Lawyers for the Venezuela state-owned oil company PDVSA are back in court in London. They are trying to convince a judge there that the $12 billion that Exxon (NYSE: XOM) has seized through the courts in exchange for its assets that have been nationalized is excessive.

According to Reuters, "PDVSA lawyer Gordon Pollock said the amount frozen was excessive. He said a claim that PDVSA would try to hide its assets was not credible and the English court which awarded the freeze had exceeded its jurisdiction." PDVSA's argument is based partially on a theory that the calculation Exxon has used for reparations sets the face value of its property too high.

The legal challenge from Hugo Chavez's government has one significant flaw. His country has no right to take the Exxon assets in the first place. There would be no court hearing at all if Venezuela had not violated international law.

Several courts have agreed that the $12 billion in PDVSA overseas assets that Exxon has been able to seize is based on rational calculations. If the Venezuelan government does not want to pay fair value, then it should give the property back or reap the financial whirlwind.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

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• According to the Associated Press, Petroleos de Venezuela SA said it has stopped selling crude oil to Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM). The decision, made "as an act of reciprocity" for Exxon's "judicial-economic harassment," will also include the suspension of commercial relations with the U.S. company.

• Reuters reported that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) signed a deal to buy 20% of Net TV, a digital television company controlled by Spanish media company Vocento.

You may file this under: It's about time.

I've been patiently waiting for something to be done regarding the seizure of Venezuelan oil infrastructure by communist dictator Hugo Chavez. It appears that time has come, with the help of Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM). As reported by Reuters, approximately $12 billion in Venezuelan assets have been frozen. It's just too bad that John F. Kennedy isn't still around. He'd have already parked an armada of gunboats a mile off the sunny shores of Venezuela. There's a limit to the amount of guff we should take from an out-of-control communist dictator.