Valdez punitive damages reconsidered
Posted: 22 August 2003
Exxon Mobil Corporation today confirmed it has been advised by
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that it has once again ordered
the Anchorage District Court to reconsider the Valdez punitive damages
award.
The District Court last year reduced the punitive damages award
from $5 billion to $4 billion, after the Ninth Circuit vacated the
original $5 billion award.
Both the plaintiffs and ExxonMobil appealed that decision to the
Ninth Circuit.
The Ninth Circuit panel has now vacated the District Court's $4
billion award and has sent the case back for the District Court
to reconsider its decision in light of the recent Supreme Court
decision in Campbell v. State Farm.
The Valdez oil spill was a tragic accident that the company deeply
regrets. The company took immediate responsibility for the spill,
cleaned it up, and voluntarily compensated those who claimed direct
damages.
ExxonMobil paid $300 million immediately and voluntarily to more
than 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the Valdez spill.
In addition, the company paid $2.2 billion on the cleanup of Prince
William Sound, staying with the cleanup from 1989 to 1992, when
the State of Alaska and the U.S.
Coast Guard declared the cleanup complete. ExxonMobil also has
paid $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments.
That money is being used for environmental studies and conservation
programs for Prince William Sound.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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