(Reuters) - Senior U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan ordered yet another postponement of Steven Donziger's trial on Monday, after the court's chief judge recently reupped a November order suspending in-person operations and leaving in-person bench trials to the discretion of presiding judges.

Donziger, the American lawyer who spent more than two decades suing Chevron Corp over pollution in Ecuador, was facing a civil trial next Tuesday for criminal contempt, which is now rescheduled for May 10.

Preska said she was granting the adjournment "reluctantly" after the prosecution and Donziger agreed on a new date following the defendant's objection to a virtual trial.

Donziger's attorney Ronald Kuby told Reuters: "It is deeply regrettable that the peaking of a global pandemic combined with a new virus strain and megadeath have disrupted plans to criminalize Donziger."

The prosecution, represented by Seward & Kissel, declined to comment.

Nine years ago, Donziger had won a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an Ecuador court, but was unable to enforce it after a U.S. judge found it had been obtained through fraud. The postponed trial involves several counts of criminal contempt including Donziger's failures to timely undergo a forensic inspection of his electronic devices and to surrender his passport.

Preska, in her order, expressed surprise that Donziger's 643 days of home confinement have not motivated him to agree to an earlier trial. The trial has been postponed more than four times.

The trial was initially scheduled for June 15 but was first postponed after two of Donziger's lawyers refused to travel to New York out of concerns over contracting COVID-19 and said they could not participate by video or act as lead counsel.

In September, it was again postponed after Donziger's lead attorney, who later sued him for nonpayment, said he could not represent him.

In October, Preska again ordered a postponement after Donziger's attorney said she could not travel from her home in Oregon to New York due to the pandemic.

And in November, the judge ordered yet another postponement because a new lawyer was set to join Donziger's legal team and represent him in person, putting to rest his grievances about inadequate representation.

Donziger faces a maximum of six months behind bars.

The case is United States v. Donziger, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:19-cr-00561.

For USA: Rita Glavin, Brian Maloney and Sareen Armani of Seward & Kissel

For Donziger: Ronald L. Kuby