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Article: Supreme Court Confirms Narrow Limits For Punitive Damages Awards.(State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell)
- Article from:
- Mondaq Business Briefing
- Article date:
- May 14, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Mondaq Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Co-authored by John E Davis and Amy C GrossUtah Supreme Court Award Overturned As Unreasonable And Disproportionate
On April 7, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a punitive damages award of $145 million was excessive and violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, where compensatory damages were only $1 million. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, No. 01-1289, 2003 WL 1791206 (2003). Calling the case "neither close nor difficult," the Court found that such award was an "irrational and arbitrary deprivation of the property of the defendant" because it was based on out-of-state conduct that was unrelated to ...