Payment deal reached in Exxon Valdez case

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Lawyers in the long-running Exxon Valdez case say the Alaska plaintiffs could get their settlement checks in October.

Lead attorney David Oesting told the Anchorage Daily News that a deal had been worked out to pay most of the $507.5 million awarded this summer by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We're trying to get money as soon as we can in our clients' hands," Oesting said.

The Daily News said the agreement would release about $383 million -- minus attorney fees -- to 33,000 plaintiffs, many of them commercial fishermen, who were affected by the 1989 tanker spill.

Exxon Mobil said the sum worked out to the punitive damages awarded in the case minus some early settlements and legal fees.

The remaining $70 million plus a potential interest accrual of $488 million will remain locked up in court as the oil company argues that the interest isn't owed.