In a post last week, Lauren Goldman discussed the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision in Lewellen v. Franklin striking down Missouri’s cap on punitive damages as applied to common-law causes of action and promised that we would do a subsequent post
Guideposts
Mayer Brown's Punitive Damages Blog
Guideposts, published by Mayer Brown, focuses on litigation topics with a particular emphasis on punitive damages law. The blog covers issues such as liability standards, trial strategies, constitutional limits on punitive damages, and appellate court decisions affecting punitive damages awards. It also addresses related areas including employment law, fraud, and civil procedure, often analyzing significant court rulings and their implications for defendants and plaintiffs. The content includes discussions on due process rights, vicarious liability, and the interplay between compensatory and punitive damages. Guideposts serves as a resource for legal professionals interested in the evolving jurisprudence surrounding punitive damages and related litigation challenges.
Latest from Guideposts - Page 10
May A Defendant Seek JMOL On Punitive Liability Based On A Standard Different From The One Reflected In The Jury Instructions?
We’ve been following the post-trial proceedings in Allen v. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., a product-liability action involving the diabetes drug Actos. The case garnered headlines earlier this year when the jury awarded an astounding $9 billion in punitive…
Missouri Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s Punitive Damages Cap As Applied To Common-Law Causes Of Action
Last week, in Lewellen v. Franklin, the Missouri Supreme Court sharply restricted the reach of the State’s punitive damages cap statute, which limits punitive damages to the greater of $500,000 or five times the compensatory damages. The court reasoned…
Missouri Court Of Appeals Reverses Punitive Award Because Of Erroneous Instructions
In a prior post, Andy Frey and I discussed the concern expressed by some defense lawyers that jurors in a bifurcated trial might bake punitive damages into their compensatory award because they are unaware that they will be able…
The Specious Argument That Caps On Punitive Damages Are Affirmative Defenses That Must Be Pleaded
As readers undoubtedly are aware, concerns about upward spiraling punitive awards have prompted many state legislatures to enact caps on punitive damages. The plaintiff bar’s first line of attack on such statutes has been to challenge them under various provisions…
Alternatives To Traditional Bifurcation
In a recent post, we set forth our views on why, with some forethought, traditional bifurcation—i.e., trying liability for the underlying tort, compensatory damages, and liability for punitive damages in the first phase and, if necessary, the amount of…
To Bifurcate Or Not To Bifurcate, That Is The Question
As we noted in a prior post, many state legislatures and supreme courts have mandated that the amount of punitive damages be tried separately from other issues in the case if the defendant so requests. The principal impetus for…
Anchors Aweigh: The Prejudicial Impact Of An Outsized Request For Punitive Damages
The lawyer for the plaintiff in a punitive damages case frequently asks the jury to return a particular amount of punitive damages. Often the requested amount is very large—far more than the plaintiff realistically expects to recover, and certainly greater…
Why Defendants In Punitive Damages Cases Have A Due Process Right To Bifurcation
There are substantial tactical questions whether or when it is in the defendant’s interest to seek bifurcation of the amount of punitive damages from other trial issues and whether the defendant should in some circumstances seek bifurcation of all punitive…
West Virginia Supreme Court Of Appeals Upholds $32 Million Punitive Damages Award Against Nursing Home
We recently posted about the decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in Manor Care Inc. v. Douglas, — S.E.2d —-, 2014 WL 2835831 (W. Va. June 18, 2014), to cut a multimillion-dollar punitive award by more…