On June 15 2009, Exxon Mobil Corp was ordered to pay $507.5 million in punitive damag

[dahunan]

Only 20 years later..

Good ol America.. we really take care of our people

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Settlement: Exxon to pay $507.5 million

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by alia_d | June 15, 2009 at 01:41 pm
7402 views | 19 Recommendations | 5 comments
On June 15 2009, Exxon Mobil Corp was ordered to pay $507.5 million in punitive damages for the Exxon Valedez Oil Spill that occurred off the coast of Alaska in 1989. The $507.5 million settlement is only "a fraction of the $5 billion in punitive damages originally awarded to fisherman, Alaska natives, business owners and other litigants by a jury" in1994.

After the 1994 court ruling requiring a settlement of $5 billion, Exxon launched a series of appeals. At a trial in 2006, the jury agreed to cut the settlement in half to $2.5 billion. In June 2008, Justice David Souter ruled that punitive damages cannot exceed the approximately $500 million Exxon has already paid to victims of the oil spill and their families.

Interestingly, the $507.5 million settlement only amounts to about 1/5 of the $2.5 billion cost of cleaning up the oil spill, which flooded the alaska coastline with 10.8 billion gallons of oil and is known as one of the most destructive man-made environmental disasters in history.

 

[MJinZ]

These are punitive damages, not compensatory.

 

[dahunan]

These are punitive damages, not compensatory.

It sounds like you have studied this and have good info to share that will make Exxon look better

Can you share more?

Do you know there is still ecological damage to the region..
http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/27/exxon-valdez-bp-oil-disaste/
Coastal regions and coastlines of the Prince William Sound are still contaminated. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council’s 2009 status report finds that as much as 16,000 gallons of oil remains in the sound’s intertidal zones today. A 2001 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study surveyed 96 sites along 8,000 miles of coastline and found that “a total area of approximately 20 acres of shoreline in Prince William Sound is still contaminated with oil. Oil was found at 58 percent of the 91 sites assessed and is estimated to have the linear equivalent of 5.8 km of contaminated shoreline.”
Animals and ecosystems suffered immediately after the spill and still do today. Scientific American reported that, “some 2,000 sea otters, 302 harbor seals and about 250,000 seabirds died in the days immediately following the spill.” The researchers estimate that long term, “shoreline habitats such as mussel beds affected by the spill will take up to 30 years to recover fully.”

 

[MJinZ]

No, I haven't really looked into this, but punitive damages are designed to punish the person doing it, not to compensate for the damage caused.

I assume that Exxon Mobil has already paid for cleanup and lost income, and damages caused to people affected.

Further fines and penalties levied would be punitive, meaning it is meant only to slap the company on wrist and warn them against future infractions.

(I'm a Shell user, I do not support any other oil company).

 

[NoWhereM]

These are punitive damages, not compensatory.

You really should have left it at that. If the op has the time to post a thread he has the time to look up the meaning of the words he posts.