Title: Post State Farm decisions have considered comparative fault in determining the constitutionally permissible ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages

Authors: William E. Marple

Addresses: 2014 Main Street, Dallas, Texas 75201, USA

Abstract: The US Supreme Court has established two important constitutional limits on punitive damages awards: they are subject to review for substantive reasonableness and the amount of the award may not be predicated on harm that a defendant caused to non-parties. These limits call into question the well-settled principle in most jurisdictions that comparative fault may not be used to reduce punitive damage awards.

Keywords: punitive damages; compensatory damages; legal decisions; United States Supreme Court; constitutional limits; damage awards; substantive reasonableness; harm; defendants; non-parties; comparative fault; Fourteenth Amendment; United States Constitution; USA; Bill of Rights; due process; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company; Curtis Campbell; Arleen Waddill; Anchor Hocking; Dorothy Clark; Chrysler Corporation; Ginny White; Jimmie White; Ford Motor Company; Val Jolley; Energen Resources Corporation; case law; law reports; private law.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPL.2013.050524

International Journal of Private Law, 2013 Vol.6 No.1, pp.1 - 10

Published online: 29 Nov 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article