Exxon Valdez Punitives Argument

The case about the Exxon Valdez punitives returned to the Ninth Circuit for approximately the 3,145th time last week, with the judges and parties continuing to bounce around how much is appropriate for punitive damages.  Exxon noted that it’s spent $3 billion in cleanup already, suggesting that amount is sufficient for deterrence.  (The plaintiffs, meanwhile, are presumably hoping that the judges are at least aware, at least in the back of their minds, that the $5 billion verdict would represent the profits from half a quarter).

You can also listen to the argument here [WMA, I think that link will work].