David Restaino was quoted in the Law360 article "NJ's $225M Exxon Deal Could Reflect Holes In $9B Claim." Full text can be found in the March 9, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.
New Jersey's decision to settle an $8.9 billion suit
against ExxonMobil Corp. over refinery pollution for $225 million
could imply its case on damages was much weaker than it
appeared.
The gap between the earlier, multibillion-dollar claim
for natural resource damages and the proposed settlement leaves
unanswered questions in a 11-year-old case over hazardous
discharges that impacted 1,500 acres of
wetlands.
Environmentalists and lawmakers have argued the deal
grossly undervalues the damages at issue, but the administration
has stressed that it's the single largest environmental
settlement with a corporate defendant in the state's history. A
catastrophic judgment for the state could have set a dangerous
precedent, says David Restaino.
"It doesn't send a message that 'You can
beat us, why pay?'" Restaino said about the proposed
settlement. "That's a heck of a big number, and I
don't think it's going to provide an incentive for other
parties to litigate to the ends of the
earth."
Originally published by Law360.
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