California Court of Appeal

In an appeal following a judgment awarding $2.5 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages for massive oil spills from defendant's pipelines, punitive damage award is reversed where: 1) the award does not comport with due process as the jury was effectively invited to punish defendant for injuring persons or entities that were not parties to the litigation, for conduct that had nothing to do with that which harmed the plaintiffs in the case; and 2) as defendant's dissimilar conduct was admitted not only for the purpose of evaluating the degree of its reprehensibility in setting the amount of punitive damages, but also to prove that it was guilty of malice, fraud or oppression, the jury's findings of liability for punitive damages and the amount of the award were both fatally undermined.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/04/2008
• Published 03/04/2008

Judges

• PERREN, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Horvitz & Levy, Ellis J. Horvitz, David M. Axelrad, Jeremy B. Rosen, Encino;  Andre, Morris & Buttery, James C. Buttery, Santa Maria;  Keesal, Young & Logan and Scott T. Pratt, Long Beach, for Appellants Unocal Corporation, Union Oil Company of California, Unocal California Pipeline Company, Unocal Pipeline Company and 76 Products Company., Law Offices of Richard M. Pearl, Richard M. Pearl, Berkeley;  Law Offices of Ilan Funke-Bilu and Ilan Funke-Bilu for Appellants Garry N. Holdgrafer, Evelyn L. Holdgrafer, Garry N. Holdgrafer II, Cindy Okerson, Holdgrafer & Associates and Holdgrafer & Okerson.