ADVISORY/Supreme Court Rules that Appellate Judges Review Verdicts Involving Large Punitive Awards.Business Editors ADVISORY... --(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2001 TOPIC: The Supreme Court ruled Monday that appellate judges should review punitive verdicts that involve large amounts of money, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. In an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court overturned the $4.5-million punitive verdict against a Houston toolmaking firm, according to the article. Many American corporations reportedly view this ruling as a legal victory. The Supreme Court has been aware of cases, within the last decade, in which lawyers ask juries to "send a message" to big corporations by awarding large punitive verdicts. However, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, stating that judges should not be encouraged to second-guess verdicts delivered by juries. EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story: Mr. A. Barry Barry, Welsh Barri, town (1991 pop. 45,053) and port, Vale of Glamorgan, S Wales, on the Bristol Channel. Once a major coal-exporting port, its more diversified export products include cement, flour, and steel products. Cappello is the managing partner of Cappello & McCann McCann is the surname of several people, including:
v. lit·i·gat·ed, lit·i·gat·ing, lit·i·gates v.tr. To contest in legal proceedings. v.intr. To engage in legal proceedings. , Mr. Cappello can discuss what this Supreme Court ruling means to individuals who sue big businesses. He views the ruling as a negative that could hurt consumers. 805/564-2444, abcappello@cappellomccann.com; PR: Diane Rumbaugh (rumbaugh@earthlink.net). Mr. L. Joe Coppedge is a partner at Kummer Kaempfer Bonner & Renshaw. He has practiced primarily in civil litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , with an emphasis in business and insurance litigation for almost 12 years. Mr. Coppedge has tried 15 civil jury trials to a verdict, and also has significant experience in alternate means of dispute resolution, including numerous arbitrations and mediations. PR: Pete Codella (codella@ballardpr.com, 800/864-2792). Professor Kenneth Holland, of the University of Memphis The University of Memphis is a public research university located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, and is a flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system. , Department of Political Science, is an expert in political science, the judicial process, constitutional law and administration of the courts. In the administration of justice, his expertise is on efforts to make the trial courts more efficient, especially the efforts to encourage plea bargaining plea bargaining, negotiation in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a criminal charge in exchange for concessions by the prosecutor (representing the state). and out-of-court settlements An agreement reached between the parties in a pending lawsuit that resolves the dispute to their mutual satisfaction and occurs without judicial intervention, supervision, or approval. . 901/678-3320 ExpertSource cannot guarantee the immediate availability of these experts or their familiarity with this specific issue. ExpertSource, a collaboration Working together on a project. See collaborative software. of Business Wire and The Round Table Group, provides academic and industry experts to the media at no charge. Journalists are encouraged to submit queries to ExpertSource when seeking experts on specific subjects. An online registration form is available at http://www.businesswire.com/expertsource. Business Wire's Media Resource Center provides working journalists many free media services. Please visit the BW Media Resource Center at (www.businesswire.com/media) for more information. |
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