Using The Due Process Clause To Defend Claims For Class-Wide Punitive Damages
Brent R. Austin,Michael R. Blankshain and Michael L. McCluggage of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP
Class actions can put defendants under enormous and undue pressure to settle or face a crippling verdict. That pressure is intensified when there is the specter of class-wide punitive damages. These awards can serve the state's legitimate interest in punishing and deterring unlawful conduct, and so punitive damages cannot be avoided completely in high-stakes litigation.
Utah Court Reduces $145 million Punitive Damage Awardin Campbell v. State Farm on Remand from United StatesSupreme Court, But Says It Retained Discretion toApprove Nine-to-One Ratio
Nixon Peabody LLP
The Utah Supreme Court has reduced a $145 million punitive damage award to $9 million one year after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the award violated the Constitution's due process clause. The Court stated that it violated due process because the defendant's conduct did not justify punitive damages that were 145 times greater than the compensatory damages of $1 million.
State Farm v. Campbell: Federalism and the Constitutional Limitations on Punitive Damages
Theodore J. Boutrous and Thomas H. Dupree, Jr.* of The Federalist Society
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Campbell offers the Court an opportunity to reaffirm the constitutional limitations on punitive damages and send a strong message to the lower courts that it is their duty to ensure these limitations are enforced with consistency and rigor.
The (Ir)relevance of BMW v. Gore to Products Liability Litigation
Brett M. Schuman of Brobeck Phleger & Harrison LLP
This reports discusses the BMW v. Gore case and its effect on product liability litigation.
Punitive Damage Awards Scrutinized after Supreme Court Decision
Rosenman & Colin LLP
In May 1996, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 116 S.Ct.1589.
Utah Jury's $145 Million Punitive Damages Award Struck Down
David R. Hall of Parsons Behle & Latimer
In a decision that the majority opinion described as "neither close nor difficult," the United States Supreme Court struck down a $145 million punitive damages award resulting from a insurance bad faith claim against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.