Lewis A. Kaplan, District Judge.
Background...472
Facts Concerning the Pending Motions ... 476
Discussion ... 488
I. Civil Contempt — General Principles ... 488
II. Disobedience of Paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment — the 2017 Retainer ... 489
III. Disobedience of the RICO Judgment — Monetizing and Profiting from the Ecuador Judgment and Failure to Transfer to Chevron Money Traceable to It ... 491
IV. Disobedience of the Restraining Notice ... 500
V. Disobedience of the March 5, 2019 Order — The Forensic Protocol ... 502
VI. Alleged Continuation of Pattern of Racketeering ... 503
VII. Relief ... 503
Conclusion ... 506
Steven Donziger, formerly a lawyer,
The RICO Judgment has been affirmed on appeal. In the words of the Court of Appeals, "[t]he record in the present case reveals a parade of corrupt actions by the LAPs' [i.e., the Ecuadorian plaintiffs'] legal team, including coercion, fraud, and bribery, culminating in the promise to [Ecuadorian] Judge Zambrano of $500,000 from a judgment in favor of the [Ecuadorian plaintiffs, the] LAPs."
Donziger largely has stonewalled Chevron's efforts. He has disobeyed explicit provisions of the RICO Judgment and defied court process compelling him to provide discovery and to take other actions. He has ignored the fundamental "proposition that all orders and judgments of courts must be complied with promptly. If a person to whom a court directs an order believes that order is incorrect the remedy is to appeal, but, absent a stay, he must comply promptly with the order pending appeal."
The matter is before the Court on four motions by Chevron to hold Donziger in civil contempt.
The RICO Judgment imposed a constructive trust on and contains a permanent injunction against Donziger
Three of the pending contempt motions involve Donziger's alleged violation of provisions of the RICO Judgment and a default judgment later entered against the LAPs and other defendants (the "Default Judgment") that foreclose all of them from doing any act to monetize or profit from the Ecuador Judgment or seeking to do so. One of these three motions involves, in addition, Donziger's alleged contempt of a restraining notice by transferring assets that otherwise could have been used to satisfy the Money Judgment. That motion seeks also a civil contempt adjudication with respect to Donziger's failure to comply with the requirement that he transfer and assign to Chevron any contingent fee interest that he may have.
The fourth motion arises by reason of Donziger's virtually categorical refusal to comply with court orders to produce documents to Chevron in relation to enforcement of the Money Judgment and investigating Donziger's compliance with equitable provisions of the RICO Judgment.
The RICO Judgment, in the words of the Court of Appeals in upholding the relief granted, "prohibit[s] Donziger and the LAP Representatives from profiting from the corrupt conduct that led to the entry of the Judgment against Chevron...."
The RICO Judgment named Donziger and the LAP Representatives. It did not bind directly the 45 LAPs (i.e., those other than the two LAP Representatives) or the other defendants in this case who did not appear.
Chevron made the first of the pending contempt motions on March 19, 2018.
The Court in due course denied the portion of the contempt motion that was based on paragraph 3 of the RICO Judgment in view of the need for further proceedings.
On April 23, 2018 — after the filing of the first contempt motion but before the filing of the second — the Court entered the Default Judgment against all of the remaining defendants in the case. Those enjoined included, among others, all of the plaintiffs in the Ecuadorian litigation (collectively, the "Defaulted Defendants") save the LAP Representatives, who already were subject to the RICO Judgment. Among other things, it enjoined the Defaulted Defendants "from undertaking any acts to monetize or profit from the [Ecuador] Judgment, ... including without limitation by selling, assigning, pledging, transferring, or encumbering any interest therein."
The Default Judgment binds the Defaulted Defendants as well as "their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and other persons who are in active concert and participation with any of the foregoing."
On October 1, 2018, Chevron again moved to hold Donziger in civil contempt.
First. Donziger is in continuing violation of paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment in that he never has complied with its command that he "transfer and forthwith assign to Chevron" (a) the 6.3 percent interest in the Ecuador Judgment or any settlement with Chevron granted to him by the ADF in the 2017 Retainer, as
Second. Donziger has violated paragraph 5 of the RICO Judgment by acting to monetize and profit from the Ecuador Judgment and paragraph 4 of the Default Judgment by actively participating with the ADF and other Defaulted Defendants in their monetization of that judgment. He is likely to continue to do so.
Third. Donziger has violated, and likely continues to violate, the restraining notice served by Chevron. The violation of a restraining notice constitutes contempt of court.
Fourth. Donziger is continuing to engage in the same pattern of racketeering activity that led to the RICO Judgment against him.
Chevron argues that civil contempt sanctions are necessary to ensure the cessation of his unlawful activities.
The third contempt motion asserts that Donziger has continued to violate paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment by failing to assign his rights to a contingent fee to Chevron.
As is evident from prior rulings, Donziger has sought to frustrate Chevron's efforts to enforce its Money Judgment and to conduct discovery with respect to Donziger's compliance with the equitable provisions of the RICO Judgment at every turn.
Donziger announced in advance that he would not comply with these provisions of the Protocol and has not done so. The final contempt motion concerns Donziger's intentional disobedience of the Forensic Protocol.
As detailed in the RICO opinion, Donziger entered into a written retainer agreement concerning the Ecuador case in January 2011 (the "2011 Retainer").
In order to ensure that Donziger did not profit from his bribery, fraud and racketeering, paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment imposed the constructive trust, previously described, on:
Moreover, it directed Donziger to "transfer and forthwith assign to Chevron all such property that he now has or hereafter may obtain."
Donziger failed from 2014 until 2018 to comply with the direction that he "transfer and forthwith assign to Chevron" his contingent fee rights under the 2011 Retainer. In September 2018, following extensive motion practice
As previously mentioned, Donziger personally (as distinct from his PLLC) in November 2017 entered into the 2017 Retainer with the ADF — not the LAPs. Thus, the 2017 Retainer differed from the 2011 Retainer both in respect of who was obligated to pay and who had a right to receive any contingent fee. That 2017 Retainer contractually obligated the ADF (as opposed to the LAPs) to pay Donziger (as opposed to his firm) a contingent fee of 6.3 percent of any funds that the ADF might obtain in respect of the Ecuador litigation.
