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New Punitives Ruling Means New Battles

BY Marcia Coyle
April 01, 2003

The Supreme Court's April 7 ruling on punitive damages, greeted with relief and enthusiasm by corporate defendants, opens new battlegrounds in litigation seeking those awards. The ruling significantly expanded the High Court's prior attempts to guide lower courts and lawyers on when punitive damages awards may run afoul of the Constitution. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, No. 01-1289.

The 6-3 decision in State Farm threw out a $145 million punitive damages award won by Curtis Campbell in a bad-faith action against the auto insurer. Compensatory damages totaled $1 million.

“This is not the end,” said Lori S. Nugent, head of the punitive damages practice in the Chicago office of Cozen O'Connor. “Justice Scalia was absolutely right when he said that there will be many decisions in the future on punitive damages. And there should be.”

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