Payments In Exxon Valdez Case Begin, But Parties Dispute Interest, Legal Fees

摘要

Anchprage, Alaska-The first payments from the punitive damages award for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill were distributed in early December, but ExxonMobil Corp. and the thousands of plaintiffs are still disputing the interest payments on the judgment and the issue of who should pay legaltees.rnDave Oesting, the lead attorney for the approximately 32,000 fishermen, Native Americans, property owners, and others who sued ExxonMobil over spill damages, said a complex schedule is being used to disburse payments from the $383 million pool of money available to the plaintiffs.rnIn all, there are 17 classes of plaintiffs, Oesting told BNA Dec. 17. Those to be paid first are believed to have the simplest claims, uncomplicated by tax liens or other financial details, said Oesting, who is with the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.