Production of the 2017 Retainer was called for by several specifications of Chevron's post-judgment document subpoena.
The pending contempt motions were made at different times. The information concerning Donziger's activities that Chevron had obtained, principally from non-parties, was greater when the second motion was made. Some relevant events — for example, the entry of the Default Judgment and a hearing on certain events relevant to the first of the two motions — intervened between them.
Given Donziger's resistance to discovery that would reveal information about his compliance or non-compliance with the provisions of the RICO Judgment here at issue, it is doubtful that the full extent of Donziger's efforts to monetize and profit from the Ecuador Judgment — or even the full extent of the funds thus raised — is before the Court. Nevertheless, the following is clear.
In the fall of 2016, Donziger was introduced to one David Zelman,
In December 2016, Donziger asked Zelman if he could "fold another person ( []my wife) into the same deal."
Following the entry of the RICO Judgment, Donziger engaged in persistent efforts to raise money by selling interests in the Ecuador Judgment which, in an effort to avoid contempt liability, he characterizes as assisting his clients to sell their interests in it.
These efforts included also an approach to Elliott Management that took place as a result of Mary Katherine Sullivan, who met Donziger and became involved in some of his efforts. In October 2017, Ms. Sullivan suggested to Donziger that he approach Elliott Management, a well known hedge fund, regarding a possible investment. Donziger responded enthusiastically, whereupon Sullivan approached someone with whom she previously dealt, Jonathan Bush, as a means of getting to Elliott. Donziger and Sullivan met with two Elliott portfolio managers.
Donziger offered to sell Elliott an interest in the Ecuador Judgment in exchange for an "investment" by Elliott of an unspecified amount of money, adding that he had raised about $33 million in that way,
We now know that Donziger's post-RICO Judgment efforts succeeded to the extent of raising a minimum $2,367,500 from at least seven people or entities.
TABLE 1 75 Invest. Investor Agreement Equity Agreement Remained with Deposited into Donziger or Donziger-Related Account No. Date Interest Canadian Amount After Fees counsel Amount Date Bank Account Name I Glenn Krevlin 5/2/16 0.125% $250,000 $250,000 $175,000 $74,990 5/10/2016 TD Donziger & Assoc. I Glenn Krevlin 7/11/16 0.050% $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 _ II Cliff Eisler 7/11/16 0.125% $250,000 $250,000 $145,000 $104,990 7/19/16 TD Donziger & Assoc. III WDIS Finance LLC 8/24/16 0.165% $300,000 $285,000 $141,500 $143,490 10/6/16 TD Donziger & Assoc. IV Wellbeck Partners 8/24/16 0.110% $200,000 $200,000 $100,000 $99,990 10/21/16 TD Donziger & Assoc. III WDIS Finance LLC 11/10/16 0.055% $100,000 $95,000 $30,000 $64,990 12/19/16 TD Donziger & Assoc. V Indigenous People Ltd. 11/24/16 0.1375% $250,000 $237,500 $100,000 $137,490 2/21/17 TD Donziger & Assoc.Total to or through Canadian Counsel $1,450,000 $1,417,500 $791,500 $625,940 VI Fenwick (Geo. Waters) 1/22/16 0 $102,000 $100,000 N/A $50,000 1/25/16 TD Steven Donziger VI Fenwick (Geo. Waters) 2/3/17 0.076% $50,000 $50,000 N/A $50,000 2/14/17 TD Donziger & Assoc. VI Fenwick (Geo. Waters) 12/17/17 0.025% $50,000 $50,000 N/A $50,000 12/11/17 TD Donziger & Assoc.Total Fenwick $202,000 $200,000 $150,000 VII CHC LLC (Tony Abiatti 12/20/17 0.25% $500,000 $500,000 N/A 1/2/18 $250,000 BoA CWP Assoc. and client) 1/5/18 $250,000 I Glenn Kervlin 1/2/18 0.16675% $250,000 $250,000 N/A 1/18/18 $250,000 BoA CWP Assoc.Total CWP $750,000 $750,000 $750,000 GRAND TOTALS $2,402,000 $2,367,500 $791,500 $1,525,940
The entry of the RICO Judgment in March 2014 appears to have impacted the structuring of the investment opportunities Donziger was selling. There is no evidence that the LAPs' Canadian counsel,
In early 2016, Donziger began using a form of investment agreement between and among each investor, the Lenczner firm, the ADF, and the Trust and Trust Board President (together with the ADF, the "Ecuador Parties").
In December 2017, shortly after the Elliott approach failed, Donziger decided "that Lenczner's firm had been sufficiently compensated and ... would ask for more money if Lenczner knew that there were new investors."
Ms. Sullivan, at Donziger's direction, caused Streamline Family Office Inc., a corporation she owned and operated,
Ms. Sullivan used the CWP account just as it had been intended. In early 2018, investors solicited by Donziger put up $750,000 in exchange for interests in the Ecuador Judgment. Per Donziger's direction, they transferred those funds to the CWP account.
At that time, the CWP account balance was $356,421.
There is another interesting phenomenon related to the manner in which Donziger received and maintained purportedly client-owned funds. It is his apparent failure or refusal to maintain the funds in a separate account or otherwise as the rules of professional conduct require.
