Lawmakers Denounced for Pushing Punitive Damages in Last-Minute Amendment
Illinois Businesses Brace for Increased Costs and Diminished Appeal as Trial Bar Pushes for Punitive Damages in Wrongful Death Cases
(9th Circ., filed August 29, 2018): Arguing punitive damages exceeding a 1:1 ratio are inconsistent with due process where there is a multi-million dollar compensatory damage award for a purely economic injury. Supreme Court jurisprudence reserves punitive damage awards exceeding compensatory damages for cases involving low compensatory awards, physical harm, or exceptional circumstances. Also arguing that due process requires a class action avoid using individualized evidence of class representatives as a shortcut for showing common classwide evidence.
On July 23, 2020, the Court found that the plaintiff, Bahamas Surgery Center, lacked standing because it had not purchased the gowns from defendant Halyard Health. As Bahamas Surgery Center lacked standing to sue in its own right, it could not bring claims on behalf of a class. With respect to Kimberly-Clark, the Ninth Circuit found that the trial court should have decertified the fraudulent concealment class because the materiality of the industry rating varied among class members. It remanded the case with an order to vacate and dismiss.
Illinois Businesses Brace for Increased Costs and Diminished Appeal as Trial Bar Pushes for Punitive Damages in Wrongful Death Cases
2023 legislative session resulted in landmark legal reforms, ATRF says
ATRA’s Latest Data Reveals $271.8 Million Spent on Legal Services Advertising in Florida in 2022; Florida Accounted for Nearly 20% of Radio Ad Spending Nationwide
Today, Johnson & Johnson announced it will resolve approximately 60,000 talc claims through the bankruptcy process, allowing claimants to get fair resolution without having to wait through a lengthy trial. […]
HB 837 heads to Governor’s desk
This letter-to-the-editor was originally published by the Tampa Bay Times in response to their March 13, 2023 article “Florida lawmakers want to help insurance companies by limiting lawsuits.“ The “tort […]