New York attorney Steven Donziger, Chevron's legal arch-nemesis, is fighting to keep his e-mail account details private.
(Credit: CBS News )
A $18 billion legal battle pitting Chevron against indigenous Amazonian Indians has spilled over into a California courtroom, where the oil giant is trying to force Google and Yahoo to turn over e-mail accounts used by attorneys for the Ecuadorians. Microsoft has also received a request.
CNET has learned that Google asked a California federal court on Friday to deny Chevron's request for immediate disclosure, arguing it's "simply unreasonable to demand that Google collect, review, and produce this volume of information in less than 30 days." Chevron subsequently agreed to more time.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal has scheduled a hearing on November 20 in San Jose, Calif., to evaluate Chevron's subpoena, which asks for nearly a decade's worth of information about the accounts of more than 70 e-mail users. Chevron wants not the contents of e-mail, but addresses, phone numbers, billing information -- and complete connection logs that can reveal geographic locations.
The Ecuadorians' attorneys, led by New York sole practitioner Steven Donziger, have asked Grewal to reject the Chevron subpoenas, calling them "unnecessary" and "extremely overbroad." Forty-four of the subpoenas target Gmail accounts.
"There is no justificati... [Read more]
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