Control on Punitive Damages

Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/video-explaining-controls-assessment-punitive-damages-barry and see the full video at https://youtu.be/j21ZRI2fdkM and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 3500 posts. 

The US Supreme Court has clearly stated that “[p]unitive damages may properly be imposed to further a State’s legitimate interests in punishing unlawful conduct and deterring its repetition.” [BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U. S. 559]. These damages often exceed the fines assessed by the state if the same person had acted criminally to damage the plaintiff.

The skills of plaintiff’s trial lawyers have convinced juries to award damages in sums that exceed the annual budget of Greece. The jury assesses the enormous damages because it becomes inflamed by the wrongful conduct of the defendant and agrees with the lawyer’s suggestion that the jury “teach the defendant a lesson” to stop it from doing the same to others. The argument has been successful in thousands of suits brought from Vermont to California and Florida to Washington.

For years punitive damage awards were unlimited. A $40 compensatory damage award resulted in a $5,000,000.00 punitive damages verdict.