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Case Briefs

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
May 30, 2012

Bad Faith Verdict Affirmed; $55 Million Punitive Damages Award Held to Be Unconstitutionally Excessive

The Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One recently affirmed a $155,000 bad faith verdict against an auto insurer, and further held that punitive damages were also warranted. The court nevertheless concluded that the jury's $55 million punitive damages award was unconstitutionally excessive, as was the trial court's reduction of that award to $620,000. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals further reduced the punitive damages award to $155,000, a 1:1 ratio to the compensatory damages. Nardelli v. Metropolitan Group Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., 2012 WL 1514671 (Ariz. App. Div. 1, May 1, 2012).

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