The evidence of record demonstrates that Donziger raised $50,000 from an investor in January 2016 that went directly into his personal account at TD Bank. The funds raised in the period February 2017 through December 17, 2017 ($100,000) went directly into a Donziger & Associates account. Almost half of the money raised during the intervening period from May 2016 through November 2016 ($625,940 of $1,417,500) went first from investors to the Lenczner firm and then from the Lenczner firm to a Donziger & Associates account. And a significant portion of the money raised during the period December 2017 through January 2018 ($342,045 of $750,000) went first to the CWP account
As Table 1 and the preceding discussion reflect, Chevron has proved that Donziger raised at least $2.3 million from January 2016 through the beginning of 2018, all of it by selling interests in the Ecuador Judgment. As the following discussion will make clear, Chevron has proved also that Donziger personally profited from this money that he raised, allegedly on behalf of his clients.
Approximately $1,242,985 in investor funds was deposited into Donziger's personal and business accounts from May 2016 to May 2018 as follows.
As shown by Table 1 above, $775,940 was deposited directly or indirectly into Donziger's accounts and $750,000 was deposited into the CWP account. Before closing the CWP account, Ms. Sullivan wired a total of $125,000 from the account to one of Donziger's accounts.
In broad strokes, here is what Donziger did with that money. From January 2016 to June 2018, he spent $1,343,028.57 — just north of the amount deposited into his accounts from investors or traceable to them.
Donziger claims that any money spent from his accounts was client funds either used to pay appropriate disbursements for the benefit of clients or to pay him a monthly retainer or arrearages thereof.
On April 16, 2018 — seventeen days before Ms. Sulllivan sent the $342,015 to Page — Chevron served a restraining notice on Donziger, the Law Offices of Steven R. Donziger, and Donziger and Associates, PLLC, in an effort to collect the unpaid Money Judgment.
As we have seen, it is undisputed that Donziger opened a new personal checking account at TD Bank (xxxx8132) on May 7, 2018.
Additionally, in June 2018, Donziger made a personal credit card payment or payments in the amount of $3,620.43 from an unspecified Donziger personal account or accounts at TD Bank.
The restraining notice served in April 2018 is the subject of the second contempt motion filed October 1, 2018,
As the record makes clear, Donziger has transferred over $440,000 to his wife, Laura Miller, over the past seven years. All of those transfers were by wire transfer from Donziger's accounts to those of his wife until June 11, 2018,
The Forensic Inspection Protocol (the "Protocol") required Donziger to (a) identify and provide certain additional information with regard to his electronic devices, media, and web-based accounts in writing on or before March 8, 2019, and (b) surrender his devices and give access to his accounts the Neutral Forensic Expert on March 18, 2019 for forensic imaging.
Donziger quite intentionally has not complied with the requirements set out in the preceding paragraph. Indeed, he explicitly has invited a contempt finding in this regard.
The purpose of civil contempt is not to punish but to compensate for injury caused by any violation of a court order or process, to coerce compliance, or both.
A court order is clear and unambiguous when it "leaves no uncertainty in the minds of those to whom it is addressed."
As set forth above, it is abundantly clear that Donziger violated, and continues to violate, paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment by failing to transfer and assign his contractual right from the ADF to a contingent fee of 6.3 percent of any moneys obtained in respect of the Ecuador Judgment, whether by its enforcement or otherwise.
First, paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment is clear and unambiguous. It provides in relevant part that a constructive trust was imposed:
As the RICO opinion said, Donziger's contractual rights to contingent fees are assignable and subject to the constructive trust imposed by the RICO Judgment.
Finally, Donziger has made no attempt to comply with paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment in this respect. Rather than do so, he failed to disclose the 2017 Retainer, even when ordered to produce documents that unmistakably required its production. And he now continues in his refusal to comply.
Donziger's principal response to this aspect of Chevron's contempt motions is a single paragraph:
This is no defense at all:
In sum, Donziger's contingent fee interest is property. It is traceable to the Ecuador Judgment, which "is the indispensable predicate of his right to collect [any] contingent fee."
Clear and convincing evidence establishes that Donziger is in civil contempt by disobeying its command that he transfer all of his right, title and interest to a contingent fee under the 2017 Retainer.
Chevron moves to hold that Donziger is in civil contempt by (a) engaging in fund raising activities to monetize the Ecuador Judgment in violation of paragraph 5 of the RICO Judgment, (b) profiting from it, and (c) failing to transfer to Chevron, as required by paragraph 1, investor funds traceable to the Ecuador Judgment that came into Donziger's possession.
Paragraph 5 of the Judgment, quoted in full above, prohibits "undertaking any acts to monetize or profit from the [Ecuador] Judgment ... including without limitation by selling, assigning, pledging, transferring or encumbering any interest therein."
Donziger admitted that he has arranged for sales of shares in the Ecuador Judgment to at least six investors since March 2014.
The evidence clearly and convincingly establishes that Donziger, contrary to his denials, in fact monetized his own interest in the Ecuador Judgment by pledging or selling part of his contingent fee interest to someone else in exchange for services. Moreover, the Stay Opinion could not and did not alter the terms of the RICO Judgment. In any case, the evidence clearly and convincingly establishes that Donziger violated the RICO Judgment by profiting from the Ecuador Judgment. He raised money in exchange for shares of his ostensible client's interest in it and then used a substantial share of the money thus raised for his personal benefit. It establishes also that Donziger disregarded his obligation to pay over to Chevron any funds traceable to the Ecuador Judgment in which he had an interest.
Under the 2011 and 2017 Retainers, Donziger was entitled to 6.3 percent of any proceeds related to the Ecuador Judgment. He concedes that any act to monetize the Ecuador Judgment, including by attempting to transfer, sell, pledge or assign any part of that 6.3 percent interest, violated paragraph 5 of the RICO Judgment.
Donziger attempts to defend his sales of interests in the Ecuador Judgment to investors on two grounds. First, he argues that the Stay Opinion changed the terms of the RICO Judgment and limited the prohibitions in paragraphs 1 and 5 to acts related to money obtained as a result of a collection on the Ecuador Judgment. Second, he submits that sales of shares of the interests of his client, the ADF, were unobjectionable because the ADF was not subject to the RICO Judgment at the time of the sales.
