Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Case Bound for Supreme Court

Exxon has paid $3.5 billion over years, but claimants want 'closure'

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 24, 2008 3:53 PM CST

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Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Case Bound for Supreme Court — Fishing boats connected to an oil skimmer by containment booms, patrol the waters off Erlington Island on Prince William Sound, Alaska, in this April 12, 1989 file photo, as workers continue to clean up crude left over from the spill of the tanker Exxon Valdez. The Supreme Court will study this month... (Associated Press)

Almost two decades after the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil off the Alaskan coast, legal clashes continue—and will reach the Supreme Court this week, the Washington Post reports. At issue is whether Exxon's $3.5 billion payout is enough or should increase to $5 billion, as demanded by an Alaskan jury 14 years ago. For many claimants, though, it’s too late: 20% have died since that verdict.

"I'm a capitalist, I'm a conservative Republican, I am pro-development and pro-industry," said Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin, who has been battling Exxon since 2006. "But consider what Exxon has made in terms of profits in all these years." Exxon says that maritime law absolves the company, and contests claims that the captain was drunk on five double-vodkas when the Valdez hit a reef and spewed oil in 1989. (More oil spill stories.)

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