The firm was retained by the State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to assert claims against several major oil companies.

The first of these cases to be tried, State of Alabama v. Exxon Corp., Montgomery County, Alabama Case No. CV-99-2368, initially resulted in a jury verdict in favor of the State for $87.7 million in compensatory damages and $3.42 billion in punitive damages.

On December 20, 2002 the Alabama Supreme Court reversed the jury's verdict and remanded the case for a new trial upon concluding the jury should not have been permitted to view an internal memo from an Exxon lawyer outlining its plans to underpay the State.

The retrial took place October through November 2003 and resulted in a verdict for the State and a judgment in the amount of $63 million compensatory damages (totaling $102 million with interest) and $11.8 billion punitive damages.

On March 29, 2004 Judge Tracey McCooey denied Exxon's post-judgment motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial, but she remitted the verdict to $3.9 billion. To read the judgment, click here.

Click here to read State of Alabama's and Friends of Court Briefs on Appeal.

Click here to read news articles and commentaries related to the Exxon case.

The second case, State of Alabama v. Hunt Petroleum Corp., Mobile County, Alabama Case No. CV-99-2526, resulted in the Court ordering Hunt to pay the State of Alabama $4.6 million in accordance with the lease terms.

The third case, State of Alabama v. Shell Oil Co., Mobile County, Alabama Case No. CV-99-1949, was settled in March 2002 for approximately $34 million.

The fourth case, State of Alabama v. Amoco Production Co., Mobile County, Alabama Case No. CV-99-2528, was settled on December 3, 2002 for approximately $29 million. Now that the dispute has been settled, the State of Alabama and Amoco look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship, which is very much in the interest of the citizens of the State.

The fifth case, State of Alabama v. Mobil Oil Corporation, Mobile County, Alabama Case No. CV-99-2527, was settled on March 18, 2003 for $12.5 million.