Donziger contends that he "moved for relief from the `monetize or profit from'
As an initial matter, Donziger never made any such motion. He merely sought a stay pending appeal from this Court. Nor did the Court grant any relief from the "monetize or profit" portions of the judgment. It denied Donziger's motion in all material respects. There is not a single word in the Stay Opinion that even suggests that the Court intended to modify the RICO Judgment. And the Stay Opinion most assuredly is not "the applicable order of the Court," "effectively" or otherwise. Indeed, this Court lacked the power to modify or alter the terms of the RICO Judgment at the time the Stay Opinion was entered because Donziger and the LAP Representatives had appealed the RICO Judgment to the Court of Appeals on March 18, 2014, over a month before the Stay Opinion was issued. Moreover, it was the RICO Judgment that was affirmed by the Court of Appeals and that is embodied in its mandate, not the Court's rationale for denying a stay pending appeal.
As the Supreme Court has held — in language quoted by this Court in a closely related case to which Donziger was a party and of which he therefore was quite aware — "the filing of a notice of appeal is an event of jurisdictional significance — it confers jurisdiction on the court of appeals and divests the district court of its control over those aspects of the case involved in the appeal."
The genesis of paragraphs 1 and 5 of the RICO Judgment is an appropriate starting point.
In its post-trial brief, Chevron specifically sought an injunction bailing Donziger and the LAP Representatives from "[u]ndertaking any acts to monetize or profit from the [Ecuador J]udgment,"
Donziger resisted these provisions in his own post-trial brief. He complained that they would foreclose any acts to monetize or profit from the Ecuador Judgment and
As the RICO Judgment reflects, this Court rejected Donziger's arguments. It adopted the core of these two Chevron proposals. Thus, when this Court entered the RICO Judgment, Donziger understood that the RICO Judgment barred him from any conduct to monetize or profit from the Ecuador Judgment and required him to turn over to Chevron any money or other property traceable to the Ecuador Judgment.
Following entry of the RICO Judgment, and contrary to Donziger's present claims, neither Donziger nor the LAP Representatives sought any modification or clarification. Instead, they separately moved for stays pending appeal. The focus of those motions was whether the appellants were threatened with imminent and irreparable injury absent a stay and whether they had demonstrated a likelihood of success on appeal. The Court concluded that neither was the case and denied the motions in all relevant respects.
In his attempt to establish irreparable injury, Donziger claimed in his motion, among other things not relevant here, that the prohibition on his selling, assigning, pledging, transferring or encumbering any interest in the Ecuador Judgment and the requirement that he transfer his interest in that judgment to Chevron would prevent Donziger from continuing to work on the Ecuador matter, destroy his law practice, and leave him no means of earning a living unless the RICO Judgment were stayed pending appeal.
Donziger's compensation was governed by the 2011 Retainer, which provided for a monthly retainer and a contingent fee of 6.3 percent of any recovery.
That is the plain meaning of the English word "traceable."
The precisely relevant portion of paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment reads "The Court hereby imposes a constructive trust for the benefit of Chevron on all property, whether personal or real, tangible or intangible, vested or contingent, that Donziger has received, or hereafter may receive, directly or indirectly, ... that is traceable to the Judgment
Thus, Donziger's contention that paragraphs 1 and 5 of the RICO Judgment apply only to collections in the sense of realization of value "as a result of enforcement and then executing"
Donziger makes an additional argument based on part of the Court's response in the Stay Opinion to an argument made only by the LAP Representatives and not by Donziger. The LAP Representatives contended that paragraph 5 of the Judgment, unless stayed, would have prevented them from financing their appeal.
The Stay Opinion actually said that "[n]othing in the NY. Judgment prevents the LAPs (other than the two Representatives who are named in the N.Y. Judgment) and their allies from continuing to raise money" by selling interests in any eventual recovery.
Donziger's argument seizes on the following language:
He argues that this statement meant that he was free to sell interests in the Ecuador Judgment as long as the interests sold were not personally owned by him. But there are two straightforward answers to that argument.
First, the language of paragraph 5, which controls here, enjoins Donziger from "undertaking any acts to monetize or profit from the [Ecuador] Judgment ... including without limitation by selling, assigning, pledging, transferring or encumbering any interest therein."
Second, Donziger conspicuously ignores the very next paragraph of the Stay Opinion, which in relevant part states that "[t]he N.Y. Judgment, including paragraph 5, in fact would deprive Donziger of the ability to profit from the Lago Agrio Judgment that he obtained by fraud."
Accordingly, the Court rejects Donziger's proposed arguments based on the Stay Opinion. The RICO Judgment stands unmodified. It bars any and all acts to monetize or profit from the Ecuador Judgment, including without limitation sale, assignment, pledge, transfer or encumbrance of any interest therein. Donziger, in the Court's view, violated paragraph 5 via his sales and efforts to sell interests in the Ecuador Judgment irrespective of whether the interests sold were in Donziger's contingent fee interest or the Ecuador Parties' interests in the Ecuador Judgment itself.
Chevron has proved that Donziger raised over $2.4 million from investors in exchange for interests in the Ecuador Judgment totaling at least 1.28525 percent from at least May 2016 through 2018.
At least $1,242,985 of invested money was deposited, either directly or indirectly, into personal checking accounts owned by Donziger or business checking accounts nominally owned by his PLLC. All of it was traceable to the Ecuador Judgment as it reflected investments made in exchange for interests in that judgment. The total then would be subject to the constructive trust if it were "received" by Donziger or if he had "any right" to or "interest" in it. Assuming for purposes of this analysis that the funds Donziger raised and received initially belonged to the ADF, the only remaining issue is the extent to which Donziger or his PLLC had any right to or interest in them.
