecuador Case
Deepen
Ethical problems in the “transnational litigation practice group” at
Chevron’s lead outside law firm, Gibson Dunn and Crutcher (GDC), are
thechevronpit.blogspot.com/2012/07/gibson‑dunn‑associates‑begin‑to‑flee‑as.html

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The Chevron Pit: Gibson Dunn Associates Begin to Flee as Firm’s Ethical Problems In Chevron’s Ecu…

mounting fast with word that top-ranking associate Kristin Hendricks
–recently sanctioned by a U.S. federal court -- has abandoned her job.
The departure of Hendricks appears to be part of a broader trend by
young GDC lawyers disgusted with the firm’s tawdry tactics on the

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high-profile Ecuador environmental case, which has produced a series
of devastating legal setbacks for Chevron and all sorts of problems for
GDC over the last twelve months.
Hendricks, a 2006 graduate of NYU Law School, had been sanctioned
in 2011 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Coffin in Oregon (see
here) for “harassing” the executive director of a small environmental
non-profit that had been helping the Ecuador rainforest communities

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that recently won an $18 billion judgment against Chevron. A detailed
affidavit documenting GDC’s many unethical practices in the Oregon
action (which included Hendricks, partner Randy Mastro, and
associates Alexandra Southwell, and Gregory Shill) and on which
Judge Coffin based his decision, can be found here.
The larger issue is that many young lawyers probably don’t want to

FAV O R I T E LI NK S

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represent a client who committed gross human rights abuses and then

Amnesty International

lied to cover up thousands of deaths, while the partners who orchestrate

Bilaterals.org

the litigation reap millions of dollars in fees. A video about the horrific

Burma Global Action Network

human rights violations committed by Chevron in Ecuador can be found
here and a summary of the overwhelming evidence against the company

Business & Human Rights Resource
Centre

can be found here.

Center for Constitutional Rights
ChevronToxico

The background on how Hendricks found herself sanctioned by a

Human Rights Watch - Ecuador

federal court at the outset of her legal career – and how she was left

Justice in Nigeria Now!

hung out to dry by Gibson Dunn partner Mastro– can be found here. For
broader context on GDC’s many ethical problems in the Ecuador case,
including multiple sanctions imposed on the firm by courts in the U.S.
and Ecuador, see this blog published in the Huffington Post.
With almost comical fanfare, Gibson Dunn in 2010 announced a new

BLOG ARCHIVE

▼  2012 (69)
►  October (9)

“Transnational Litigation and Foreign Judgments” practice group of 27

►  September (6)

lawyers specializing in “defending multinational corporations against

►  August (3)

tort and related claims emanating from abroad.” Headed by Ted

▼  July (3)

Boutrous, Scott Edelman, Andrea Neuman, and William Thomson –
and using Mastro on the Chevron matter - the group has got off to
stuttering start to say the least.As far as we can tell, the only client the
group has signed up is Chevron.
GDC brags in its marketing materials that it is a bastion of "innovative
thinking" whose lawyers conduct "rescue operations" for clients in
trouble. While GDC’s marketing prowess no doubt has generated
millions of dollars in fees from Chevron management for the firm’s
thechevronpit.blogspot.com/2012/07/gibson‑dunn‑associates‑begin‑to‑flee‑as.html

Gibson Dunn Associates Begin
to Flee as Firm’s Eth...
Canadians Warned About
Chevron's Machinations,
Say...
Chevron’s Growing Reputation
As Rogue Company Rein...

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10/18/12

The Chevron Pit: Gibson Dunn Associates Begin to Flee as Firm’s Ethical Problems In Chevron’s Ecu…

partners, its courtroom performance has been nothing less than a

►  June (6)

disaster for Chevron shareholders.

►  May (5)

Consider just some of the setbacks Chevron has suffered since General

►  April (8)

Counsel R. Hewitt Pate – himself a central beneficiary of this suspect

►  March (6)

operation who has his own conflicts of interest (see here) -- hired

►  February (10)

GDC’s vaunted “rescue operation” in 2009:

►  January (13)
►  2011 (59)

Only 18 months after GDC began its representation, Chevron
was found liable in Ecuador for $18.2 billion in damages – the

►  2010 (94)

largest environmental judgment in history. A summary of the

►  2009 (50)

evidence can be seen here.

►  2008 (11)

A three-judge panel on Ecuador’s appellate court affirmed the
Ecuador trial court judgment in its entirety and blasted Chevron’s
counsel for engaging in malfeasance and attempting to
intimidate judges. In the process, it upheld a $9 billion punitive
damages award.
In May and June, the Ecuadorians filed enforcement actions in

S UB S C R I B E T O T H E C H EV R O N P I T

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Canada and Brazil, encumbering and potentially seizing billions
of dollars worth of Chevron assets. A Chevron comptroller, in a
sworn affidavit, had said the lawsuits would cause “irreparable

CH EV R O N' S W AS T E

harm” to the company.
Earlier this year, a U.S. federal appeals court in New York blew
up GDC’s primary defense for Chevron. A three-judge panel
vacated an illegal injunction purportedly blocking the
Ecuadorians from enforcing their judgment. Mastro, who argued
for Chevron, was literally laughed at by the panel when he tried
to dodge simple questions. See here.
GDC’s “fraud” allegations against the Ecuadorian rainforest
communities and their counsel have now been rejected outright
or not adopted by the Ecuadorian trial court, the Ecuadorian
appellate court, 15 U.S. federal trial courts, and four U.S.

The Toxic Waste Chevron Left Behind
In Ecuador

appellate courts.
Chevron CEO John Watson is facing a growing shareholder
rebellion over his (and GDC’s) mishandling of the Ecuador

S H US H UFI NDI 61

litigation. Several shareholders excoriated him publicly at the
company’s annual meeting in May. See here and here.
Under GDC’s watch, Chevron is also facing an investigation for
lying to shareholders to cover up its Ecuador risk. In May, U.S.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky petitioned the Securities and Exchange
Commission to determine whether Chevron is misleading
shareholders. The letter was based on a devastating report by
securities lawyer Graham Erion.
In 2009, Chevron was ordered to pay all attorney fees associated
with the defense of a civil lawsuit brought by GDC against
thechevronpit.blogspot.com/2012/07/gibson‑dunn‑associates‑begin‑to‑flee‑as.html

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Cristobal Bonifaz, a former lawyer for the Ecuadorians. A state
judge in California found that the lawsuit was designed to

C H EV R O N' S EC UA DO R I A N T O X I C
WASTE PITS

harass Bonifaz and suppress his First Amendment rights.
Finally, the same GDC practice group used by Chevron in the
Ecuador case recently was hit with sanctions from a second
California judge for filing a frivolous lawsuit to suppress the free
speech rights of a filmmaker who made a documentary about
how pesticides used by Dole in Central America have poisoned
banana workers.
GDC’s representation of Chevron also coincided with the use of
an illegal corporate espionage and intimidation campaign
against the lawyers for the Ecuadorians. In Manhattan, New
York lawyer Steven Donziger was followed on a 24/7 basis for

C LEA NI NG UP C H EV R O N' S MES S

several weeks by six “investigators” believed to have ties to GDC.
Lawyers fighting GDC in Ecuador have been subject to acts of
spying and intimidation and have sought protection from the
Inter-American Commission On Human Rights.
With problems like these growing, no wonder GDC is no longer
considered a desired destination for young lawyers.
As Hendricks departs, we received word from three different sources
that resumes are flying around New York as GDC associates try to bolt
work on the Ecuador case, which is now considered a big loser of a
S H US H UFI NDI 61

career move. Stay tuned as details emerge.

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