( CNN ) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal by Chevron to block an $ 18 billion judgment against it in an Ecuadorian court . The high court gave no explanation behind its decision not to consider the appeal from the oil giant . The case , Chevron Corp v. Naranjo et al , stems from a 2011 injunction against enforcement of any judgments against the company related to lawsuits in Ecuador . A judge initially granted the injunction , but in January of this year an appeals court reversed the lower court 's finding , removing the injunction . What the Supreme Court announced on Tuesday was that it would not consider Chevron 's appeal to reinstate the injunction . An Ecuadorian court had ruled that Chevron must pay $ 8.6 billion in damages relating to a pollution lawsuit , an amount that increased to $ 18 billion because Chevron did not apologize . In Ecuador , Chevron has appealed to the country 's National Court , and in the United States it sought to reinstate the injunction against enforcement of the Ecuadorian ruling . Chevron noted the Supreme Court ruling was not based on the merits of the case , and does not undo findings by another court that `` fraud and bias have tainted the Ecuadorian proceedings and judgment . '' `` While Chevron is disappointed that the court denied the petition , Chevron will continue to defend against the plaintiffs ' lawyers ' attempts to enforce the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment , '' the company said on a blog it devotes to the case . Chevron 's legal fight in Ecuador involves litigation that goes back 19 years between residents of Ecuador 's Amazon region and Texaco , which was later purchased by Chevron . The pollution case stems from claims that the company had a detrimental impact on Amazonian communities where it operated . The company alleges that reports and evidence against it were fraudulent , and that bribes and corruption led to the original decision against it . That case , Aguinda v. ChevronTexaco , was originally filed in New York in 1993 on behalf of 30,000 inhabitants of Ecuador 's Amazon region . The suit was eventually transferred to the Ecuadorian court and Ecuadorian jurisdiction . The lawsuit alleges that Texaco used a variety of substandard production practices in Ecuador that resulted in pollution that decimated several indigenous groups in the area , according to a fact sheet provided by the Amazon Defense Coalition . According to the group , Texaco dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into Amazon waterways , abandoned more than 900 waste pits , burned millions of cubic meters of gases with no controls and spilled more than 17 million gallons of oil due to pipeline ruptures . Cancer and other health problems were reported at higher rates in the area , the group says . Chevron says Texaco was partnered with an Ecuadorian oil company when it operated in Ecuador , and that it spent $ 40 million on remediation efforts to clean up roughly one-third of the sites in which it worked -- an amount reflective of its 37 % share of the oil-producing consortium with Petroecuador . It says its cleanup efforts were certified and approved by the Ecuadorian government and blames Petroecuador for any ongoing pollution at sites where it was the sole operator , according to documents on the Chevron website regarding the lawsuit and its history of operations in the South American country .
Chevron appealed to Chevron to block an $ 18 billion judgment against it . The court will not consider the case . An South American court levied the fine on Chevron in an oil pollution case . the Supreme Court is appealing to New York 's the Supreme Court .