The BBC is reporting that an Ecuadoran appellate court has affirmed the $18 billion judgment against Chevron. I don’t yet have further details on the decision yet. Chevron has issued a press release rejecting the decision. Opinio Juris has coverage.

Readers may recall that the Ecuadoran plaintiffs stipulated that they would not begin proceedings to enforce the judgment “prior to entry of a ruling by the Provincial Court of Sucumbíos on the de novo appeal currently pending before that court in Ecuador”. Now that the Ecuadoran court has ruled—and in light of the Second Circuit’s decision vacating Judge Kaplan’s preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement—I predict we will see a flurry of enforcement activity in jurisdictions around the world where Chevron has assets. “Let slip the dogs of war,” or more colloquially, “release the hounds!”