The Federalist Society’s “State Docket Watch” reports on a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that resolved a dispute about how to properly compute the ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages in a case where there are multiple defendants.

In a nutshell, the question was whether to use a “per defendant” approach, under which the punitive damages awarded against each defendant would be compared to that defendant’s share of the compensatory damages, or a “per judgment” approach, under which the punitive damages awarded against each defendant would be compared to the total compensatory damages awarded against all defendants.  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court opted for the per-defendant approach, as the article explains.

California has adopted the same approach. When determining whether a punitive damages award is excessive, our courts compare the amount awarded against the defendant with that defendant’s share of the compensatory damages.  See, e.g., Bankhead v. ArvinMeritor.