CNN is reporting on a $1.7 billion punitive damages award against Ford in a case involving a fatal crash of a Ford F-150 truck.  Although the CNN story doesn’t mention it, liability in the case was established by a sanctions order.  As this Law360 story explains, a prior trial in this case ended in a mistrial and after the mistrial, the court sanctioned Ford for violating court orders about witness testimony.  The court sanctioned Ford by instructing the jury in the second trial that Ford’s design was defective and that Ford acted willfully and recklessly.  The second jury then awarded $1.7 billion in punitive damages based on the court’s description of Ford’s conduct.  Both articles report that Ford plans to appeal.