The Impact of State Farm v. Campbell

Monday, June 23rd, 2003 Liability Litigation

The United States Supreme Court recently issued a revolutionary decision on the constitutionality of punitive damage awards that promises much relief for defendants. In State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co. v. Campbell, handed down on April 7, the court has forbidden juries’ applying state law to punish defendants for out-of-state conduct or for torts against non-plaintiffs; established a presumption, in cases involving substantial compensatory damages, that a 1-to-1 ratio of punitive to compensatory damages sets the outer limit of reasonableness; and severely restricted the ability of plaintiffs to justify large awards based on potential harm to others.

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http://www.claimsmag.com/Issues/may03/impact.asp

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