Valdez posts
FeedPosted Dec 9th 2008 5:30PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Law, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Scandals, Oil
It doesn't seem like it's been almost 20 years since the devastating oil spill that hit Prince William Sound, Alaska, but it has been, and finally, 19 years later,
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM) has started to
send out lawsuit settlements to those affected by the spill.
In the first decision on the settlement, the company was ordered back in 1994 to pay damages of $5 billion for its role in the environmental disaster. But after years and years of legal battles, the company was able to first get the $5 billion cut in half, and then this June had the damages reduced yet again, down to $507 million.
The payments come with a bitter-sweet taste, as many of the plaintiffs are glad that something is being paid, but feel that the sums they are getting fall far short of what should have been owed to them.
Continue reading After almost 20 years, Exxon Valdez payments start hitting banks
Posted Aug 12th 2008 3:40PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Law, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Oil
While the horrific
oil spill by the Exxon Valdez happened all the way back in 1989 (yes that was 19 years ago!),
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM) is still in litigation over how much it should be forced to pay in damages.
Last month, Exxon Mobil won a big victory when the Supreme Court (in a 5-3 decision) lowered the company's punitive damages from $2.5 billion all the way down to $507.5 million. While this was good news for Exxon Mobil, there was one little detail left to work out -- interest on all that money. Of course, Exxon Mobil does not want to pay that interest, and today the Supreme Court decided that a
lower court needs to make this decision.
So just how much interest are we talking about here? Roughly $500 million and counting, as Exxon announced earlier that the victims of the oil spill have requested $488 million in interest. This works out to about $15,000 per victim.
What does this amount mean to Exxon? Ten hours of sales. That's right, ten hours. You would think the company would just pay the money and be done with the whole mess, but Exxon will continue to fight and will have its day in the lower court of appeals.
Continue reading Exxon Mobil (XOM) still fighting payments on oil spill damages
Posted Jun 30th 2008 2:00PM by Bruce Watson (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Commodities, Oil
Things just keep looking brighter for
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM). After reporting the
highest profits ever posted by an American company, it is able to look forward to an even more profitable 2008. With crude oil prices steadily creeping upward and renewable energy replacements a distant solution, Exxon can look forward to, once again, rewriting the record books.
As if that wasn't enough, the
Supreme Court recently ruled that Exxon's punitive damages in the Valdez case were excessive and dropped them to one fifth of the original ruling. In 1994, the original judgment against Exxon in Baker v. Exxon was $287 million in actual damages and $5 billion in punitive damages. At the time, the punitive damages were equivalent to one year of profit for the oil company. After two subsequent appeals, the judge reset the damages to $4 billion, $4.5 billion, and ultimately to $2.5 billion. On Wednesday, twenty years after the original accident, the Supreme Court ruled that Exxon now owes $507 million.
With interest, that would come to approximately $1 billion, but Exxon is expected to appeal the interest.
Posted Oct 29th 2007 4:40PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Exxon Mobil (XOM), Scandals, Oil
Oil giant
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM) got some good news today as the Supreme Court has
decided to hear the company's appeal against this summer's ruling over its liability from the
Exxon Valdez oil spill back in 1989.
Over the summer, the company was hit with a $2.5 billion fine, but it has argued that it should not have to pay up. It is estimated that with interest, the total amount could actually balloon closer to $4.5 billion.
The Exxon Valdez disaster was caused when the Valdez, loaded with 53 million gallons of oil, ran aground on a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The result was 11 million gallons of oil polluting more than 1,200 miles of Alaskan shoreline, the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
At the heart of the whole debate is one man,
Captain Joseph Hazelwood, who was accused to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. Exxon Mobil contends that it should not be held responsible for the mistakes of a captain that violated all company policies, but opponents are not buying that argument. The plantiffs argue that Exxon Mobil was aware that Hazelwood had a drinking problem and still allowed him to captain the ship.
Continue reading XOM gets day in court: Justices will hear Exxon Valdez appeal
Posted Sep 1st 2006 2:20PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad news, Management, Law, Exxon Mobil (XOM)
Following the 1989 Valdez oil spill, ExxonMobil (
XOM) was hit with a $900 million settlement for cleanup in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. But in addition to the $900 million state and federal authorities were granted the right to request for an extra $100 million in cleanup for unforeseen future problems.
This provision expired today, and yesterday
ExxonMobil was formally requested to pay out another $92 million in damages. This move has been expected, and is just the formal documents required for monies that were originally requested back in May of this year.
The company may decide to fight this decision as they continue to assert that the situation in Alaska does not warrant the need for more cleanup money. They cite around 350 studies that they claim prove that there has not been any long term lingering impacts from the 1989 spill on the Prince William Sound. But one has to wonder how biased these reports were since many of them were funded by you know who... ExxonMobil itself.
Continue reading ExxonMobil hit with more cleanup fees for Valdez spill
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