Punitive damages originally awarded by jury - 5 billion; cut in half by courts (giving approx. $75,000 for each of the 13,000 Alaskans affected by the spill); cut again today to $500 million by the US Supreme Court (to approx. $15,000 per person.) The verdict was 5:3 with Justice Alito abstaining due to the Exxon/Mobil stock ownership.
1200 miles of pristine Alaskan coastline went to hell in a basket when a drunken skipper of Exxon Valdez ran his boat aground.
Quote from the AP wire story, after New York Times (“Justices Cut Damages Award in Exxon Valdez Spill”): The commercial fishermen, Native Alaskans, landowners, businesses and local governments involved in the lawsuit have each received about $15,000 so far ''for having their lives and livelihood destroyed and haven't received a dime of emotional-distress damages,'' their Supreme Court lawyer, Jeffrey Fisher, said when the court heard arguments in February.
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