Title: Addressing the Threat of Punitive Damages Claims in Franchise and Dealer Litigation Notes
Abstract: Mark McLaughlin During the past decade, the courts and Congress have reexamined the underlying purpose of and limitations on awards of punitive damages, based on perceived growth in the frequency and size of such awards. Recent developments suggest that reforms in the area of punitive damages may be immi? nent. For example, the United States Supreme Court recently demon? strated an increased willingness to scrutinize the circumstances in which punitive damages may be assessed. In 1994 a majority of the Court held for the first time that the Due Process Clause imposes a substantive limit on the size of punitive damage awards.1 The Court will revisit the subject of possible limits on punitive dam? ages during its October 1995 term. In BMW of America v. Gore,2 the Court will consider, among other issues, whether a punitive damages award five hundred times greater than the amount of compensatory damages is so excessive as to violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Publication Year: 1995
Publication Date: 1995-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot