Five native Alaskan villages asked a federal judge Monday to give them a say in any government settlement of legal claims over the massive 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
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But U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin expressed skepticism, asking why the villages do not pursue their claim in Alaska state court, where they have filed a damage suit against Exxon."The United States is seeking to recover a natural resource injury without the consent or participation of the Alaska natives," said the villages' attorney, Michael D. Hausfeld.