Supreme Court to look at Exxon case
It has now been 18 years since the Exxon Valdez disaster. Tons of crude polluted the Alaska coast. Exxon was fine $5 billion. They appealed. The fine was lowered to $2 billion. Exxon-Mobil’s net profit last year was $39.5 Billion. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear their case. At stake is can you and I hold companies accountable for the actions of their employees.
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From RS:
The US Supreme Court said Monday it would examine the legality under maritime law of damages of 2.5 billion dollars awarded against ExxonMobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster.
It is the latest twist in a long-running saga which began when the Exxon Valdez crashed into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989 spilling 11 million gallons of crude into the waters.
It was the worst oil disaster ever to hit the United States, and afterwards ExxonMobil spent some 2.1 billion dollars cleaning up the polluted coastline and more than 300 million in compensation for fishermen and locals affected by the catastrophe. (more…)
