Another $10 million coming in Exxon Valdez case

As followers of this blog know, lawyers for plaintiffs in the epic Exxon Valdez oil spill case have been laboriously paying out the winnings since late 2008.

Now the lawyers are asking a federal judge for permission to pay another 781 claims totaling $10.3 million, minus attorney fees.

This money is going to parties with "multiple impairments on their claims," court papers say.

Here is a list showing those who will receive — or maybe won't receive — some money.

More Exxon Valdez money coming

Since November 2008, lawyers for commercial fishermen and other plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez case have been paying out punitive damages and interest in stages.

And the process is continuing.

On Monday, federal Judge Russel Holland approved yet another distribution totaling $24.5 million before deduction of attorney fees.

Here's the lengthy payout list for this round.

It shows some pretty big amounts to be distributed across 51 claim categories.

For example, I saw a couple of claims topping $200,000 in the Chignik salmon seine category, and several for $100,000-plus in the Kodiak salmon seine category.

According to the Seattle law firm handling the distribution, this payout could take "a number of weeks" to complete because of possible impairments on the claims.

Judge rips Icicle, upholds $1.3 million for injury

A while back, Deckboss noted a costly jury verdict against Icicle Seafoods Inc. in connection with a worker who suffered a back injury aboard the company's processing barge, the Bering Star.

Now, a Seattle judge has ruled emphatically against Icicle's request to have a $1.3 million punitive damages award reduced or tossed out.

King County Superior Court Judge Hollis Hill was scathing in his assessment of the way Icicle handled plaintiff Dana Clausen's claim for medical benefits.

"The defendant preyed upon a man incapable of work living in a broken down old RV," the judge wrote. "The defendant did it intentionally, repeatedly, over a period of years, and the purpose of its malicious actions was corporate profit. Moreover, while doing this, the defendant was subject to a stringent legal duty to do just the opposite — to carefully care for Mr. Clausen. Thus, a large punitive damage award is fully supported by the law."

Interestingly, Icicle attempted to use the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case as an argument for cutting or killing the punitive damages award.

Clausen's law firm, Beard Stacey & Jacobsen, has commentaries about this case on its blog.

Deckboss, of course, would welcome and post Icicle's side of the story.

$4 million in Exxon Valdez payments coming

Federal Judge H. Russel Holland of Anchorage has approved an application from lawyers in the Exxon Valdez case to pay out another $4 million in punitive damages.

People in seven plaintiff categories will divide the money.

The categories are area businesses, personal injury claimants, personal property claimants, fish tenders, non-Native subsistence claimants, aquaculture associations and Native corporations.

Here's the list of claimants and the amounts they will receive, minus attorney fees.

Sorry, I'm not sure exactly when checks or direct deposits will go out. Shouldn't be long, though.

Here's an update on Exxon Valdez payments

The Seattle law firm handling distribution of punitive damages from the Exxon Valdez case reports handing out $248 million so far.

That represents about 65 percent of the $383 million Exxon Mobil Corp. has paid as partial settlement of the epic civil lawsuit stemming from the 1989 oil spill in Prince William Sound.

Law firm Keller Rohrback says money distributed so far has gone out in 23,784 payments to commercial fishermen and others claiming harm from the spill.

The firm has been plowing through the process of paying out the punitive damages since last November.

It's a tedious job, with dozens of different classes of plaintiffs involved, not to mention the IRS and other lienholders asserting some claim to Exxon Valdez money.

More Exxon Valdez damages paid

The Seattle law firm handling distribution of punitive damages collected in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case say they recently made direct bank deposits totaling more than $9 million to 585 claimants.

The claimants include Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet and Kodiak herring fishermen; land owners and Native corporations; and the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Corp.

Here's the list of the recipients.

I did a quick scan and saw some pretty sizeable figures, including payments of $100,000-plus to several Prince William Sound herring seiners.

The law firm of Keller Rohrback has been distributing money for several months now, working its way through the many different classes of plaintiffs.

The lawyers began with more than $383 million to distribute. The money came from a partial settlement with Exxon Mobil Corp. for the 1989 oil spill.

The firm maintains a news and information Web site here.