Did State Farm Set the Single-Digit Ratio for All Cases, or Just Some?
State Farm said a single-digit ratio between punitive and compensatory limits was the highest tolerable – so a 9:1 ratio is okay, but not a 10:1 or 20:1 or 100:1 ratio. But the plaintiffs in the Philip Morris case say that rule does not apply to their case, because the act done by Philip Morris caused a terrible personal injury, as opposed to the “mere” financial ruin threatened by the defendant’s actions in State Farm. The plaintiffs will argue, indeed, that the activities Philip Morris–which more than one trial court have compared to manslaughter–are so reprehensible that they fall into the narrow exception of cases described in State Farm as the “rare case” that justifies double or triple digit ratios. (In their own case, they must defend a ratio of almost 100:1 – recall that the compensatory damages $821,000, and the punitive damages, $79.5 million.) Justice Scalia is Correct on Principle – But State Farm Cannot Persuasively Be Distinguished None of these plaintiffs’-side argumen
Related Questions
- When I make a payment on my State Farm Variable Universal Life policy or my State Farm Variable Deferred Annuity using EBPP, when will that payment be credited to my policy or annuity?
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