The decision was announced that morning in Washington, D.C.

“It was like a kick in Alaskans' collective gut. It seems to be a case of justice delayed is justice denied. I believe this (the appeal) has gone on too long,” Palin said in a written statement. “We know that our price of fish and our coastal communities still have not recovered. I think we should invite the Exxon personnel to kick over the rocks on our beaches in Cordova and see firsthand the devastating effects of the worst oil spill in our history.”

The Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound in 1989. Hundreds of thousands of seabirds and marine animals died as the oil spread through the Sound. The region's fisheries suffered, although many have since recovered.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in the spring. The court rejected a request by the plaintiffs in the class-action case to consider raising what is now an award of $2.5 billion in punitive damages back to the original $5 billion level determined by an Alaska jury after the 1994 trial.

Punitive damages were reduced as a result of ExxonMobil's appeals. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dropped the award to $2.5 billion. Exxon has argued that the $3.4 billion it paid for cleanup and other costs, plus an added $287 million in compensatory damages was sufficient payment.

In a prepared statement, ExxonMobil said, “This case has never been about compensating people for actual damages. Rather it is about whether further punishment is warranted in a case where the company voluntarily compensated most plaintiffs within a year of the spill, and has spent over $3.5 billion, including compensatory payments, cleanup payments, settlements and fines. We do not believe any punitive damages are warranted in this case.”

But Cordova Mayor Tim Joyce said his community is still suffering.

“The spill tore the social fabric out of this community,” he said. “There's still oil on the beaches in Prince William Sound. Some of the villages in Prince William Sound still can't go out and get subsistence shellfish. They simply can't because the shellfish are either not there or people are afraid of the contamination.”

Since the 1994 trial, “we have had 6,000 victims (of the spill) who have passed away who have never seen any real justice,” Joyce added.

Dave Oesting, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was surprised the Supreme Court agreed to consider the appeal.

“The case been settled in our favor repeatedly by the lower courts,” Oesting said. “The issue has been decided five times in rulings by the trial court in Alaska and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.”

The Supreme Court's decision means the case is likely to continue for several more months. Dec. 13 has been set as the deadline for ExxonMobil to file its brief and Jan. 14 for the plaintiff's response. Oral arguments are expected sometime in February and a decision could be issued as soon as April but will more likely come when the court term ends on June 30, according to Oesting.

The high court agreed to consider ExxonMobil's argument that the $2.5 billion award violates federal maritime law. The court declined to consider another claim, that the award is so large it violates the U.S. Constitution. It also decided to hear arguments on whether ExxonMobil can be held responsible for the actions of the tanker captain, Joe Hazelwood.

“It is also important for the Supreme Court to uphold long-standing maritime law that provides that ship-owners are not liable for punitive damages based upon conduct by the ship-master who disregarded the owner's rules and policies,” ExxonMobil said.

The company's position is supported by several major business and trade organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in the Oct. 26 conference, when the court made the decision to take the case. He also recused himself from the remainder of the case without explanation, but Alito's 2006 financial disclosure statement indicates that he owned between $100,000 and $250,000 worth of ExxonMobil stock as of Dec. 31, 2006.