Supreme Court Reduces Exxon’s Liability

As part of a flurry of activity at the close of the Court’s calendar, the Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision, ruled last week to reduce the damages payable by Exxon Mobile in connection with the 1989 oil spill in Alaska. The judgement was reduced from $2.5 billion to $500 million, effectively eliminating the punitive damages awarded by the lower court(s).
This particular case involved the damages associated with maritime liability – and Justice Souter, in his opinion for the majority, stated that a 1:1 ratio (awarding damages only for actual damages) was an appropriate limit so to eliminate “unpredictable” …read more