The Republic of Ecuador asked a U.S. judge to block Chevron Corp. from pursuing arbitration in a $27 billion environmental lawsuit against the oil producer.

Lawyers for Ecuador made the request in a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Manhattan. The environmental suit, initially filed in New York in 1993, was later transferred to Ecuador. Secret recordings made by a Chevron contractor and an American businessman in May and June led Chevron to claim that the Ecuadorean judge overseeing the case was involved in a bribery scheme and planned to rule against the company.

Chevron, based in San Ramon, California, on Sept. 23 filed an international arbitration claim against the South American country’s government. Ecuador is seeking to block the claim with yesterday’s lawsuit, saying Chevron has tried to move the case to arbitration since getting it transferred to Ecuador in 2003.

via Ecuador Sues Chevron in U.S. to Block Arbitration « Ecuadorreport’s Blog.