We have on four prior occasions blogged about the Ninth Circuit's December 2006 decision halving the punitive damages award in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation to $2.5 billion and Exxon's effort to obtain en banc rehearing. All of our prior posts can be accessed here. The Supreme Court has now granted review in the case, limiting itself to several questions concerning whether federal maritime law permits an award of this nature and size. The Court decided not to address the question presented in Exxon's petition on whether the Due Process Clause prohibits a punitive damages award of that size (claimed to be 123 times greater than the compensatory award). The Court denied the plaintiffs' cross-petition asking for reinstatement of the original $5 billion award.
In its petition, Exxon claimed that the $2.5 billion punitive damages award was larger than the total of all punitive damages awards affirmed by all federal appellate courts in U.S. history. Is that correct?
please have lots of prayers for the planitiffs on the exxon valdez spill we need lots of them
Posted by: eccleslady | Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 09:49 PM