10/29/07 (DC):
Supreme Court To Review Exxon Damages
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The Supreme Court has agreed to decide on a review of the punitive damages awarded against Exxon Mobil in 1994 over the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
An Alaskan jury originally awarded $5 billion in punitive damages in connection with the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill that affected more than 1,000 miles of coastline in 1989. To date, it is the worst oil spill in U.S history. The damages were cut in half at a subsequent appeal by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now the Supreme Court is to decide in early 2008 whether any punitive damages should be paid at all by the oil giant.
It is anticipated that the company will argue that, based largely on precedent, the award was excessive and that they had already paid out huge sums in clean up costs. In its filed papers, Exxon pointed out that the damages were the highest ever awarded on federal appeal. It may well be that attorneys for Exxon sense that recent decisions of the Supreme Court show an increasing desire to set aside large sums awarded in punitive damages by juries.
© X-Pro 2007
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