United States Supreme Court

A punitive damages award, based in part on a jury's desire to punish a defendant for harming nonparties, amounts to a taking of property from the defendant without due process. A judgment rejecting a tobacco company's challenges to a punitive damages award against it in a negligence and deceit case is vacated where the Oregon Supreme Court applied the wrong constitutional standard when considering the tobacco company's appeal.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/20/2007
• Published 02/20/2007

Judges

Court

• United States Supreme Court

Counsel