By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – A judge will hear arguments beginning tomorrow on Exxon Mobil's appeal of the largest verdict in the country last year.
Last year, a jury awarded the state of Alabama 11-point-9 billion dollars after finding that Exxon intentionally defrauded the state out of natural gas royalties. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Tracy McCooey set aside two days to hear arguments. Exxon Mobil says several errors occurred during the trial and the verdict radically exceeds what the law allows.
The National Law Journal ranked the judgement number one in its annual list of the top 100 verdicts in the state. The judgment was 7-point-6 billion dollars larger that the combined total of the other 99 verdicts.