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High Court limits scope of punitives; Justices fault awards based on harm done to nonplaintiffs.(News)
Business Insurance, February, 2007 by Hofmann, Mark A.
Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN WASHINGTON-The U.S. Supreme Court decision last week to overturn a $79.5 million punitive damages award against a tobacco company may not represent a total victory for businesses, say some tort reform advocates. That's because the 5-4 majority in Philip Morris USA vs.
Mayola Williams held that juries can take into account evidence of harm allegedly inflicted by a defendant on people other than the named plaintiffs in determining the "reprehensibility'' of the defendant's misconduct. However, wrote Associate Justice Stephen Breyer for the majority, "a jury may not go further'' and use punitive damages to punish a defendant directly for harm to others not named in the suit. "Given the risks of unfairness...it is constitutionally...
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