A Couple Of Weeks Of Profits
The BBC tells us that if you are a big oil company, the Supreme Court feels your pain: Exxon can appeal $2.5bn oil fine
Exxon Mobil has won the right to appeal against a $2.5bn (£1.21bn) damages bill relating to a 1989 Alaskan oil spill.
The US Supreme Court said it would hear the appeal against record damages due to victims of the Valdez oil spill.
The case has dragged on since 1994 with the US oil giant fighting to reduce the bill, which it has called excessive.
In what was one of the biggest ever oil spills, 11 million gallons of crude were released into Alaska’s wilderness after the Exxon tanker hit a reef.
About 1,300 miles (2,080km) of coastline was contaminated as a result of the oil spill.
It takes Exxon a couple of weeks to earn the money for the fine, and people have been waiting for 13 years to settle this case. Maybe Congress will grant them immunity to make the whole thing go away.
