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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2001

In a setback for thousands of commercial fishermen and Alaska Natives, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled a $5 billion punitive damage award for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill is too high.

Alaska Natives were among those who have been compensated for the spill. They are also part of a punitive damages case which is at the center of yesterday's ruling.

A federal jury in 1995 had ruled the company must pay $5 billion in punitive damages, the largest such award in history. But the court yesterday said the award must be reconsidered and suggested it be lowered to between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion.

Get the Story:
Court: Exxon bill too high (The Anchorage Daily News 11/8)
Ruling dims hopes for payments (The Anchorage Daily News 11/8)
Sound still toxic 12 years later (AP 11/8)

Get the Case:
IN RE: THE EXXON VALDEZ, No 97-35191 (9th Cir. November 07, 2001)