United States Ninth Circuit

An award of $4.5 billion in punitive damages imposed in litigation arising as a result of the 1989 grounding of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez and the resulting economic harm is reduced to $2.5 billion where the ratio of punitive damages to actual economic harm resulting from the spill, reflected in the district court's award, exceeded by a material factor a ratio that would be appropriate under a prior opinion and current controlling Supreme Court analysis.

Appellate Information

• Argued 12/15/2008
• Decided 12/22/2006
• Published 12/22/2006

Judges

• Before MARY M. SCHROEDER, ANDREW J. KLEINFELD and SIDNEY R. THOMAS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Jeffrey L. Fisher, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Stanford, CA, for the plaintiffs-appellees-appellants., Jonathan Hacker, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, DC, for the defendants-appellants-appellees.