On March 4, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against Chevron in 2011 by a court in Ecuador was obtained by means of "coercion," "bribery," and other acts violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Kaplan named Steven Donziger, a New York plaintiffs' lawyer, as the mastermind of a legal campaign that began in 1993 and over two decades evolved into an elaborate shakedown scheme. Anticipating a defeat in Ecuador, Chevron countersued Donziger in federal court in New York in February 2011. Kaplan's ruling was the culmination of that countersuit. Donziger denied wrongdoing and vowed to appeal. Donziger predicted that Kaplan's ruling won't influence judiciaries in Canada and other countries where the Ecuadorians are seeking enforcement of the 2011 judgment.