Supreme Court Hears Exxon Valdez Case (Rep. Dave Reichert)
February 27th, 2008
Today the Supreme Court will hear the case of Exxon Shipping vs. Baker, the case of the Exxon Valdez oil spill that has lasted nearly twenty painful years for the victims of this environmental disaster.
Jeopardy! recently featured the victims’ plight as an answer on the popular show. Yet, these victims still don’t have their answer.
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef and dumped 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. Five years later a federal jury in Anchorage awarded punitive damages to the fishermen, businesses, and affected communities. However, to date, Exxon has paid none of the $4.5 billion punitive damages award. While ExxonMobil earned $36 billion in 2006, a record for a single company, it STILL has not paid any of the punitive damages to people harmed by this disaster.
The thousands of fishermen, food processors and others wait for justice, but unfortunately, many of those waiting have passed away.
What has ExxonMobil done? While the company has paid for the value of the lost fish, it has never compensated the plaintiffs for their other continuing damages including, in the words of one trial judge, the fact that “the social fabric of Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet was torn apart.� Instead, ExxonMobil employed one primary tactic: delay.
I would usually not comment on litigation that is ongoing, but these delay tactics are irresponsible and indefensible. It has now been almost 19 years since one of the worst environmental disasters in our nation’s history and 14 years since the initial jury verdict.
I believe in the free market and I believe a corporation has the right to earn profits. But they also have a responsibility to their community and their country, especially when they make an awful mistake. It is time ExxonMobil faces up to its corporate responsibility, closes this dark chapter in the company’s history, and ends this undue burden on the victims and the courts.
March 24, 2008 will mark the 19th anniversary of this tragedy — but the question has now turned to: Will this nations’ highest court uphold the judgment that these victims still sadly await?
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