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Chevron loses bid
to withhold documents

Star-Bulletin staff

Chevron Corp. has lost its bid to have a federal magistrate's ruling reversed and must turn over confidential attorney-client documents for the court's review as part of the state's antitrust lawsuit against several Hawaii oil companies.

Senior U.S. District Judge Samuel P. King yesterday upheld Magistrate Francis Yamashita's April 4 order and gave Chevron 14 business days to turn over certain confidential documents.

King said Yamashita's order was not erroneous as Chevron alleged.

The state sought the review so the court could determine whether the documents indicate Chevron's attorneys helped the company commit fraud or a crime in the way it responded to the state's investigations on Hawaii's high gas prices. Chevron has denied any wrongdoing.

Yamashita's order also requires former Chevron executive David Young to answer questions in a deposition that Chevron originally objected to, citing attorney-client privilege.