The East Coast saw quite a bit of snow in February, but that is not the only kind of blizzard we have experienced this month. In fairly rapid succession, juries in three states imposed four multi-million dollar punitive damages awards.
Continue Reading February Brings A Blizzard Of Punitive Damages Awards
Wright Medical Technology Files Brief In Support Of Post-Trial Motions In Hip Implant Case
A couple of months ago, we reported on a $10 million punitive verdict in the first hip implant case to go to trial against Wright Medical Technology. Last week, Wright Medical filed its opening brief in support of its post-trial motions. From the looks of the brief, Wright Medical has a number of promising arguments.
Continue Reading Wright Medical Technology Files Brief In Support Of Post-Trial Motions In Hip Implant Case
Jury Awards Over $31 Million To Former Wal-Mart Employee—But Wal-Mart Probably Won’t Have To Pay Most Of It
McPadden v. WalMart Stores East, L.P., No. 14-cv-475, awarded more than $31 million to a former Wal-Mart employee who had worked for the company as a pharmacist. The plaintiff sued for discrimination and retaliation after she was terminated as discipline for losing a pharmacy key. As is common in these cases, the news stories were technically accurate but left a misleading impression of what happened.
Continue Reading Jury Awards Over $31 Million To Former Wal-Mart Employee—But Wal-Mart Probably Won’t Have To Pay Most Of It
California Jury Awards $9.8 Million In Compensatory Damages And $70 Million In Punitive Damages In Hemorrhoid Stapler Case
In a post a few weeks ago, I reported on a verdict by a federal jury in Atlanta awarding $1 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages against the manufacturer of a hip implant. Not to be outdone, on December 14 a state-court jury in California awarded $9.8 million in compensatory damages and an eye-popping $70 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon in a case alleging defects in a hemorrhoid stapler used to perform surgery on a hemorrhoid suffer.
Continue Reading California Jury Awards $9.8 Million In Compensatory Damages And $70 Million In Punitive Damages In Hemorrhoid Stapler Case
Jury Imposes $185 Million Punitive Award Against AutoZone In Individual Pregnancy Discrimination Case
Earlier this week, a federal jury in San Diego imposed a punitive damages award of $185 million against AutoZone in a case alleging pregnancy discrimination and retaliatory discharge. The punitive damages are a whopping 212 times the $872,000 in compensatory damages that the jury awarded for lost wages and emotional distress.
Needless to say, it is exceptionally unlikely that anything close to $185 million will survive post-verdict and appellate review. I have not yet had the chance to review anything other than media accounts about the case, but based on them a few things about the verdict jump out at me as being relevant to readers of this blog—all of which my colleagues and I have covered in previous posts.Continue Reading Jury Imposes $185 Million Punitive Award Against AutoZone In Individual Pregnancy Discrimination Case