The Chevron-Ecuador Dispute, Forum Non Conveniens, and the Problem of Ex Ante Inadequacy

These opening lines from Chevron\u27s website of facts about Chevron and Texaco in Ecuador refer to the latest salvo in a long-running environmental dispute concerning a Texaco subsidiary\u27s Ecuadorian oil-drilling activities. Chevron resisted enforcement in the United States of an Ecuadorian court\u27s $18 billion judgment, and the plaintiffs are seeking to enforce the judgment against Chevron in various courts around the world. Chevron\u27s account suggests that the plaintiffs\u27 lawyers are engaged in improper forum-shopping. The plaintiffs\u27lawyers, according to Chevron, ought to pursue enforcement of the judgment in the United States