Exxon Oil Spill Case May Get Closure

Exxon's lawyer in the case, Walter Dellinger, told the court in his brief that it is "hotly disputed" whether Hazelwood was drunk at the time of the accident, and points out that Hazelwood was acquitted by a state court jury of operating a vessel under the influence.

Whatever misdeeds were committed by Hazelwood, Dellinger argues, they were not the misdeeds of Exxon. "Imposing vicarious punitive liability on a ship owner, without requiring the jury to find that the ship owner directed, countenanced or participated in the conduct, was in conflict with almost 200 years of unbroken maritime law," the brief argues.

The reference is to the court's 1818 decision in The Amiable Nancy, in which it held that a ship's owner could not be held responsible for the plundering of its crew when it was miles out at sea.

Exxon also argues that the punishment for discharges of oil and other hazardous substances is governed by the Clean Water Act, and it does not provide for private punitive damages. Alternately, the company says punitive damages should not be allowed because of what Exxon already has paid, or they should at least be reduced.

Not surprisingly, the claimants reject all of those arguments. Exxon itself stipulated that Hazelwood was a "managerial agent" of the company, they argue, and that the jury found that both Hazelwood and the company had acted recklessly. They contend that the Clean Water Act claim is baseless, and that the award is justified.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. owns Exxon stock and has recused himself from the case. That leaves eight justices to hear it, and an even split would mean that the award stands.

Around Prince William Sound, residents wait for a final judgment on the $2.5 billion award, which plaintiff lawyers say now stands at about $4.8 billion because of the interest earned while the suit proceeds.

"I guess it would mean I can relax a little," said Patience Anderson Faulkner, a subsistence Native Alaskan who became a "legal technician" to help people in Cordova with their claims. Her father and brother were claimants who have died.

"It's painful for people to talk about this," said Jennifer Gibbons, executive director of the environmental group Prince William Soundkeeper, "but they want closure."