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Chevron then took legal action against Donziger in the U.S. under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in the company’s favor, and Donziger has been under house arrest since August 2019 over criminal contempt charges incurred during his appeal.
Kaplan took the unusual step of appointing private counsel to prosecute the case against Donziger after prosecutors with the Southern District of New York refused.
Seward & Kissel, the firm Kaplan named in the case, has at least two clients who have received “significant funding” from an investment fund whose vice chairman sits on Chevron’s board, according to a filing from Donziger’s lawyers.