On Wednesday, June 25, 2008, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in the Exxon Valdez punitive damages case. In summary, it upheld the lower courts’ determination that punitive damages are appropriate, but also determined that the amount of punitive damages appropriate to the case should not exceed (and, in this case, should be equal to) the amount of compensatory damages awarded (roughly $507M). The Court remanded the case back to the lower court in order for the judgment and the amount due under the judgment to be processed. It is expected that actual distribution of funds to the plaintiffs will require several months to process.

The final total of funds to be distributed will include interest on the punitive damages award. This amount is estimated to be slightly less than the base punitive damages award, bringing the total to be distributed to an amount very close to $1 Billion. Chugach Alaska Corporation’s portion of the award is 2.2%. A variety of payments that are due will come off the top (contingent bankruptcy liabilities, attorney fees, taxes, etc.), leaving an anticipated net amount of approximately $5 Million.

Read the Court’s Opinion.

The Anchorage Daily News Website for more information.