New Twist in Exxon Valdez Case: Justice...

New Twist in Exxon Valdez Case: Justice Department lawyers urged the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington to overturn a judge’s order temporarily barring a settlement of claims from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin had ordered the department to delay any settlement of the 1989 spill until he weighs a challenge by five native Alaskan villages, which contend that they were shut out of the negotiations. Government lawyers, who apparently had been on the verge of negotiating a settlement, said the order has disrupted progress “and jeopardizes the potential for a successful settlement.” There was no immediate response from the Court of Appeals.