Story Created:
Jun 30, 2009 at 11:12 AM AKDT
Story Updated:
Jun 30, 2009 at 11:12 AM AKDT
Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. says it won't appeal hundreds of millions of dollars in interest on punitive damages resulting from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The Irving, Texas-based company will pay $470 million in interest on more than $507.5 million in punitive damages following the 11-million gallon spill of crude in Prince William Sound.
Plaintiffs' lawyer David Oesting in Anchorage says the company expects to make payment on the interest in the next few days.
The decision is a turnaround for the company. Exxon Mobil since the mid-1990s has appealed court rulings on punitive damages.
An Anchorage jury in 1994 awarded plaintiffs $5 billion. That was cut in half by the 9th Circuit. The Supreme Court in a split decision reduced the total to $507.5 million.
The legal battles over the Exxon Valdez spill have dragged on for years but now appear to be coming to an end. Cudmore says the only remaining sum in dispute is $70 million in court fees.
