Exxon Valdez runs aground at Supreme Court

Hmm a big oil company versus small business owners and blue collar workers...I wonder if Republican President Bush will aggressively defend these little people against this mega corp and will throw everything at them including the kitchen sink in their defense?

Exxon lies.

Exxon says it has paid 3.5 Billion, but how much of that was covered by insurance and how much did they make back by high prices at the pump in the months following the spill?

Exxon says Cordova (the town where I was born and raised) is fully recovered, but the herring have never returned and you can still find oil on the beaches.

When the punitive damages were first set at 5 billion that amount was supposed to represent 1 years profit for Exxon, now it represents 6 weeks profit for Exxon. That was still too much for the 9th circuit court of appeals, they lowered the amount to 2.5 billion, around three weeks profit. The fishermen who've lost their livelihoods were compensated for the summer of '89, but little else. So we lost our jobs, a victim to Exxon's carelessness, and Exxon paid us one years wages, what about the other 18 years? My dad used to make over 500K a year commercial fishing, thousands of fisherman have gone bankrupt since the spill, unable to pay for their boats and gear, how is that fair? Many fisherman, like my father, have died since Exxon put a drunk behind the wheel, how is that fair?

If I got drunk and ran my truck into another car, destroying my car, the car I hit, and injuring the car’s inhabitant would I be liable only to the point that I repaired my car, repaired the car I hit, and paid for one weeks medical expenses of the injured party? Would I not be thrown in jail to punish me for my crime? You can’t throw corporations in jail, the only thing you can do to punish a corporation is hurt their bottom line.

Fishing was a lifestyle, and Exxon killed that lifestyle. Now it comes before the Supreme Court, a body that used to decide the law based upon the constitution. But I have no faith that justice will be served, these days the Supreme Court is a political entity, not unlike the Justice Department.

The new American dream: Screw the little guy.

Considering their track record, it would be shocking if the Supreme Court didn't side with Exxon.

The Bush Supreme Court will likely free Exxon of any liability for the spill and require the fishermen to repay the $3.5 billion to Exxon.

"SUPREME COURT SPEAKS"

SHHHH SHHHH EXXON SPEAKS, 5 BILLION NO PROBLEM!

CASE CLOSED!

BUT YOUR HONOR, BUT CLARENCE, "NO COMMENT" BUT JUDGE ALITO, HEY ARE YOU FROM ALASKA, THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. SHUT YOUR NECK.

5 BILLION IS ALL SO BACK OFF! BUT JUDGE ROBERTS, DON'T LOOK AT ME! I'M NOT ALLOWED TO LEAD FROM THE BENCH. THIS IS KING GEORGE / DICK CHENEY LAW 101.

DEAL WITH IT! ARCHIVES WON'T LIE!

I heard Capn's radio transmission to the Coast Guard on the news tonight. The guy was falling down, commode hugging, knee walking, drunk.

"You can’t throw corporations in jail, the only thing you can do to punish a corporation is hurt their bottom line."

Right you are, you can't throw a corporation in jail, even though the Supremes say a corporation has all the rights of an individual.

We the actual people, at some point, lost control of this country.

The unfortunately forgotten main point about punitive damages is that they are supposed to be PUNITIVE: that is, to effectively PUNISH. Can the Supreme Court really believe that Exxon is in any danger of real punishment from forfeiting a couple weeks net profit? It's one thing to be business-friendly, it's another thing to turn the courts over to Exxon-Mobil completely. The idea that Exxon will be effectively punished by a LESSER amount is absolutely not believable. Shame on the Supreme Court for even suggesting it!

Anonymous was C.Morris