Supreme Court Rules $2.5 Billion Exxon-Valdez Damages Excessive

June 25, 2008

  • June 25, 2008 at 7:26 am
    Buckeye says:
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    Dick – You can’t even look away from your script long enough to see that I made several points in my previous posts. You actually validated and reinforced my last point with your painfully predictable and pointless response. Maybe my expectations are a bit too high, but you really need to get some new material.

  • June 25, 2008 at 11:52 am
    Claimsguy says:
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    Once again the customer gets the short end. The fine is what 2-3 days of Exxon’s sales.

    They won’t even miss it

  • June 25, 2008 at 1:48 am
    Larry says:
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    $2.3 billion for destroying an entire ecosystem wasn’t nearly enough. Wonder if the justices that overturned this one were the same ones appointed by our Oilman in Chief?

  • June 25, 2008 at 1:53 am
    Mr. Obvious says:
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    In Alaska, Riki Ott, a fisherman and scientist and longtime environmental activist in the Prince William Sound town of Cordova, where most of the area’s fishing fleet is concentrated, was disappointed by the ruling.

    “We were really counting on punitive damages paying for our long-term losses in the fishery. That’s obviously not going to happen,” Ott said. “Well, that’s an affront to everyone’s sense of justice.”

    -ummmm sounds to me like future losses should have been taken into account in the compensatory damages, not as a component of the punative damages.

  • June 25, 2008 at 1:54 am
    DB says:
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    Does that matter? The fact that the amount is a drop in the bucket to Exxon does not take away from the fact that the SCOTUS has the responsibility to apply the law equally across the board. Excessive punitive damages are excessive regardless of the defendants ability to pay.

    Huge punitive awards are the primary reason we have seen such a exponential increase in litigation. Everyone wants to sue now over even the most trivial things (I’m not saying the Valdez spill was trivial) and lawyers are more than willing to oblige. Why? Because of the huge awards and the potential to hit the litigation lottery.

    Our civil law system is like a runaway train and until there are major changes such as a “Loser pays all” type of system it is only going to get worse.

    Too many people sue thinking they are hurting nobody but the big, bad corporations and insurance companies, and they can afford it right? Only a drop in the bucket after all. We all know the reality is that everyone, regardless of economic status, ends up paying more in the price of goods and services as well as higher premiums due to out of control litigation.

  • June 25, 2008 at 1:57 am
    no oil man says:
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    Go McCain!

    Pollution pays!

    More offshore drilling! Open ANWAR!

    $5 gas! We love it! $6 gas! We love it!

    It would be nice if we could all work together to return our government to the people it is supposed to represent, following its seizure in the Cheney coup of 2000, assisted by Shell, BP, the Saudis, the Supreme Court (remember that part?) and the Bush family. Now I know what it is like to be treated like a citizen of a third world country by the big corporations, often allied with dictatorial governments. It would be nice to live in America again, instead of Big Oil’s Amerika.

    Imagine…

  • June 25, 2008 at 2:02 am
    Dread says:
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    Well said DB.

  • June 25, 2008 at 2:06 am
    BDS says:
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    You folks are really going to suffer withdrawals when Bush leaves office aren’t you? Think of it: 8 years of your life devoted to the hate and derision of one man and all that will end soon. Who will you turn your sights on then when we are still in Iraq, oil is still high priced and big business stays big and most likely gets bigger? You can only blame Bush for your unhappiness for so long before hopefully you realize that happiness comes from within and not out of a political party.

  • June 25, 2008 at 2:10 am
    Larry says:
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    nah, we’ll still blame everything on Bush, kind of like the way the Clintons are still blamed for everything that happened during Bush’s term. “Sure, Bush did this, but CLINTON DID THAT!!!”

  • June 25, 2008 at 2:15 am
    free thinker says:
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    We (the) People (not “you people”) congratulate you on having drunk so deeply of the recent right wing kool aid. Now, drink just one more glass and we won’t have to disturb you in that cave int which you are already retreating.

    Turn off your Fox News. Put the Bible (dusty as it really is in your case) in the other room. Stop listening to your politicized preacher now looking to trade in his Hummer. Get some real books and some real friends. Develop critical thinking skills!

    Oh, heck, why bother. Just close your cave door. It smells bad anyway and we could all use some fresh air.

    Or, better yet, go serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. As the sturdy Midwestern National Guardsmen recently said on a PBS report–“Our orders are to drive around until we get blown up.” Take one of their places, big guy. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.



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