On June 25, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Exxon's appeal of the punitive damage award arising out of the March 24, 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster.   More than 19 years after Exxon's disastrous spill, we are disappointed in that court's decision, which results in a 90% reduction of the $5 billion award issued by the jury that heard the extensive evidence of Exxon's egregious misconduct during a four-month long trial fourteen years ago. Thousands of Alaskans were devastated by a corporation which was not concerned about putting a known alcoholic at the wheel of a 950-foot long single-hulled tanker, in dangerous waters in a pristine and highly environmentally-sensitive area, loaded with 53,000 gallons of crude oil.

Robert Stoll, David Rees and others in the firm have been litigating the Exxon Valdez case from the outset of this case. Among other duties, Robert Stoll served on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, which steered the litigation for all plaintiffs' counsel on behalf of the large group of diverse plaintiffs injured by the oil spill.

                                                Picture courtesy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council