Patton Firm Seeks to Sue Chevron, Gibson Dunn, Claims Tortious Interference with Client Relationship
Last week, Chevron Corp. filed a federal civil racketeering lawsuit in New York against the plaintiffs in a hard-fought multi-billion-dollar Ecuador environmental case, alleging that they conspired to manufacture and withhold evidence.
Among the defendants is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, Steven Donziger.
This week, another plaintiffs law firm is seeking to sue Chevron and the oil company’s legal counsel, contending in a filing seeking permission to do so from a federal court in Washington, D.C., that Chevron and the firm have tortiously interfered with the relationship between Patton Boggs and its clients, according to Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters.
Chevron and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher “have repeated and embellished a fabricated storyline attempting to implicate Patton Boggs in a variety of fraudulent activities,” says Patton Boggs in the filing.
A Chevron spokesman calls the Patton Boggs filing “confused” and partner Theodore Boutrous Jr. of Gibson Dunn calls it “frivolous.”
Responding to the earlier civil RICO suit in the Southern District of New York, Donziger’s lawyer called it “a cynical bid to buy cover.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Chevron Claims Patton Boggs Conflict, Due to Lobbying Link, in $27B Environmental Case”
ABAJournal.com: “Chevron Shifts Gears, Files Civil RICO Suit Against Plaintiffs”
