Exxon Valdez Dispute Spills into U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, DC, February 27, 2008 (ENS) – Nearly two decades after one of its tankers crashed into a reef and spilled some 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound, ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court’s decision that would force the company to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages to Alaskan fishermen, cannery workers and others impacted by the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Justices appeared skeptical of Exxon’s claim that it is not liable for punitive damages, but sympathetic to the company’s view that the $2.5 billion award is excessive.

Make ‘em pay, and pay, and pay.  They destroyed the livelihood and way of life of an entire region by not bothering to supervise their employees.  (Drunk captain, in case you don’t recall.)