An Alabama circuit court judge has reduced an $11.8 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil Corporation to $3.5 billion in a lawsuit filed by the state seeking unpaid royalties on offshore natural gas leases.
The decision comes two weeks after Circuit Judge Tracy McCooey declined to order a new trial over the verdict, which was awarded by a Montgomery state court jury on November 14th, and refused to override the verdict against Exxon.
