SAN RAMON — Chevron on Monday won a major appellate court ruling that bars a group of indigenous people from seeking to seize the energy giant’s U.S. assets to pay for polluting Ecuador’s Amazon jungle.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York City based its ruling on “corrupt conduct” — including bribes and fraud — on the part of the legal team for the plaintiffs, a group of indigenous Ecuadoreans, as well as officials in the South American nation.

“This decision, which is consistent with the findings of numerous judicial officers in the United States and South America, leaves no doubt that the Ecuadorean judgment against Chevron is the illegitimate and unenforceable product of misconduct,” said R. Hewitt Pate, Chevron’s general counsel.

San Ramon-based Chevron’s shares rose 0.7 percent on Monday, closing at $101.20.

“We are shocked by this decision,” said Karen Hinton, a spokeswoman for the plaintiffs, who sued Chevron in connection with oil pollution caused, at least in part, by Texaco, which Chevron bought in 2001. “The Ecuadoreans’ attorneys are reviewing it carefully and will be exploring all options for further appeal.”

The Ecuador group said it would continue to attempt to seize Chevron’s assets in Canada.

“This ruling will not deter the Ecuadoreans, their lawyers and their supporters from aggressively seeking justice in Canada and in other countries where litigation is underway to seize Chevron assets,” Hinton said.

The decision marked the latest major milestone after a $8.65 billion judgment against Chevron in Ecuador.

In 2011, an Ecuadorean court ordered Chevron to pay $18 billion, but that amount was later reduced. The same year, Chevron sued attorneys for the plaintiffs in U.S. District Court, seeking to block enforcement of the Ecuador decision in this country.

In 2014, the U.S. court ruled in favor of Chevron, saying the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Steven Donziger, had used “corrupt means” to gain the judgment.

“The decision hands well-heeled corporations a template for avoiding legal accountability anywhere in the world,” said Deepak Gupta, Donzinger’s attorney.

The federal appeals court said Donziger’s actions included fraud and bribery of legal officials in Ecuador.

“Even innocent clients may not benefit from the fraud of their attorney,” Judge Amalya Lyle Kearse wrote in the unanimous opinion of a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit.

Monday’s ruling upheld the lower court’s ruling, which Kearse cited in writing the appellate court’s decision.

“Justice is not served by inflicting injustice,” the U.S. District Court stated in its 2014 ruling. “The ends do not justify the means. There is no ‘Robin Hood’ defense to illegal and wrongful conduct. The defendants’ ‘this-is-the-way-it-is-done-in-Ecuador’ excuses — actually a remarkable insult to the people of Ecuador — do not help them.”

Contact George Avalos at 408-859-5167. Follow him at Twitter.com/georgeavalos.