Chevron Slings Ghostwriting Accusations in Amazon Oil Spill Judgment

Often, when a ruling is reached, legal wrangling comes to an end. But for Chevron (NYSE:CVX), it has been just the opposite. Since Ecuadorian authorities issued a $18.2 billion judgement against the oil and gas producer in February of 2011 for illegally dumping waste products in the Amazon by Lago Agrio, only more problems have materialized.

A few months after the ruling, Chevron made an appeal to a federal judge in New York to block the plaintiffs from collecting their judgement. That injunction was ultimately thrown out. Next, attorneys began a series of legal proceedings to enforce the judgment in Canada, Argentina, and Brazil, where the company has sizable assets. Then accusations of ghostwriting joined the mix, with the most-recent claims being made on Monday.

In federal district court, Chevron filed a declaration of a former Ecuadorian judge, Alberto Guerra. The document, which was seen by CNN reporters, alleged that he and another former judge, Nicolás Zambrano, allowed the plaintiffs’ lawyers to ghostwrite the 188-page, $18.2 billion ruling in exchange for $500,000. While this is the first time either side has made bribery accusations, it is the second ghostwriting charge…