After the spill, ExxonMobil spent about $US2.1 billion ($A2.2 billion) cleaning up the polluted coastline and more than $US300 million ($A313 million) in compensation for fishermen and locals affected by the catastrophe. The company also paid out more than $US900 million ($A938.9 million) of fines in a bid to halt criminal proceedings brought against it by the US government and the state of Alaska. In an opinion penned by Justice David Souter, the Supreme Court said ExxonMobil should not have to pay out punitive damages exceeding the compensatory damages awarded against it.