Any time a state supreme court is asked to recognize a new tort duty, its decision necessarily will affect the potential availability of punitive damages. Hence, I consider it newsworthy that in a decision issued on June 23 the California Supreme Court declined to impose on retailers a duty to maintain automatic external defibrillators on their premises for use in the event customers experience sudden cardiac arrest. Congratulations to my colleagues Donald Falk and Richard Caldarone, who represented Target, the prevailing party, in the case.
