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Article: Punitive damages: when, where and how they are covered. (by insurance)
- Article from:
- Defense Counsel Journal
- Article date:
- October 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 International Association of Defense Counsels. 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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NEWS stories about punitive damages seem to be an almost daily occurrence, from the $2.7 million award against McDonald's in the "hot coffee case,"(1) reduced by the trial judge to $680,000, to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that arbitration panels may assess punitive damages in securities cases.(2) Although there are legislative efforts afoot at both the federal and state levels to curb them, punitive damages likely will not disappear and will continue to be a source of concern to insurance companies and defense counsel.(3)
Courts vary widely on the issue of the insurability of punitive damages. More than half the jurisdictions in the United States allow ...