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Three
state lawmakers went on record this week saying the State of Alaska should file
an amicus brief with the U-S Supreme Court, urging the court to order Exxon
Mobil to pay interest on the 507.5 million dollar punitive damages judgment
justices handed down last month in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case. KMXT’s
Casey Kelly has more.
Plaintiffs
in the case have been trying to figure out if interest will apply to the
punitive damages, which the high court reduced to one-tenth of the original
1994 jury award in its 5-3 decision. Interest could add about 488-million
dollars to the award, bringing the total amount close to a billion dollars. But
this week Exxon filed a nine-page brief with the court, arguing it should only
have to pay interest from the time of the Supreme Court’s decision. Anchorage
Representative Les Gara says that argument is a slap in the face to all of the
spill victims.
(Gara
1 :26s “…victimized
by Exxon here.”)
On
Wednesday Gara, along with fellow Anchorage Representative Bob Buch and Juneau
Representative Andrea Doll, wrote a letter to Attorney General Talis Colberg
and their colleagues in the legislature, urging the state to file a friend of
the court brief supporting the higher interest amount. Gara says he hopes the
brief would be more than just a symbolic gesture.
(Gara
2 :27s “…I
think it adds weight.”)
Gara
says the attorney general and members of the legislature that he spoke with
about the brief seemed mostly supportive of the idea. However, Deputy Attorney
General Craig Tillery says the state has decided not to pursue the issue at the
urging of plaintiffs’ attorneys.
(Tillery
1 :29s “…this
motion in this matter.”)
Nevertheless,
Tillery says the state supports making Exxon pay full interest on the
settlement, and will continue working with plaintiffs’ attorneys to make that
happen.
(Tillery
2 :12s “…and
get paid in full.”)
Gara,
who worked on the Exxon Valdez oil spill case as an assistant attorney general
for the state from 1989 to 1991, says the state’s decision not to intervene is
surprising to him, especially the reason being given.
(Gara
3 :20s “…think
the state should help.”)
But
the bigger issue, he says, is Exxon’s continued use of litigation to avoid
fairly compensating victims of the spill. Lawyers for the plaintiffs are
working on a reply to Exxon’s brief. A decision on the issue could come as soon
as the end of this month, when the Supreme Court issues a final decision in the
case.
I’m
Casey Kelly.
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