EDITORIAL : NO REFORM, REALLY TAXING JUDGMENTS WON'T DETER EXCESSIVE PUNITIVE DAMAGE AWARDS.IT appears the Supreme Court has found a unique way to tackle tort reform: tax plaintiffs who win punitive damage awards. The court voted 6-3 Tuesday to let the Internal Revenue Service collect taxes on those judgments, which are intended to punish and deter wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do . Perhaps the justices believe that victims will be less likely to seek unreasonable damage awards if they know Uncle Sam Uncle Sam, name used to designate the U.S. government. The term arose in the War of 1812 and seems at first to have been used derisively by those opposed to the war. Possibly it was an expansion of the letters "U.S. will get a portion. We, however, fear just the opposite will occur: Attorneys for the families will try to win even greater judgments to cover attorney fees, expenses and now taxes - and leave a little left over for the victims. A case in point is the family of Betty O'Gilvie, a Benton, Kan., a woman who died in 1983 of toxic shock syndrome toxic shock syndrome (TSS). acute, sometimes fatal, disease characterized by high fever, nausea, diarrhea, lethargy, blotchy rash, and sudden drop in blood pressure. It is caused by Staphylococcus aureus, an exotoxin-producing bacteria (see toxin). . Her husband, Kelly, and children, were awarded $1.5 million in compensatory damages A sum of money awarded in a civil action by a court to indemnify a person for the particular loss, detriment, or injury suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct of another. and $10 million in punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. by a jury after the family sued International Playtex, the maker of tampons used by Betty O'Gilvie. However, after deducting lawyers' fees and expenses, the family received $4.96 million in punitive damages. The justices' decision upheld a lower court ruling that forced the O'Gilvies to pay federal income tax - about $500,000 - on that amount. The Supreme Court didn't get to the bottom of the problem by making judgments for punitive damages subject to taxes. What's needed instead are caps on attorneys' fees and guidelines that deter trial courts from awarding punitive damages that are totally out of line with the compensatory damages awarded plaintiffs. Punitive damages often are awarded more on the basis of the defendants' wealth - or their notoriety NOTORIETY, evidence. That which is generally known. 2. This notoriety is of fact or of law. In general, the notoriety of a fact is not sufficient to found a judgment or to rely on its truth; 1 Ohio Rep. - than the harm they caused. That's wrong and totally inconsistent with the principle of equal justice. |
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