A few years ago I reported on a $700 million punitive damages award by a Wisconsin jury against an Indian company in a trade secrets case.  The district court ended up reducing the punitive damages to $280 million, double the $140 million compensatory damages award.  On appeal, the Seventh Circuit reduced the award further, concluding that a ratio in excess of one-to-one would violate due process.

The plaintiff, Epic Systems Corp., filed a cert. petition asking the Supreme Court to decide whether, when a statute caps punitive damages at a two-to-one ratio, the cap eliminates any due process concerns for awards falling within the cap.

Today the Supreme Court issued an order inviting the Solicitor General to file a brief in the case expressing the views of the federal government.

SCOTUSblog’s coverage of the case is available here.

The Supreme Court’s docket can be viewed here.