In doing so, it cited cases from Missouri and Oregon in which plaintiffs had purchased used vehicles that had a past and in which
significant punitive damage awards had been affirmed.
The decision in Gordon v Altus is another example of the noticeable trend in recent years for courts to award
significant punitive damage awards in situations where an employer has acted in a malicious manner in the way in which in deals with its former employees.
An older decision that resulted in
a significant punitive damage award is the 1996 decision Mustaji v. Tjin12.
However, when the collision was caused by a drunk driver, juries take this very seriously and regularly return
significant punitive damages awards.
Not exact matches
In the Court of Appeal's decision, Laskin J.A. reduced the
punitive damages awarded at trial by a
significant amount.
In certain cases, where there has been a
significant departure from the standards of good faith, you may be entitled to an
award of aggravated or
punitive damages.
Another
significant and surprising finding with regard to
damages to corporations is that in the 2003 - 13 data,
punitive damages were
awarded to corporations much more often, and in much higher amounts, than to human plaintiffs.
Punitive damages are most often
awarded after a fatal accident or an accident that results in a catastrophic injury that will have a long term
significant impact on your life.
[216] The court is cognizant of the fact that a
punitive damages award of $ 3 million may not be particularly
significant to the financial bottom line of a successful worldwide insurance company.
The most
significant recent development in
punitive damages awards in the context of employment law is the willingness of judges and juries to
award significantly higher
damage awards than in the past.
Among other
significant matters, she secured a historic victory for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a $ 145 million
punitive damages award against the company as unconstitutionally excessive.
Where the employer is not liable for sizable compensatory and aggravated
awards, as in Whiten,
punitive damages may still play a
significant role in deterrence of future conduct.
One thing is for sure, where there is egregious conduct, insurers should be aware there will be
significant aggravated and
punitive damages awarded.
In light of this
significant misapprehension in the evidence, the trial judge's
award of
punitive damages can not stand.