Donziger's own descriptions of his rights and responsibilities with respect to client and investor funds provides an ample basis for findings. In his own words:
Accordingly, it may be that Donziger had a right to or an interest in the entire $1,242,985. Assuming the truth of his assertions, he had substantially unfettered control over the funds in his hands, including the discretion to pay himself with that money whenever he wished to do so. That control and discretion, in the extraordinary circumstances of this case,
But it is unnecessary to decide the issue in order to resolve these motions.
Donziger has stated multiple times that he paid himself from investment funds.
As mentioned previously, Donziger makes two arguments in support of the propriety of these payments and disbursements. He argues that the money consisted of his monthly retainer, or payments on previously unpaid monthly fees that had gone into arrears, and client funds that were used to pay appropriate disbursements for the benefit of clients.
The argument that the funds were payments of monthly retainers or retainer arrearages does not improve Donziger's position. If anything, it is a concession that Donziger had a right to or interest in the money. It is obvious also that the money was traceable to the Ecuador Judgment, as Donziger raised it himself by selling interests in that judgment to investors. He then controlled the flow of those funds, for example, by directing them either through Lenczner or the CWP account, or receiving them directly into his own business or personal accounts.
Accordingly, the Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that Donziger used at least $666,476.34 of investment funds for personal expenses, that those funds were traceable to the Ecuador Judgment, and that he had a personal right to or an interest in those funds. Donziger and his PLLC therefore are in contempt of paragraphs 1 and 5 of the RICO Judgment by profiting from and failing to assign to Chevron funds traceable to the Ecuador Judgment.
CPLR Section 5222, which applies to Chevron's efforts to collect the Money Judgment by virtue of Federal Rule 69(a), allows a judgment creditor to serve a judgment debtor with a restraining notice that prohibits the judgment debtor from transferring or assigning any property in which the debtor has an interest. Violation of a restraining order is "punishable by contempt"
Donziger has not denied either the service of the restraining notice on April 16, 2018 or any of the transactions described above. It is undisputed also that Donziger and his PLLC, both of which were subject to the restraining notice, made at least the following transfers after that notice became effective:
TABLE 2 189 From Donziger Personal Account (TDxxxx8132) Date Amount Transferee May 10, 2018 $342,045.16 Donziger PLLC business account (TDxxxx8174)From Unspecified Donziger Personal Account at TD Bank June ___, 2018 $3,620.43 American Express (Donziger account payment)From Donziger PLLC Business Account (TDxxxx8174) May 10, 2018 $50,000.00 Forum Nobis May 10, 2018 $35,000.00 Steven Donziger personal account (TDxxxx8132) May 10, 2018 $125,000.00 Donziger PLLC business account (TDxxxx8783)From Unspecified Donziger PLLC Business Account at TD Bank June 11, 2018 $15,000.00 Laura Miller Donziger
The restraining notice barred each of these transfers as long as the transferor — Donziger and, in some instances, his PLLC — had "an interest" in the money transferred.
As discussed above, Donziger claims that he had the authority, in his discretion, to use investor funds that came into his hands to pay his client's alleged debts to him. This view is reinforced by the 2017 Retainer, which contains a virtually boundless power of attorney that provides that "Mr. DONZIGER has the broadest powers and attributions awarded by the law to representatives."
On May 8, 2018, Page transferred $342,045.16 into Donziger's personal checking account. That money at least nominally belonged to the ADF, as it was raised by investment agreements nominally executed by the ADF and signed by investors. While the fact that the money was wired into Donziger's personal bank account gave rise to a presumption that the money belonged to Donziger,
Donziger then transferred the money to one of his law firm accounts. At the moment of that transfer, the funds presumably remained property of the ADF despite the funds' presence in the law firm account.
The Court finds that the restraining notice was clear and unambiguous. The proof that Donziger and his law firm both failed to comply with the restraining notice by transferring property in which he had an interest is clear and convincing. It further finds that he has not diligently sought to comply with the restraining notice, not least because Donziger commingled client funds with his personal and law firm assets and failed to keep client funds in properly designated accounts. Accordingly, the Court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that both Donziger and his law firm are in contempt of the restraining notice.
Paragraph 4 of the Protocol provides in relevant part:
Compliance was required on or before March 8, 2019, as the Protocol was entered on March 5.
Paragraph 5 provides in relevant part:
These provisions of the Protocol are as clear as a bell. Donziger's non-compliance is not only clear and convincing — it is admitted. And he has made no effort whatever to comply, as is evident from his anticipatory refusal to do so.
Chevron's October 1, 2018 contempt motion complains that Donziger's pattern of racketeering activity that was identified in the Court's RICO opinion continues unabated. It asks for the imposition of severe sanctions.
It is unclear whether Chevron seeks a contempt adjudication based on post-judgment tortious behavior or, instead, offers this argument in support of a position that severe sanctions should be imposed for any violations of the RICO Judgment or other court orders or process that may be found. To whatever extent it suggests the former, the suggestion is without merit.
Rule 65(d)(1) requires that injunctions state their terms specifically and describe in reasonable detail the act or acts restrained or required. In other words, any continuation of the pattern of racketeering activity is remediable by civil contempt only to the extent, if any, that all or parts of it are prohibited by explicit terms of the RICO Judgment or other court process. The RICO Judgment here does not include the sort of general "go and sin no more" language often found in some consent decrees. Thus, to whatever extent Chevron's argument is that Donziger is in contempt simply because he has continued the sorts of activities that resulted in the entry of the RICO Judgment, the argument is without merit.
The law governing relief is clear:
Donziger's failure to perform required acts that have not been performed warrant sanctions for the purpose of coercing compliance. Accordingly, the Court will afford a brief period before the commencement of coercive monetary sanctions during which Donziger may comply fully with the relevant orders. It imposes escalating fines for each day of continued non-compliance after the expiration of that brief period while reserving the possibility of increasing those fines and/or resorting to other remedies in the event Donziger does not swiftly comply. As with all such remedies, Donziger will have the option of purging himself of these contempts.
