Parnell Responds to Exxon Valdez Decision

Press Release

Parnell Responds to Exxon Valdez Decision

Sean Parnell today responded to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Exxon Valdez case. "It's infuriating that this decision took years of legal wrangling and left Alaskan families empty in the end."

Years ago, an Alaska jury decided Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages. A federal appeals court cut that verdict in half in 1994. Today, fourteen years later, the Supreme Court divided on the decision, 5-3,
and slashed the jury award to a little over $500 million in punitive damages
to the plaintiffs.

In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens supported the higher $2.5 billion figure for punitive damages, saying Congress has chosen not to impose restrictions in such circumstances. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also dissented, saying the court was engaging in "lawmaking" by concluding that punitive damages may not exceed what the company already paid to compensate victims for economic losses.

"Justice delayed is really an injustice, particularly here where Alaskan families' hopes for one more deterrent against future negligent acts have been dashed," said Parnell. "I'd like to see the federal judicial process examined and overhauled to ensure that decisions impacting citizens' lives are timely made and handled fairly."

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