Anchorage jury finds Exxon and Captain Hazelwood reckless; $15 billion in claims now possible

Five years after 11 million gallons of crude oil blackened Prince William Sound, the question of who bore responsibility finally went to a jury. In 1994, an Anchorage court found both Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood reckless in the grounding of the Exxon Valdez — a finding that allowed spill victims to pursue up to $15 billion in damages. The verdict launched one of the longest and most consequential environmental liability battles in American legal history, eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court…