| If you think you are entitled to collect punitive damages, this may interest you.
Compensatory damages is an amount of money necessary to make a plaintiff "whole", that is, to completely compensate for the harm caused by a defendant.
Punitive damages are additional moneys, available in only some cases, to "punish" a defendant, and to deter similar conduct in the future.
In some cases a punitive damage award can be considerable; where a defendant's wealth is significant, only a substantial award will serve as an effective deterrent.
On February 20, 2007, the United States Supreme Court reviewed a punitive damage verdict of nearly $80,000,000 given by an Oregon jury against a tobacco manufacturer.
The jury found plaintiff's decedent died because of smoking defendant's cigarettes and that defendant falsely led the decedent to believe smoking was safe.
The jury awarded compensatory damages of $821,000 and punitive damages which were almost 100 times greater.
On appeal, the defendant sought a new trial.
YOU BE THE JUDGE: Are punitive damages only to punish a defendant who has harmed plaintiff, or are such damages available to punish for damage a defendant caused other people, too?
On the appeal, defendant argued the jury should have been instructed that punitive damages are only available to punish for harm done to the plaintiff, not for harm that may have caused damage to other smokers over the years.
The United States Supreme Court agreed with defendant.
The Court held that the Due Process Clause to the Constitution forbids a state to use a punitive damage award to punish a defendant for injury inflicted on strangers to the litigation. A jury can receive evidence of a defendant's harm to others but only to show the conduct was reprehensible. Since the Constitution prohibits arbitrary punishment, a defendant must have fair notice of the severity of the penalty that a state may impose. Where a jury is left to consider harm to others as part of the punitive damage deliberation, it leaves a defendant with no means to defend against the charge.
The New Jersey Legislature dealt with some of these issues in the enactment of tort reform measures some years ago, which included the Punitive Damages Act (PDA). The PDA was intended to establish workable standards for consideration of such awards. The Legislature also imposed a cap for such awards, but not in some cases involving such things as bias crimes, discrimination and sexual abuse.
The decision points out that a courtroom can bring justice and may be the only way to protect your rights. We know courtrooms; we have harnessed the power of the law in courtrooms to bring justice for our clients for decades. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you in a new lawsuit or provide a "second opinion" about your pending lawsuit. There is no obligation for the initial consultation. |
