This unpublished opinion demonstrates that, under the right circumstances, California courts can find a punitive damages award excessive even when it is less than ten times the amount of compensatory damages.

A jury in this employment discrimination case awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $7 million in punitive damages.  The trial court ordered a new trial conditioned on the plaintiff’s acceptance of a reduction in the punitive damages to $1 million.  The plaintiff accepted the remittitur and both sides appealed.

The Court of Appeal (Second District, Division Four) affirmed across the board.  First, it rejected the defendant’s argument that the plaintiff failed to prove malice on the part of an officer, director, or managing agent.  In the process, the court held that the defendant’s adoption of an anti-discrimination policy did not act as a shield against punitive damages, because although the company adopted the policy in good faith, it did not implement the policy in good faith.

Second, the Court of Appeal rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the trial court erred by ordering the remittitur from $7 million to $1 million.  The court noted that single-digit punitive-to-compensatory ratios are not presumptively valid, especially when the compensatory damages itself is substantial or contains a punitive element.  The court noted that the compensatory damages award here was 19 times more than the plaintiff’s annual salary, and included a large emotional distress component, which has both a punitive aspect and a deterrent effect.  Accordingly, the Court of Appeal concluded that the trial court properly reduced the award to a 1-to-1 ratio.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports that a jury this week awarded $2.6 million in compensatory damages and $16 million in punitive damages against Allstate Insurance in an employment case involving some unusual facts.   

According to the story, Michael Tilkey, a longtime Allstate employee, was arrested on domestic violence charges after an argument with his then-girlfriend.  Prosecutors dismissed he charges after Tilkey entered into a plea deal requiring him to attend anger-management classes. His ex-girlfriend, however, sent an email to Allstate accusing Tilkey of threatening her.  She demanded that the company investigate Tilkey’s conduct. Allstate fired him three months later, after concluding that he violated company policy by engaging in threatening behavior.

Tilkey’s lawsuit accused Allstate of violating state law by firing him for an arrest that did not result in a conviction.  Apparently the jury not only agreed with that theory, but was sufficiently outraged by Allstate’s misconduct that they awarded a huge amount of punitive damages.  Allstate says it will appeal.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports that a jury this week awarded $2.6 million in compensatory damages and $16 million in punitive damages against Allstate Insurance in an employment case involving some unusual facts.

According to the story, Michael Tilkey, a longtime Allstate employee, was arrested on domestic violence charges after an argument with his then-girlfriend.  Prosecutors dismissed he charges after Tilkey entered into a plea deal requiring him to attend anger-management classes. His ex-girlfriend, however, sent an email to Allstate accusing Tilkey of threatening her.  She demanded that the company investigate Tilkey’s conduct. Allstate fired him three months later, after concluding that he violated company policy by engaging in threatening behavior.

Tilkey’s lawsuit accused Allstate of violating state law by firing him for an arrest that did not result in a conviction.  Apparently the jury not only agreed with that theory, but was sufficiently outraged by Allstate’s misconduct that they awarded a huge amount of punitive damages.  Allstate says it will appeal.

A reader tipped me off to this verdict, which was handed down a few weeks ago in Orange County.  A jury awarded just under $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $13 million in punitive damages, against GEICO Insurance Co. 

Omar Daoud, a GEICO insured, was injured in an auto accident with a driver who had $100,000 in liability coverage.  Daoud demanded that GEICO pay the $400,000 underinsured motorist policy limits on his policy.  According to Daoud, GEICO unreasonably delayed in paying those benefits, which caused him to lose two homes to foreclosure.

GEICO says it plans to appeal, according to this story in the Orange County Register.

A reader tipped me off to this verdict, which was handed down a few weeks ago in Orange County.  A jury awarded just under $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $13 million in punitive damages, against GEICO Insurance Co.

Omar Daoud, a GEICO insured, was injured in an auto accident with a driver who had $100,000 in liability coverage.  Daoud demanded that GEICO pay the $400,000 underinsured motorist policy limits on his policy.  According to Daoud, GEICO unreasonably delayed in paying those benefits, which caused him to lose two homes to foreclosure.

GEICO says it plans to appeal, according to this story in the Orange County Register.

The Sacramento Bee reports that a jury in Kentucky has awarded $62.5 million in punitive damages, on top of $5 million in compensatory damages, to two former coal miners who sued 3M Co. for making allegedly defective respirators.  The workers claimed they developed black lung disease because the respirators failed to function properly.  3M says it plans to appeal.

MyNewsLA is reporting that a jury in Los Angeles superior court awarded nearly $2 million in punitive damages yesterday to a paralegal who alleged that she was fired for complaining about sexual harassment. 

According to the story. plaintiff Soledad Albarracin worked for Fidelity National Financial.  She claimed she was harassed by one of the company’s attorneys at a “team-building” retreat, and was fired for complaining.  In the first phase of trial she won $250,000 in compensatory damages, and the jury tacked on $1.95 million in punitive damages in phase two.     

Law 360 reports that a jury in a New Jersey state court lawsuit has awarded $35 million in punitive damages and $33 million in compensatory damages against C.R. Bard, Inc.  The plaintiffs, husband and wife, claim the company’s pelvic mesh devices were defectively designed, causing debilitating pain to the wife, who had the devices implanted in 2009.  New Jersey juries have been busy lately

Reuters reports that a jury in New Jersey has awarded $80 million in punitive damages, on top of $37 million in compensatory damages, to a plaintiff who claimed he developed cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s talc products.

Reuters says this is the first time Johnson & Johnson has lost a trial involving alleged asbestos contamination of its talc product.  It won a similar case that went to trial last year in California.

The company has been hit with some big punitive damages awards in cases involving claims that talc itself causes ovarian cancer, but so far those awards have been tossed out during post-trial motions or on appeal.

Related posts:

Los Angeles trial court tosses $417 million talc verdict

Missouri appellate court reverses $62 million punitive damages award in talc case, finding no jurisdiction (Fox v. Johnson & Johnson)

L.A. jury awards $347 million in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson in talc case

The Fresno Bee reports that a local jury has awarded a total of $68 million ($55.6 million in compensatory damages and $12.4 million in punitive damages) in a medical malpractice case against a surgeon. 

According to the story, the plaintiffs accused the doctor of leaving the operating room early to attend a luncheon, leaving a physician’s assistant to close a patient’s chest after open heart surgery.  The patient suffered a large blood loss that caused him to go into a coma.