Anchorage Daily News

Fishermen are anticipating a decision Monday that they've been waiting more than 10 years for: How much, if any, punitive damages will they get from the 11 million gallons of crude oil dumped into Prince William Sound by the Exxon Valdez.

"I'm so sick of waiting for this," said Mary Jacobs, a former Kodiak boat captain who stands to gain hundreds of thousands of dollars if the decision goes her way. "Everyone said Monday, then Thursday. And now we're back to Monday."

It has become part of her morning routine to log on to the Supreme Court's Web site to see the decisions.

It has been widely reported the ruling will definitely be handed down Monday, which is the last scheduled day of the U.S. Supreme Court term. But court experts said Thursday it's not a sure thing. It could happen later in the week, the following Monday or even next year.

Exxon's challenge to the $2.5 billion punitive damages verdict awarded to businesses and individuals landed the case in the country's top court earlier this year.

Here's a primer in how the Supreme Court works, according to Georgetown University's Constitutional Law professor Susan Low Bloch:

The court term runs from October to June. From October until April, the justices listen to about 80 cases.

Decisions are generally issued by the end of June. Cases that are unanimous or not controversial tend to be released first. The cases that are closely split are usually the last issued.

That suggests a behind-the-scenes battle in the Exxon Valdez case.

In rare instances, when justices are stuck on something, they will delay decisions and ask the parties to re-argue the case next term. The most famous example of that was Roe v. Wade. However, that hasn't happened in several years. And given recent practice, Bloch thinks the case will be decided this term.

Because the justices still have 10 cases to decide this term, it is unlikely they will issue them all on Monday, experts say. They will likely extend their term, maybe until Friday.

Or Monday. The truth is, the court can do what it wants.

Lyle Denniston, a reporter for the SCOTUS blog, an online legal reporting site, said it's likely the justices are wrangling with 200-year-old maritime laws on responsibility at sea.

"I suspect one of the issues that is hard for them is the degree to which the corporation is liable for the behavior of the captain," he said. "They are also probably having great difficulty with the question of whether or not you can have punitive damages under ... admiralty law."

"I suspect they are working really hard to amass a majority."

Jacobs, who started fishing in 1979 and was one of the first female captains in the Kodiak fleet, is among the 32,000 plaintiffs spread all around the Gulf of Alaska waiting to learn the decision.

The 59-year-old said the money is her entire retirement savings.

Many of the Kodiak fishermen are out fishing red salmon in Bristol Bay right now, she said. They aren't coming into port much because the price of fuel makes it more economical to stay out fishing rather than waste gas coming into town.

They are paying attention to their radios, though.

"We're just hoping it doesn't get thrown out. Even if it is reduced, we'll get something," she said.

Find Megan Holland online at adn.com/contact/mholland or call 257-4343.

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