Any Interest in the Exxon-Valdez Case? The 9th Circuit Will Decide

[WSJ_law_blog]

Just when you thought you’d never have to hear the word “Hazelwood” again, the Exxon-Valdez case is back in the news.

The Supreme Court today issued yet another ruling on the case — the second in as many months. In June, the justices slashed the plaintiffs’ punitive damages award from $5 billion to $507.5 million, ruling that, at least in the maritime law field, a punitive award should be at most on the same level as the compensatory award.

At issue in today’s ruling: whether plaintiffs should be awarded interest in the $507.5 million. We’re not talking chump change: plaintiffs are looking for an extra $490 million or so, which would push its total recovery on punitives to around $1 billion.

The Court ruled, however, that the Ninth Circuit should decide the issue “on the award remaining, a matter on which this Court declines to rule in the first instance, without prejudice to the position of any party.” Call us crazy, but we’d bet we see this back at the Supreme Court in a year or two, after whichever party loses at the 9th Circuit appeals. The wheels of justice grind, though sometimes slowly. Click here for the story from Scotusblog.

For more background on the interest dispute, check out Nate Raymond’s nice story in this month’s American Lawyer (link not available). Exxon’s “history is to jack people around until the last day,” said Faegre & Benson’s Brian O’Neill, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. Responded John Daum of O’Melveny & Myers, Exxon’s counsel: “We’ve litigated for 15 years and the Supreme Court has decided Exxon should pay $507.5 million.” According to the piece, the Exxon Valdez matter could ultimately prove costly to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. As of 2003, a filing reportedly stated they’d invested some $185 million in attorney time. With interest, they now stand to bring home between $180 and $190 million.

Photo: AP