U.S. Supreme Court “eases up” on big oil, shrinks Exxon Valdez Oil Spill damages ordered by lower court from $2.5 Billion to $500 million

Dreaming of the America that put ‘PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS….’

The following is an article found here, it was written by by Ned Turner at abcnews.go.com:

“While the Supreme Court agreed that ExxonMobil should be punished for the worst oil spill in U.S. history, it decided that the original fine was far too much, under existing shipping laws.

In a 5-3 decision the court reduced punitive damages in the case from $2.5 billion to $500 million, which means each of the people who joined the original suit against the oil company will receive an average of $15,000. Thirty-three thousand Alaskans had joined together, suing ExxonMobil to punish it for its negligence in the accident. Six thousand of them have died since the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989.

“A penality should be resonably predicatable in its severity,” wrote Justice David Souter for the 5-3 majority. Justice Samuel Alito, who owns ExxonMobil stock, did not take part in the case.”