Chevron is entitled to recover any damages it sustained by reason of Donziger's contempts, including both those discussed in the preceding paragraph and the violations of the injunctive portions of the RICO Judgment and the restraining notice. The question is whether the evidence supports any such award.
Chevron has established no economic damages that yet have flowed from Donziger's failure to assign to Chevron his contingent fee interest under the 2017 Retainer, his failure to comply with the Forensic Protocol, and his sale and attempted sale of portions of his contingent fee claim with respect to and interests in the Ecuador Judgment.
That leaves two other matters — the disobedience to the restraining notice and the violation of so much of paragraphs 1 and 5 of the RICO Judgment as prohibited Donziger from profiting from the Ecuador Judgment and imposed a constructive trust on and required Donziger to pay over to Chevron all property received by him that was traceable to the Ecuador Judgment.
As discussed above, Donziger made at least three transfers after the service of the restraining notice totaling at
In considering this issue, it is relevant that the restraining notice is only a device for enforcing Chevron's Money Judgment of more than $800,000. Chevron thus already has a judgment larger than the sum of these three transfers. The award of another judgment for the transfers per se would result in a duplicative recovery. Accordingly, a compensatory damages award is not warranted in these circumstances.
Donziger's failure to respect the prohibitions of paragraph 5 and the requirement in paragraph I that he "transfer and forthwith assign to Chevron all ... property" that is "traceable to the Ecuador Judgment" is another matter. As the findings above make clear, Donziger raised at least $2.4 million from investors in exchange for interests in the Ecuador Judgment. All of that money was traceable to the Judgment. Donziger had a personal right to or at least a personal interest in — and profited from — at least $666,476.34 of those funds. He was obliged to turn over at least that amount to Chevron. Accordingly, the Court will enter a supplemental judgment in favor of Chevron and against Donziger for that sum. This is perfectly consistent with the overall purposes of paragraphs 1 and 5 of the RICO Judgment, which in part were designed to prevent Donziger from benefitting from the outrageous fraud he perpetrated.
The foregoing demonstrates that Donziger has not complied with paragraphs 1 and 5 of the RICO Judgment in that he has sold and attempted to sell parts of his interest in a contingent fee, profited from the sale of interests in the Ecuador Judgment to investors, failed to comply with the constructive trust and the requirement that he turn over to Chevron all property traceable to the Ecuador Judgment that he has a right to or interest in, and the restraining notice. He has behaved as if the RICO Judgment and the restraining notice do not exist. He has disregarded his obligations under the Protocol. The likelihood that he will continue to do so is high. Accordingly, Chevron urges the Court to grant additional relief in order to coerce future compliance.
"There can be no question that courts have inherent power to enforce compliance with their lawful orders through civil contempt."
Attorneys' fees may be awarded with respect to civil contempt regardless of whether the other relief granted is coercive, compensatory or both. As the Second Circuit has stated: "The district court in either case may award appropriate attorney fees and costs to a victim of contempt."
Chevron's motions to hold Donziger and Donziger & Associates, PLLC, in civil contempt of court [DI 1968, DI 2089 and DI 2112, DI 2175, and DI 2178] all are granted to the extent hereafter set forth.
1. With respect to Chevron's October 1, 2018 motion [DI 2089, DI 2112]:
a. Donziger is in wilful civil contempt of paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment by virtue of his failure to assign and transfer to Chevron all rights to any contingent fee that he now has or hereafter may obtain including without limitation all such rights under the 2017 Retainer.
b. Unless Donziger previously shall have executed, acknowledged, and delivered to Chevron's counsel the form of assignment attached as Exhibit 88 to DI 2091 without any additions, alterations, attachments or addenda (other than to reflect accurately the year in which the document was signed), he shall pay a coercive civil fine to the Clerk of Court with respect to May 28, 2019 and each subsequent day from that date until the date on which he fully purges himself of this contempt by doing so. The amount of the coercive fine shall begin at $2,000 for May 28, 2019 and shall double for each subsequent day during which Donziger fails fully to purge himself of this contempt.
c. Donziger is in wilful contempt of paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment by virtue of his profiting in the amount of $666,476.34 from the sale of interests in the Ecuador Judgment and his failure to assign and transfer to Chevron that profit, which constitutes property that Donziger has received, or to which he had a right, title or interest, that is traceable to the Ecuador Judgment. The Clerk shall enter a second supplemental judgment awarding that sum to Chevron and against Steven Donziger and Donziger & Associates, PLLC, jointly and severally.
2. With respect to the first of Chevron's two motions filed March 20, 2019 [DI 2175]:
a. Donziger is in wilful civil contempt of paragraph 4 of the March 5, 2019 order [DI 2172].
b. Unless Donziger previously shall have complied fully with each duty imposed
3. With respect to the Chevron's second motion filed March 20, 2019 [DI 2178]:
a. Donziger is in wilful civil contempt of paragraph 5 of the RICO Judgment by virtue of his selling, assigning, pledging, transferring or encumbering part of his putative contingent fee interest to David Zelman in exchange for approximately $11,000 worth of personal services.
4. With respect to each of the wilful civil contempts adjudicated herein (paragraphs 1(a), 1(c), 2(a), and 3(a)), plaintiff shall recover of Donziger and Donziger & Associates, PLLC their reasonable attorneys' fees in prosecuting these applications.
5. The parties each shall file, on or before May 29, 2019 at 1:00 pm, an affidavit or declaration stating whether each of Donziger and Donziger & Associates, PLLC has fully purged him- or itself of each of the civil contempts enumerated in paragraphs 1(a), 1(c), and 2, and if not, each respect in which he or it has not done so.
6. Nothing herein forecloses the possibility of the Court granting additional coercive relief, including increased fines and other measures, in the event the civil contempts herein are not hilly purged.
The foregoing constitute the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.
SO ORDERED.
