Klass Op-Ed on Punitive Damages & Exxon

Professor Alexandra Klass and University of Nebraska Law Professor Sandra Zellmer are the authors of an op-ed piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. They discuss the $2.5 billion dollar punitive damage award against Exxon in connection with the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case last week. In the op-ed, Klass and Zellmer highlight the important purposes punitive damages serve in deterring and punishing corporate misconduct, and why such damages should not be subject to preemption under federal maritime law or the federal clean water act.