Alaska Employment Law

Today the U. S. Supreme Court announced it will review the $2.5 billion punitive damages award from the 9th Circuit.  The Court’s order reads:

The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted limited to
Questions 1, 2, and 3(1) presented by the petition. Justice
Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this
petition.

Law.com reports:

Significantly, the Court limited the questions that it will review in the case in such a way as to sidestep Exxon Mobil’s argument that the high award violates the Constitution’s due process clause as well as maritime law.

[Corporate attorney Evan] Tager speculated that the Court’s action may have been a nod to Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, who have long declined to find that high punitive damages violate the Constitution. “They may have decided to set aside that distraction and just make maritime law.”

Also complicating the issue was the decision by Justice Samuel Alito Jr., announced Monday, to recuse in the Court’s action on the Exxon Mobil case — raising the possibility of a 4-4 split, which would have the effect of upholding the 9th Circuit’s $2.5 billion award.

In his latest financial disclosure statement, Alito indicated that he owns between $100,001 and $250,000 in Exxon Mobil stock.