How to Defend Punitive Damages Claims Effectively—and Maybe Successfully

A PUNITIVE damage award in a highprofile case is a corporate defense counsel’s worst nightmare. Consider, as examples, • $2.7 million punitive damages against McDonald’s Corp. for burns a customer suffered from a coffee spill; • $7.1 million for a secretary who prevailed in a sexual harassment case; • $101 million against General Motors in a design defect case; • $125 million against a pharmaceutical company; and • $3 billion against Exxon Corp. related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Although punitive damages often are reduced by the trial court or on appellate review, the original awards usually generate fierce debate and media hype, as well as injury to the defendant corporation’s reputation. In today’s climate of intensified accountability and safety consciousness, juries expect manufacturers, professionals and other providers of products and services to account for the safety of their respective endeavors. When a plaintiff successfully proves liability against a highly visible defendant on the theory that the defendant failed to provide a safe product or How to Defend Punitive Damages Claims Effectively—and Maybe Successfully