Opinion ID: 670796
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: general background of litigation

Text: 3 Hundreds of cases were filed in both the Alaska Superior Court and the federal district court seeking relief from Exxon and Alyeska for various injuries caused by the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon was sued as the owner and operator of the tanker that went off course and ran aground (Exxon Shipping Co.) and as the owner of the more than 11 million gallons of oil that spilled (Exxon Corp.) for failure to perform its statutory and common law responsibilities in connection with the spillage and the clean up. The Alyeska defendants are pipeline companies that own and operate the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the terminal at which the Exxon Valdez had been loaded. 4 The plaintiffs sue on their own behalf and in some cases as representatives of plaintiff classes, including commercial fishermen whose fishing grounds were damaged by the oil, Alaska Natives who subsist on various fish and other resources, processors of fish harvested from the affected area, employees of processors, area businesses and land owners, and other injured persons. The federal court complaints seek relief under maritime law and the remedial provisions of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1653(c) (TAPAA). The complaints filed in state court seek relief under the Alaska Environmental Conservation Act, 46 Alaska Stat. Secs. 46.03.822, et seq., which establishes strict liability for oil spills, and also under Alaska's tort law. 5 The federal court cases were consolidated for pretrial purposes before District Judge H. Russel Holland and the state court cases were consolidated before Judge Brian Shortell of the Third Judicial District of the Alaska Superior Court. The state and federal courts cooperated in some stages of the proceedings. They selected the same lead and liaison counsel and a common executive committee for the plaintiffs, appointed a single discovery master, and jointly heard motions. 6 The State of Alaska and the United States Government also brought actions against the defendants on behalf of the public for injury to natural resources pursuant to the provisions of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321(f), and other federal environmental legislation. On October 8, 1991, the state and federal governments' claims against Exxon Corp. and Exxon Shipping Co. were resolved by entry of an Agreement and Consent Decree in the district court. The Agreement and Consent Decree provided for Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping to pay the governments at least nine hundred million dollars ($900,000,000) to restore and rehabilitate the damaged natural resources in exchange for a release of all claims, including natural resources claims on behalf of the public. There is also a provision for an additional one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) for unexpected damages under certain conditions. 7 Four environmental organizations sought to recover damages from Exxon to contribute to a conservation trust fund for the benefit of the general public to restore the environment and natural resources damaged by the oil spill. We have designated these plaintiffs as the trust plaintiffs. On November 21, 1991, the Exxon defendants removed to federal court all cases related to the environmental organizations' cases. The Exxon removals are based on the ground that the claims of the trust plaintiffs raised a federal question because the trust plaintiffs continued to pursue their claims for natural resources damages after the federal consent decree was entered to cover the same natural resources damages. Exxon also removed other non-removable claims that had been joined with the claims of the trust plaintiffs. The district court's Order No. 80 denied the plaintiffs' motions to remand their cases to state court. Those plaintiffs timely appeal. 8 On February 13, 1992, Alyeska removed approximately 150 cases to federal court. Those plaintiffs had contended that Alyeska had violated state safety standards. Alyeska argued that this raised a federal question because it attacked a 1979 federal district court decree enjoining the state from enforcing certain provisions of the Alaska Tanker Law. The plaintiffs' motions to remand were denied in the district court's Orders Nos. 83, 91, 92, and 108. The plaintiffs timely appeal.