Orlando Injury Lawyers Review High Court’s Order on Punitive Damages Award
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered reconsideration of a $55 million punitive damage award assessed against Ford Motor Co. for an Explorer sport-utility vehicle rollover accident that left a California woman paralyzed. As Orlando injury lawyers handling product liability claims this case is one we are keeping an eye on.
The justices ruled that the California appeals court should take another look at the case in light of its February 20, 2007 ruling that set aside an award to a smoker suing Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that jurors can not punish defendants for injuries to people who are not involved in the case that they are considering.
In the Ford Motor case, the jury's $368 million award to Benetta Buell-Wilson and her husband was the largest ever assessed against Ford. Of course, courts have already reduced that figure to $82.6 million, including the punitive award and $27.6 million in compensatory damages, plus interest. Ford Motor in its appeal argued to the justices that the plaintiffs devoted much of their case to urging the jury to punish for allegedly killing or injuring third parties not before the court who were driving a different vehicle, the BroncoII.
In response, counsel for the plaintiffs argued that evidence about the Bronco II was used for the permissible purpose of showing that Ford was aware of instability problems in its SUVs when it put the Explorer on the market. Whether the case was so infected with improper and irrelevant evidence that a new trial is warranted as Ford hopes is yet unknown.
