Spain court grants $1.7 billion compensation for oil spill

Legal Outlook

Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that the captain and the insurer of the Prestige oil tanker must pay more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in compensation for Spain's biggest environmental disaster, when the vessel sank in 2002.
 
The court said in a statement Thursday that captain Apostolos Mangouras and The London Owners Mutual Insurance Association shall pay the damages to Spain, France and authorities in Spain's Galicia region, as well as to another 269 companies, communities and individuals affected by the spill.

The tanker sprang a leak and sank off northwest Spain, polluting a long stretch of coastline and ruining the area's rich fishing grounds. Years of legal challenges slowed the compensation process.

Related listings

  • Supreme Court rejects Trump plea to enforce asylum ban

    Supreme Court rejects Trump plea to enforce asylum ban

    Legal Outlook 12/23/2018

    A divided Supreme Court won’t let the Trump administration begin enforcing a ban on asylum for any immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Chief Justice John Roberts joined his four more liberal colleagues Friday in ruling agains...

  • Fight over report on Wynn allegations back in court Jan. 4

    Fight over report on Wynn allegations back in court Jan. 4

    Legal Outlook 12/22/2018

    The fight over a Massachusetts Gaming Commission report on allegations of sexual misconduct against former casino mogul Steve Wynn will be back in a Nevada courtroom next month.Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez on Thursday set a Jan. 4 c...

  • NC court: Counties not responsible for school underfunding

    NC court: Counties not responsible for school underfunding

    Legal Outlook 12/22/2018

    North Carolina's top court says the state is responsible, not the counties, when schools are so underfunded that some children don't get the constitutionally required sound basic education.In a decision issued Friday, the state Supreme Court ruled ag...