Didn't it take decades for damages to be paid for Exxon Valdez?

[Nancy Waterman]

Obama did a great thing here.

[Cha]

1. "Supreme Court drastically cuts payouts for plaintiffs in Exxon Valdez oil spill"

<snip>

"Hopes of fishermen throughout Washington and Alaska were sunk Wednesday when the Supreme Court slashed the amount of punitive damages that Exxon must pay for the epic Exxon Valdez oil spill nearly two decades ago.

The high court, in a 5-3 decision, found that punitive damages could not be larger than the compensatory damages for actual losses from the spill, which totaled $507.5 million.

The justices rejected the amount — $2.5 billion — that a federal appeals court had granted to be shared by 32,677 plaintiffs who had claimed damages from the worst oil spill in U.S. history, including fishermen, Alaska natives, local businesses and others."

<more>
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008018035_exxon26m.html

:(

[FrenchieCat]

2. Of course! And Bush I never showed up anywhere or had much to say....

But you know, he was a Bush, so double standards apply.

Meanwhile Obama is to blame for it all....
and plus his speech stank, although he discussed
compensation for those who lost what they had,
is holding BP accountable, defined Peak Oil,
appointed a two new officials that are right on,
discussed a whole new national project to clean up the Gulf,
talked about the energy bill currently pending,
and then emoted in a rare way with fishermen of the Gulf.

Next day, he gets major historical consessions from PB
moneywise....

and still he's shit, cause bird continue to die...
and yes, you've guessed it; it's all his fault,
not the 30 years of fucked up policies that preceded him!

[chill_wind]

3. Yes. Mike Papantonio:

Papantonio: We wouldn't see $20 billion in a case like this, all you've got to do is look at Exxon, it would be decades before the legal system would be able to render anything close.

...It's unprecedented to have a leader that says we don't trust you and we want your money now. To do this in the legal system is almost impossible. You can't go back and find an example of this kind of leadership yielding this kind of money in any legal setting in America.

video at link:
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/node/37801


Exxon Valdez oil spill. A 20 year history in the Courts. Damages Litigation & Cleanup Costs

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8413943

Damages Cut Against Exxon in Valdez Case


By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: June 26, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday reduced what had once been a $5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil to about $500 million. The ruling essentially concluded a legal saga that started when the Exxon Valdez, a supertanker, struck a reef and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989.


The decision may have broad implications for limits on punitive damages generally. Punitive damages, which are meant to punish and deter, are imposed on top of compensatory damages, which aim to make plaintiffs whole.

(...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/washington/26punitive.html?_r=1

[Cha]

4. Thanks for adding that link to this thread. Can

you imagine the SC5 wanting to get ahold of the Gulf Coast residents' due money from BP and shutting them down?

[chill_wind]

5. Shameful and evil.

And bet me at least one of them owns BP or related stock (Alito did (Exxon) and had to recuse himself in one of the court appeals). I don't pretend to fully understand all the legal protections of the escrow account and whether BP can still try to find ways in the court to renege on some part of it, but Pres Obama and his team have started from an extremely powerful position with $20 billion (and no cap!). I'm under the impression those are intended as compensatory damage monies in the escrow (The NYT article talks about the punitive awards decision in the end), and it still really really dwarfs what happened in Exxon:


Since Exxon has paid about $507 million to compensate more than 32,000 Alaska Natives, landowners and commercial fishermen for the damage caused by the spill, it should have to pay no more than that amount in punitive damages, Justice Souter said.

The two aren't anything of the same nature and scale, but getting this much now as an immediate downpayment is a big win for the suffering and dislocated Gulf people and the President. Papantonio was beside himself!

[Cha]

7. Thanks, chill..shame on

Souter.

[old mark]

6. They delayed and stalled and appealed for as long as they could and they have lawyers and money

by the shipload.

And some of that 1989 spill is still being cleaned up and some of it never can be.

mark