By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Mediation attempts have apparently failed to settle the legal dispute between the state and Exxon Mobil. The case has moved back before the Alabama Supreme Court. The justices had ordered the two sides to try mediation after Exxon Mobil appealed the $3.6 billion judgment that the state won against the oil company. In its verdict, a Montgomery County Circuit Court jury agreed with the state's arguments that the oil company intentionally underpaid royalties from natural gas wells that were drilled in state-owned waters along the Alabama coast. Attorneys for both sides said in September that they had not reached a settlement but did want to keep talking. However, the Supreme Court issued the order Tuesday saying that the talks have ended.