Laptop theft in Amazon lawsuit reported

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Environmentalists say a burglary took place recently at the office of the Ecuadorian court expert tallying the damages in a mammoth lawsuit against Chevron.

Amazon Watch said in a statement Wednesday that a laptop computer and various files relating to the multi-billion-dollar case were taken from the Quito office of Richard Cabrera.

Cabrera had been appointed by the judge in the case to come up with an estimate of the damages from oil pollution in the Amazon allegedly caused by Texaco prior to Texaco's acquisition by Chevron.

The epic class-action suit seeks more than $6 billion in damages for allegedly widespread dumping and spilling of crude oil in the environmentally sensitive jungle that occurred over 30 years. All of the evidence has been submitted and the court's ruling is pending.

Amazon Watch said Cabrera had earlier told the judge in the case that he was being followed. The San Francisco-based conservation group called on Chevron to guarantee the safety of everyone involved in the lawsuit.