The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this week in what has been the longest court case in history. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground dumping millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. The captain of the Valdez was reported to be intoxicated, but his criminal charges were later dismissed. According to plaintiffs, Exxon knew the captain had began drinking again after seeking alcohol treatment, but the company still put him at the helm of the nearly 1,000 foot ship.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Exxon’s writ of certiorari to review punitive damages ordered against it. In 1994, an Anchorage, Alaska jury handed down a verdict in favor of a group of Alaskan residents whose fishing and other businesses were damaged by the oil spill and the wildlife it killed. The original judgment amount was $5 billion which has been reduced by the appellate court to $2.5 billion on appeal. Exxon’s argument is that they should pay no punitive damages because they have already paid clean-up costs and government fines. What are Punitive Damages? Punitive damages are damages which are designed to punish the responsible party and to deter others in an attempt to prevent future bad conduct. Yes, justice delayed is sometimes justice denied and this case has set a new record for delay and it is still not over. Ironically, last week Texas based Exxon Corporation reported a record corporate profit of $40.6 billion for 2007.