Case Details

Issues

Parens Patriae

Filing State

AK

Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Year

1994

Citation

Alaska Sport Fishing Ass’n v. Exxon Corp., 34 F.3d 769 (9th Cir. 1994)

Resolution

State and federal governments could file suit as public trustees and could recover damages.

Case Description

State filed parens actions pursuant to environmental law for damages from Exxon Valdez oil spill. Private plaintiffs challenged the state and federal governments’ claims, arguing that they should be able to recover damages for loss of use, while the government recovers damages for remediation. Court held that there was no intention in the statute to limit governmental damages in this way.