Monday, June 29, 2009

Exxon Settles On Alaska Oil Spill..(20 Years Later) Here's To You Exxon-Green Earl


Solar, Wind, Bio, Energy News And Commentary By_Green Earl, 30 year Pioneer In Conservation & Solar Energy

YESWECANSOLVEIT Members and Blog Readers:


Take note and never forget...This is how long it takes to get paid when these big companies screw up...Twenty fricken years...many of the fishermen and women this Exxon settlement was supposed to make whole for loses to their fisheries are already dead...that's when they settle, after your dead and gone. Never forget. _Green Earl


Al Boek, Redding, CA.
530-549-4315


http://ApprenticeTalkRadio.ning.com

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----- Forwarded Message ----
From: adn.com
To: earlallenboek@yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:53:43 PM
Subject: Breaking News: Exxon to pay interest on spill damages


Exxon to pay interest on spill damages
Exxon Mobil said today it won't appeal nearly $500 million in interest that a court recently ordered it to pay to Alaska fishermen, business owners and others harmed by the 1989 oil spill.
http://www.adn.com/money/industries/oil/story/847901.html

Exxon to pay interest on spill damages

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
ebluemink@adn.com

Published: June 29th, 2009 02:19 PM
Last Modified: June 29th, 2009 05:34 PM

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Monday it won't appeal nearly $500 million in interest that a court recently ordered it to pay to Alaska fishermen, business owners and others harmed by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Exxon said it will pay $470 million in interest on the $507.5 million in punitive damages it has already begun paying out to claimants. The company has already paid out $383 million and the only sum that remains in dispute in the long-running lawsuit is $70 million in court fees, according to a company spokesman.

"We expect to make payment on the interest in the next few days," said Alan Jeffers, the Exxon spokesman.

He said he couldn't immediately provide an explanation for Exxon's decision not to challenge the court-ordered interest payment.

Exxon's decision is the latest in a series of high-profile Alaska actions this year. The company has endured two decades of infamy in the state thanks to its tanker running aground and spilling 11 million gallons of oil in Prince William Sound, and its lengthy fight over how much to pay in spill damages.

Earlier this year Exxon significantly upped its major sponsorship of the Iditarod Trail Sled-Dog Race and it began drilling on its long-dormant oil and gas leases at the promising Point Thomson field. And this month it joined the competition to build a massive North Slope gas pipeline.

"Exxon's actions lately appear to be geared at generating relationships with the Alaska public, not just elected officials," said Joe Balash, a member of the Palin administration's gas pipeline team.

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"As far as what their ultimate strategy is, in my experience, Exxon doesn't do anything unless they think it's good for their shareholders," he said.

DOUBLED AWARDS

The request for punitive damages was filed by Alaska Natives, fishermen and others who claimed damages to their livelihoods after the Exxon Valdez oil spill sullied 1,200 miles of Alaska coast. Since the mid-1990s, Exxon has appealed court-awarded punitive damages. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this month finalized the punitive damages at $507.5 million, ordered Exxon to pay interest on that amount since 1996 and set the interest rate at 5.9 percent a year.

The $470 million will roughly double the average punitive damage award to 32,000 to 35,000 claimants, said David Oesting, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

"It's a blessing for everyone involved," said Oesting, who signed Exxon's paperwork on Monday.

Each claimant still owed money will receive an award ranging from several hundred dollars to more than $100,000, in some cases, he said.

When asked if Exxon gave him a reason for not appealing the interest payment, Oesting said, "No, and I didn't ask."

He speculated, however, that Exxon decided the probability of success was "too slim" and the company wanted to end the lengthy case.

The interest money will be wired to the lawsuit's qualified settlement fund on Wednesday, Oesting said.

He said he hopes that 75 percent of the interest payment will be sent to the claimants by the end of July.

Not all plaintiffs are owed additional money under the formula set up by attorneys for an equitable distribution of the damages, he added.

DISPUTED FEES

Homer fisherman Frank Mullen, an Exxon claimant, said he's relieved that Houston-based oil company isn't appealing the interest.

"It looks like the end to the whole nonsense is near," Mullins said.

Mullen said he was "disgusted" that the company contested the $5 billion in punitive damages awarded by an Alaskan jury all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The appeals court several years ago lowered the punitive award to $2.5 billion. Last year, U.S. Supreme Court ruled the punitive damages couldn't exceed $507.5 million, and sent the case back to the appeals court.

The $70 million that Exxon is still disputing is money the company spent on fees and other costs during the appeals.

The appeals court ruled this month that the plaintiffs shouldn't have to pay Exxon's fees.

But Exxon still contends that the plaintiffs owe up to $70 million. On Monday, Exxon petitioned the 9th circuit on Monday for a rehearing of its claim, Jeffers said.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

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