ExxonMobil has already paid billions of dollars to clean up Prince William Sound. Aren't the $4.5 billion in punitive damages awarded by the judge a little extreme?

A. The amount of oil that spilled from the Exxon Valdez is roughly equivalent to 125 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The spill devastated the lives and livelihoods of commercial fishermen and Alaska natives that depend upon fishing.

Seventeen years after this tragedy, oil remains in most of the 1300 miles of affected beaches and the herring fisheries have still not recovered. In 1994 the U.S. District Court ruled that Exxon acted recklessly and must pay the 30,000 plaintiffs $4.5 billion plus interest in punitive damages in order to set a deterrent that would ensure such an egregious act was never repeated. The company argues it should pay only $25 million – hardly a deterrent for a company that made $36 billion in 2005 and nearly $40 billion in 2006.

While ExxonMobil has tied up the courts in appeals, an estimated 3,000 plaintiffs have died waiting for compensation. ExxonMobil must pay these damages now to provide relief to those harmed and ensure that such devastation will never ... more.

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