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Article: Punitive damages limits at issue in high court case.(News)(US Supreme Court to hear case involving punitive damages case against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. )
- Article from:
- Business Insurance
- Article date:
- December 9, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Crain Communications, Inc. 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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Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court has another opportunity to clarify how much is too much where punitive damages are concerned when it hears oral arguments this week in a case dealing with insurance claims-handling practices.
The case the justices will hear on Dec. 11-State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. vs. Curtis B. Campbell and Inez Preece Campbell-covers some of the same ground as the high court's 1996 landmark decision in BMW of North America vs. Ira Gore. In that case, which involved an automobile paint job, the court's majority held that a punitive damage award of $2 million over an underlying compensatory award of about ...