Cases in which an appellate court holds that a state’s standard for punitive liability was not satisfied even though there was sufficient evidence to support liability for the underlying causes of action are regrettably rare....more
10/6/2015
/ Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Corporate Liability ,
Design Defects ,
Gross Negligence ,
KY Supreme Court ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Nissan ,
Punitive Damages ,
Standard of Proof
Congratulations to the Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform for its recently issued report on the legal climate of the various states. The report is a thoroughly researched and elegantly presented compilation of...more
As we have noted in prior posts, many states require courts to bifurcate punitive damages trials upon the defendant’s request. The question therefore arises whether a federal court sitting in diversity must or, at least...more
A year ago, my colleagues Andy Frey and Rory Schneider wrote this post about a case in which the Montana Supreme Court had been asked to review, among other things, the trial court’s holding that the state’s cap on punitive...more
The drafting of jury instructions on punitive damages presents unique challenges for defense lawyers. On the one hand, it is generally necessary to ask for an instruction that goes beyond existing law in order to preserve...more
As a matter of public policy, Pennsylvania (like a number of other states) prohibits insuring against punitive damages. But what happens if an insurer refuses to settle a case against a policyholder within policy limits and...more
There are not many true affirmative defenses to punitive damages, much less ones that can be established on the face of the complaint. One potential basis for dismissing a claim for punitive damages, which could be...more
One of the biggest challenges confronting a defendant that has lost a large judgment is the need to file a supersedeas bond in order to prevent execution on the judgment during the pendency of the appeal. There are good...more
Although the Supreme Court’s modern due process cases have given lower courts a framework for deciding whether an award of punitive damages is excessive, some lower courts have been misapplying the Supreme Court’s guidance,...more
Montana is known fondly to many as Big Sky Country, but it also is quickly gaining a reputation for big punitive damages awards. Not only are juries imposing breathtaking amounts of punitive damages with increasing...more