Now it was September and the birch leaves were yellowing with winter's chill. The jury had unraveled the puzzle of how the Exxon Valdez ended up on Bligh Reef on March 24, 1989. They had become fluent in the languages of tanker navigation, Coast Guard regulations and commercial fishing. There was no mathematical formula to help them. The jurors weren't allowed to compare this case to any other before it.
Punitive damages are simply a gut feeling.
More than 14,000 commercial fishermen, Natives, business owners and landowners claiming damage from the spill were waiting, along with thousands of Exxon shareholders and hundreds of lawyers around the country hired by both sides to try the case. For two weeks the 11 jurors argued. They scrutinized Exxon's financial records, they compromised and they often went home to sleepless nights. Thirty minutes later, the jury marched into the courtroom and revealed their decision. It was the second largest jury verdict in American history and the largest punitive award ever levied against a corporation.