Exxon Valdez plaintiffs want interest on court-ordered payments

Fishermen and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the Exxon Valdez oil spill were dismayed in June when the U.S. Supreme Court reduced the amount Exxon Mobil Corp. owes them by $2 billion, or about 80 percent.

Now, they are asking the court to tack interest payments on to the remaining $507 million in punitive damages owed by Exxon for the 11-million gallon spill in Prince William Sound. Lawyers for the fishermen and other plaintiffs in the case have calculated that interest will add up to about $488 million, bringing the total amount owed by ExxonMobil from the 1989 oil spill to nearly $1 billion.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they believe the interest will be included in the payment but want to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

“It’s to make sure that we don’t make a technical mistake,” said Brian O’Neill, a Minnesota lawyer who represents the plaintiffs. “It’s just to make sure that we are clearly entitled to the interest ... and that we don’t waive it. With this amount of money at stake, you use a belt and suspenders.” The punitive damages were originally awarded in 1994 as punishment for Exxon’s role in the spill. A spokesman for the company wouldn’t say whether Exxon plans to fight the interest payments.

Company lawyers are reading what the plaintiffs just filed and waiting for the case to be sent back to the appellate court in San Francisco, and, finally, to the U.S. District Court in Anchorage where it was first heard, said Exxon spokesman Tony Cudmore.

“I think we need to understand what the court will order on that question,” Cudmore said. “We need to understand what the plaintiffs have asked for in their submission, we need to review that, and we need to understand the court’s views. We will certainly comply with the final order.”

—The Associated Press