By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug.. 25 -- The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered US District Judge H. Russel Holland in Anchorage to review the punitive damages award from the 1989 Valdez oil tanker spill.
An original punitive damages award against ExxonMobil Corp. was $5 billion, but it was reduced last year to $4 billion. Both the plaintiffs and ExxonMobil appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit.
Recently, the Ninth Circuit panel instructed Russel to review the case in light of a recent US Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Campbell vs. State Farm. Punitive damages in that case were limited.
"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 said in a news release.
The Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef on Mar. 24, 1989, and spilled 242,000 bbl of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound (OGJ, Apr. 3, 1989, p. 26).
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 US Coast Guard declared the cleanup complete.
In addition, ExxonMobil also paid $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments.
