For most Alaskans, the news of the Exxon Valdez disaster ranks as one of those indelible moments, seared in the memory, that define a time and place… the “Where were you when…?” events. I was a relatively recent arrival, on active duty stationed at the Ft. Richardson Army post in Anchorage- I witnessed the trauma more than experienced it. Now, twenty years later- twenty years!- it appears to have come to it’s final, disappointing conclusion.
What is it with this current Supreme Court session? They appear to be on a roll with one judicial bumble after another. Wait, they did uphold the Second Amendment, but is it any wonder so many were holding their breath on that? As it was, it only survived by a single vote in the 5-4 decision, His Honor King Kennedy again being the swing vote. See the related WSJ editorial here.
The limitation of punitive damages to no more than the compensatory damage award seems to eliminate any effectively punitive penalty. How many minutes does it take a corporation like Exxon to earn $550 million dollars?
Sad. See the Anchorage Daily News coverage here. And to add insult to injury:
“The biggest single recipient of funds from the punitive award will be Exxon itself. Exxon stands to put about $110 million from the award in its own pocket thanks to a side deal cut in 1991 with seven Seattle fish processors. Those processors settled with Exxon for $70 million at the time but got to remain in the punitive lawsuit and pass any award they received back to the company. The deal was called “an astonishing ruse” by the federal judge in the case, but it was upheld on appeal. ” (Source)
Unbelievable.
Filed under: Alaska, Courts, Crime, Environment, Legal affairs