Nor is this the only tribunal to reach such conclusions. To mention one other, an arbitration tribunal under the auspices of the Permanent Court on Arbitration at the Hague, after extensive hearings, found, among many other things, the following:
• "This assessment starts with certain of the Lago Agrio Plaintiffs' representatives, especially Mr Donziger and Mr Fajardo. The evidence before this Tribunal points clearly to the conclusion that they engaged in prolonged, malign conduct towards the Respondent's legal system generally and, particularly, the Lago Agrio Court in a manner that almost beggars belief in its arrogant contempt for elemental principles of truth and justice. It is pointless here to characterise such conduct any further, because these individuals are not the object of the exercise required for this Award under the Treaty applying international law. Such conduct, as related above, also speaks for itself. Moreover, others unknown were also involved in the `ghostwriting' exercise."
• The Ecuadorian "Judge Zambrano actively solicited a bribe from whichever side in the Lago Agrio Litigation would be willing to pay him for issuing a favourable judgment in the Lago Agrio Litigation. Chevron refused his approaches; but certain of the Lago Agrio Plaintiffs' representatives did not. It is not proven that Judge Zambrano did receive a monetary consideration actually paid to him before the issuance of the Lago Agrio Judgment. On a balance of probabilities, however, it is proven that the consideration was a promise to reward him financially at a later date from proceeds to be recovered from the enforcement against Chevron of the Lago Agrio Judgment."
• "Judge Zambrano did not draft the entirety of the Lago Agrio Judgment by himself, as he falsely testified on oath in the RICO Litigation. The Tribunal finds that Judge Zambrano, in return for his promised reward, allowed certain of the Lago Agrio Plaintiffs' representatives, corruptly, to `ghostwrite' at least material parts of the Lago Agrio Judgment (with its Clarification). These representatives included Mr Fajardo and Mr Donziger." Matter of Chevron Corp. v. Republic of Ecuador, PCA No. 2009-23, Second Partial Award on Track 2 §§ 5.229-5.231 (Aug. 30, 2018) [DI 2082-1] (emphasis added).
Further proceedings were necessary with respect to Donziger's obligation to transfer the Amazonia shares, see, e.g., DI 2072 & DI 2079, but have been resolved.
The agreement provided that the LAPs retained Donziger & Associates, PLLC. The ADF and the Asamblea de Afectados por Texaco (the "Asamblea") are collectively defined as "Plaintiffs' Coordinators." The President of the ADF signed the agreement on behalf of the ADF and Luis Yanza signed the agreement on behalf of the Asamblea.
The agreement provided Donziger's firm (not Donziger personally), "[a]s compensation for its services" in representing the LAPs, the right to a contingent fee determined as follows. Id. ¶ 3(a). Donziger's firm was entitled to 31.5 percent of The Total Contingency Fee Payment ("TCFP"). Id. The TCFP was defined as 20 percent of all Plaintiff Collection Monies ("PCM"). Id. PCM in turn was defined in relevant part as any "amounts paid ... from Chevron ... in respect of the Litigation." Id. The "Litigation" was defined to include the Ecuador litigation, enforcement proceedings in Ecuador and elsewhere in the world, and settlement with Chevron. Id. at 1.
There is no direct evidence of exactly why this new document was executed, but there is abundant circumstantial evidence.
First, the circumstances of the 2017 Retainer were quite different from those of the 2011. At the time the 2011 Retainer was signed on January 5 of that year, no judgment had been entered in Ecuador and there was uncertainty as to who or what would be judgment creditors. Chevron Corp., 974 F.Supp.2d at 528. The Ecuador Judgment, which was entered on February 14, 2011, made the judgment payable 90 percent to a trust (the "Trust") to be established for the benefit of the ADF and 10 percent to the ADF. PX 400 (Ecuador Judgment) at 186-87. The purpose of the Trust corpus would be to pay the costs of remediation. And the Trust would be controlled by a board consisting of representatives of the ADF or persons designated by the ADF. Id. at 187. Accordingly, Donziger stood to benefit from a new contingent fee agreement with the ADF, which is entitled in its own right to 10 percent of any recovery and not only is the sole beneficiary of the Trust, but is entitled to designate its directors, id., and thus to control all of the money, if any ever were realized. (In the past, the ADF, which was founded by Donziger and his close friend, Luis Yanza, was controlled by them. Chevron Corp., 974 F.Supp.2d at 398-99. No evidence suggests that this is not still the case.)
Second, Donziger and the ADF, on the one hand, and Fajardo, who had signed the original retainer on behalf of the LAPs, as well as organizations of indigenous people whom Donziger previously had claimed to represent, see Donziger Decl. [DI2122-1] ¶ 3 n.1, had had a falling out as evidenced by at least two pieces of evidence.
As an initial matter, Pablo Fajardo, who was the attorney of record for plaintiffs in the Ecuadorian litigation, asserted in a letter to the ADF that (1) Donziger was not a lawyer for the LAPs in Ecuador, (2) neither he nor the ADF represents them, and (3) documents signed by the ADF, purportedly on behalf of the LAPs, including documents purporting to convey interests in the Ecuador Judgment in exchange for investments, were unauthorized. Champion Decl. Ex. 28 [DI 2114-3] at ECF pp. 442-46. While the letter is undated, it speaks in the past tense of an event that is said to have occurred in January 2016. Id. at ECF p. 443. Donziger confirms that he is no longer a colleague of Fajardo and indeed that their relationship has soured. Donziger Decl. [DI 2122-1] ¶ 3 n.1 ("My impression is that the UDAPT [a successor entity to the Asamblea] has been `taken over' in recent years by my former colleague Pablo Fajardo, who often uses the organization as a vehicle to publicly attack me and thus regrettably serve the purposes of his supposed opponent, Chevron."). The 2017 Retainer is dated November 1, 2017, after Fajardo asserted that Donziger and the ADF do not represent the LAPs and that the ADF had no authority on behalf of the LAPs. See Champion Decl. Ex. 28 [DI 2114-3] at ECF p. 443.
