Donziger Firm Can’t Shake Court Costs in Fraud Suit By Chevron

Attorney Steven Donziger will remain on the hook for the bulk of court costs in litigation that ended in a finding he fraudulently obtained an $8.6 billion judgment against Chevron on behalf of Ecuadorean villagers over pollution of the Amazon rain forest.

Donziger’s liability will be trimmed to $813,000 from the original $944,000 amount, representing 85 percent of the costs, the Southern District of New York ruled.

But the court rejected Donziger’s argument that he should be assessed no costs.

Donziger failed to prove financial hardship, and waived the argument that the imposition of costs would violate the First Amendment, ...