San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney On Punitive Damages Debate

There is a debate of sorts making it?s way around various legal blogs regarding punitive damages and whether or not their days are numbered.

Punitive damages are damages that are meant to punish wrong-doers or tortfeasors not only in personal injury or product liability cases but in other typs of litigation as well.

The argument began with law professor Jill Weiber Lens and it is contained within an article that she wrote on the U.S. Supreme Court?s opinion in Exxon Shipping v. Baker. Her central thesis is that this opinion is the beginning of the unraveling of punitive damages in this country.

It goes something like this:

• In the past, punitive damages were designed to punish.
• Exxon Shipping shifted the focus and basis of punitive damages from punishment to notice ? that is, informing bad actors what the costs of their actions would be (a shift that also attempted to remove the unpredictable aspect of punitive damages from the equation as well).
• By making this shift, the Court undermined the traditional basis and constitutional justification for punitive damages.
• Now that the basis for these damages has been undermined, state courts will begin to find such damages unconstitutional.

And since the decision we have seen some states chipping away at punitive damages and even placing limits on them. But there are other jurisdictions, like here in California, where there are no statutory limitations on punitive damages. And similar arguments were made regarding general damages with states, like California, passed caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

In that situation, the fear was that states would go in and cap all noneconomic damages in all cases across the board. And that didn?t happen, or at least hasn?t happened yet.

What we think is more likely is that some jurisdictions will use the basis in Exxon Shipping to continue to chip away at punitive damages in terms of statutory limitations and elevating the standard beyond reach. But this action in these jurisdictions could very well lead to a voter backlash. And we think other jurisdictions will leave well enough alone (the more prudent course).

Hat tip to Horvitz & Levy California Punitive Damages Blog

Source: http://www.burlisonlaw.com/blog/?p=5566

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