To comparable effect is a declaration of the affected nationalities in the Province of Sucumbios, Ecuador. It asserts that Donziger and others, including Ermel Chavez, the President of the Administrative Board of the Trust, have acted maliciously and recklessly toward UDAPT and the Ecuadorian plaintiffs, that Donziger is not authorized to represent the nationalities, and that Donziger has failed to comply with a request by UDAPT for "detailed information about all of the money they have managed that belongs to the UDAPT." Champion Decl. Ex. 30 [DI 2114-3] at ECF pp. 455-57. The declaration asserts that Donziger and Luis Yanza "are hereby considered personae non gratae because they failed to defend the collective interest rights of the indigenous nationalities and peasants" in order "to advance their own private and personal interests." Id. at ECF p. 456.
In all the circumstances, the Court finds that Donziger obtained the 2017 Retainer from the ADF to ensure that he had a direct and personal contractual right to a contingent fee from it. This was especially desirable in view of the facts that (1) the LAPs had no legally protected right to share in any proceeds of the Ecuadorian litigation and thus no ability to pay any contingent fee, and (2) Donziger could not count on the acquiesence of the LAPs in any payments to Donziger given his falling out with Fajardo, who had represented the LAPs and, indeed, held their powers of attorney. Chevron Corp., 974 F.Supp.2d at 477 & n.704.
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Donziger had an assignable and transferable right to a contingent fee from the moment the Ecuador Judgment was entered. Chevron Corp., 974 F.Supp.2d at 640 & n.1820. That right was subject to the constructive trust from March 4, 2014, the date the RICO Judgment was entered, onward. He conveyed his right under the 2011 Retainer to Chevron in 2018. Champion Decl. Ex. 1 [DI 2085-1]. His failure to convey his rights under the 2017 Retainer is a subject of these motions. To the extent, if any, that any right to any contingent fee remains in Donziger, it remains subject to the constructive trust and to his other obligations under the RICO Judgment, Nonetheless, the Court refers to his contingent fee interest and to his interest in the Ecuador Judgment for ease of expression without implying that he actually still has any such interest.
Some aspects of Page's involvement with Donziger were discussed previously in the opinion after trial, 974 F.Supp.2d at 410 n.198, 421, in an opinion before trial, 970 F.Supp.2d 214, 225, 232 n.89 (S.D.N.Y. 2013), in an opinion before trial concerning non-party discovery, No. 11-cv-691 (LAK), 2013 WL 1087236, at *18 n.161, and in In re Naranjo, 768 F.3d 332, 345-46 (4th Cir. 2014).
Two points about the Trust bear mention.
First, it is difficult to understand how the individual claimants in the Ecuadorian case could have placed their "individual interests" into a trust in 2012 as, at that time, they had none. Chevron Corp., 37 F.Supp.3d at 662 & n.39.
Second, the Trust is controlled by the ADF which, under the Ecuador Judgment, is entitled to designate its directors. PX 400 at 186-87.
There is no indication in the record that any of the client funds that have reached Donziger and his PLLC in recent years have been held in an "Attorney Special Account," "Attorney Trust Account," or "Attorney Escrow Account" as the professional conduct rules require. Inasmuch as the question whether Donziger has engaged in professional misconduct in this regard is not material to the determination of the issues before it, the Court makes no determination with respect to professional conduct.
Donziger claims that the wiring of the money to his personal account was accidental. Donziger Decl. [DI 2122-1] ¶ 17. He does not elaborate on the nature of the alleged accident. But the claim rings hollow.
Donziger opened the personal account on May 7. Page wired the money into that account on May 8. Donziger did not open the new law firm account until May 10. In the absence of any explanation of how or why Donziger gave Page the number of the new personal account between its opening of May 7 and Page's dispatch of the money to that account on May 8, the only or at least most logical explanation is, and the Court finds, that Donziger opened the new personal account for the precise purpose of receiving the wire transfer and gave Page the number to permit him to send it there.
The fact that the interest perhaps might be considered contingent is immaterial. Paragraph 1 of the RICO Judgment explicitly applies to contingent interests.
According to Chevron, Donziger's fund raising activities, ostensibly on behalf of the ADF and other Defaulted Defendants, violated paragraph 4 of the Default Judgment as well to the extent that they occurred after its entry on April 23, 2018. DI 2113 at 26-27. The theory seems to be that Donziger's actions were in active concert and participation with the ADF in its sale of interests in the Ecuador Judgment. But there is no evidence of any such activities after the entry of the Default Judgment. Accordingly, that piece of Chevron's motion requires no further discussion.
Neither Donziger nor the LAP Representatives sought a stay from the Court of Appeals.
The effect of paragraph 5, it wrote, "is to prevent him from benefitting personally, at Chevron's expense, from property traceable to that fraudulent [Ecuador] Judgment." Id. at 660.
In addition, the Court noted that Donziger would not have been harmed irreparably if the portions of the RICO Judgment that affected his ability to collect a contingent fee remained in effect pending appeal. He never had received any contingent fee in the past and would not be harmed beyond repair, even if a contingent fee became payable while the appeals were pending. The worst that would happen in that unlikely case would have been only that his ability to collect such a fee would have been delayed. Id. at 658-59.
The Court notes also that a restraining notice is issued by an attorney "as officer of the court." E.g., CPLR § 5222; CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Island Rail Terminal, Inc., 879 F.3d 462, 470 (2d Cir. 2018). Violation of a restraining notice issued in a federal action therefore is punishable by fine or imprisonment or both, as it constitutes "[d]isobedience or resistance to its [i.e., the federal court's] lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command." 18 U.S.C. § 401(3); see also Adidas Sportschufabriken, No. 88-cv-5519 (PKL), 1995 WL 646213, at *3 ("Refusal or willful neglect by any person to obey a restraining notice shall ... be punishable as a contempt of court." (internal quotations and citation omitted)); Vinos Argentinos, No. 91-cv-2587 (JSM), 1993 WL 465353, at *1-2.