The Judiciary Committee of the California State Senate held a brief hearing yesterday on SB423 (which we blogged about previously here), a proposal to limit punitive damages to no more than three times compensatory damages. At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee voted 3-2 not to refer the bill to the full Senate.

Kyla Christofferson, a policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce, spoke in favor of the proposal. Also testifying in support of the bill was a former colleague of ours, Jason Weintraub, who is now vice president and general counsel for DRI Companies.

Testifying against the bill was Christine Spagnoli, president elect of the Consumer Attorneys of California.