<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday slashed the $2.5 billion punitive damages award in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster to $500 million. The court ruled that victims of the worst oil spill in U.S. history may collect punitive damages from Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), but not as much as a federal appeals court determined. Justice David Souter wrote for the court that punitive damages may not exceed what the company already paid to compensate victims for economic losses, about $500 million compensation. The Exxon Valdez case involves reckless action that was "profitless" for the company and that has already resulted in substantial recovery for substantial injury, Souter wrote. A penalty should be "reasonably predictable" in its severity, he added. Exxon asked the high court to reject the punitive damages judgment, saying it already has spent $3.4 billion in response to the accident that fouled 1,200 miles of Alaska coastline. A jury decided Exxon should pay $5 billion in punitive damages. A federal appeals court cut that verdict in half in 1994. The Supreme Court was divided on its decision, 5-3, with Justice Samuel Alito taking no part in the case because he owns Exxon stock. Amar Sarwal, general litigation counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the ruling gives an "extraordinary amount of guidance" to courts beyond the Exxon Valdez case.</div> Full Story
Can't argue against the ruling, though the concurrences have some interesting differences. The Opinion is up: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-219.pdf
