SGER: Understanding Social Impacts of High-Stakes Litigation Resolution in a Renewable Resource Community

SGER：了解可再生资源社区中高风险诉讼解决方案的社会影响

• 批准号: 0852932
• 负责人: Duane Gill
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: Mississippi State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-12-01 至 2009-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0852932&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SGER; Understanding; Social; Impacts; Stakes

This project builds upon and extends research on social impacts resulting from resolution of class-action Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) litigation and payment of punitive damages. A 1994 jury verdict in Federal District Court in Anchorage, Alaska found Exxon negligent and awarded $287 million in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages to almost 33,000 individual plaintiffs. After numerous appeals by Exxon, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case and issued its ruling on June 25, 2008 (Exxon v. Baker). While the Court upheld the assertion that Exxon was liable, it slashed the punitive damage award to $507 million. Although shocked and disappointed by the reduction in punitive damages, plaintiffs were supposed to begin receiving checks in October/November 2008. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) allows the research team to collect time-sensitive data in Cordova, Alaska?a community in which more than one-third of the population is a plaintiff. Since 1989, Cordova has been the focus of an ongoing community study of social impacts of the Exxon Valdez disaster, including NSF-funded research in 1991-1992. In 2000, the investigators received NSF funding to document social impacts from impending resolution of the high-stakes litigation. These and other funds were used to collect three types of data: 1) a cross-sectional telephone survey of the community and a control community in 2000 and 2006; 2) a survey of a panel of Alaska Natives and commercial fishermen in 2001 and 2006; and 3) a series of semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of Cordova stakeholder groups and residents in 2002-2003. This project provides funds to conduct another telephone survey of Cordova and conduct semi-structured interviews with a 30 previously interviewed individuals from the 2002-2003 study?forming a unique qualitative panel. The research will provide new insights into the psychological stress, social disruptions, and collective trauma experienced in communities affected by environmental disasters.

该项目建立在埃克森公司巴尔德斯石油泄漏（EVOS）诉讼和支付惩罚性赔偿金的集体诉讼决议所产生的社会影响的研究基础上，并扩展了这一研究。 1994年，阿拉斯加安克雷奇联邦地区法院的陪审团裁决埃克森公司玩忽职守，并向近33,000名原告支付2.87亿美元的补偿性赔偿金和50亿美元的惩罚性赔偿金。 在埃克森提出多次上诉后，美国最高法院于2008年6月25日审理了此案并作出裁决（埃克森诉贝克案）。 虽然最高法院支持埃克森公司负有责任的主张，但它将惩罚性赔偿金削减到5.07亿美元。 虽然对惩罚性赔偿金的减少感到震惊和失望，但原告应该在2008年10月/11月开始收到支票。 这项探索性研究（SGER）的小额赠款允许研究小组在阿拉斯加科尔多瓦收集时间敏感的数据？超过三分之一的人口是原告的社区。 自1989年以来，科尔多瓦一直是埃克森巴尔德斯灾难社会影响的持续社区研究的重点，包括1991-1992年由国家科学基金会资助的研究。 2000年，调查人员获得了NSF的资助，以记录即将解决的高风险诉讼的社会影响。 这些资金和其他资金用于收集三种类型的数据：1）2000年和2006年对社区和对照社区进行的横断面电话调查; 2）2001年和2006年对阿拉斯加原住民和商业渔民小组进行的调查;和3）在2002-2003年的一系列半结构化的访谈与科尔多瓦的利益相关者群体和居民的有目的的样本。 该项目提供资金进行另一次电话调查的科尔多瓦和进行半结构化的访谈与30个以前采访的个人从2002-2003年的研究？形成一个独特的定性小组。 该研究将为受环境灾害影响的社区所经历的心理压力，社会破坏和集体创伤提供新的见解。